|
About $2 million
is available for student loans in 2007 through the Office of Loans
and Scholarships of GBHEM.
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 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.
Another advantage
of the United Methodist student loans is that the money 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, GBHEM’s
Office of Loans and Scholarships loaned nearly $1 million to college
students. Harding said since 2000, about $13.8 million has been
loaned to 5,671 United Methodists attending college. To learn more
about applying for a loan or scholarship, visit
www.gbhem.org/gbhem/loans2.html. Students can request an
application for a loan or scholarship online.
While
scholarships for the winter/spring 2007 semester have already been
awarded, applications are now being taken for fall 2007, Harding
said. United Methodist scholarships and requirements are listed on
the Web site.
Last year, the
General 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 like United Methodist Student Day on the last Sunday in
November each year.
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.
To learn more
about United Methodist loans and scholarships, visit
www.gbhem.org/gbhem/loans2.html. To contact the Office of Loans
and Scholarships by telephone, call (615) 340-7346. To request
information or an application by e-mail, e-mail
umloans@gbhem.org or
umscholar@gbhem.org.
|
