Agency makes student loans, scholarships available
By Vicki Brown*
Jan. 23, 2007 | NASHVILLE, Tenn. (UMNS)
College students who need additional funds for the current semester can apply for a United Methodist student loan.
"We are accepting applications for loans for the winter/spring
semester right now," said James Harding, assistant executive director
for loans administration and operations for the United Methodist Board
of Higher Education and Ministry. "Often, students find that they get
to the spring semester and the money they thought would cover
everything they needed doesn't go quite as far as they thought it
would."
About $2 million is available for student loans in 2007 through the board's Office of Loans and Scholarships.
A college student who has been a member of a United Methodist church
for one year is eligible to borrow up to $2,500 in any calendar year at
a 6 percent interest rate, lower than the current federal Stafford Loan
rate of 6.8 percent or ParentPlus at 8.5 percent, Harding said.
A student who wants to borrow must be attending an accredited degree
program full time and have a 2.0 (C) grade-point average. Since loans
are based on a calendar year, even a student who borrowed the maximum
$2,500 in fall 2006 is eligible for another loan. However, a student
who borrows $2,500 for the winter/spring semester would be unable to
borrow again for fall 2007.
United Methodist student loans can be used for any college-related
expenses - child care, transportation, meals - not just direct costs
such as tuition and books, Harding said.
In 2006, the Office of Loans and Scholarships provided nearly $1
million in financial aid to college students and, since 2000, about
$13.8 million to 5,671 United Methodists attending college.
While scholarships for the winter/spring 2007 semester already have
been awarded, applications are being accepted for fall 2007, Harding
said. United Methodist scholarships and requirements are listed on the
Web site.
Last year, the Board of Higher Education and Ministry awarded $3.5 million in scholarships to 2,800 students.
Much of the money for both loans and scholarships is collected
through special offerings such as United Methodist Student Day on the
last Sunday each November. Ninety percent of collections go to the
board's scholarship programs, while 10 percent is for student loans.
Each United Methodist-related college gets money from the offering for
scholarships, and each participating annual conference gets 10 percent
of Student Day receipts to award to merit scholars.
Details on loans and scholarships, along with application information, are available at www.gbhem.org/gbhem/loans2.html. To contact the Office of Loans and Scholarships by telephone, call (615) 340-7346 or write to umloans@gbhem.org or umscholar@gbhem.org.
*Brown is an associate editor and writer in the Office of
Interpretation, United Methodist Board of Higher Education and Ministry.
News media contact: Linda Green, (615) 742-5470 or newsdesk@umcom.org.
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Resources
General Board of Higher Education and Ministry
Loans and Scholarships
United Methodist-related schools, colleges, universities and theological schools
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