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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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