Jewish Educational Loan Fund:
Interest-Free Loans For Higher Education
The Jewish Educational Loan Fund grants interest-free loans to Jewish
students from Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and
Virginia for post-secondary study at accredited institutions. JELF’s
loans are “last dollar” — they supply the final funds that a student
needs to attend school. These loans can be used for study at a college
or university, graduate school or professional/vocational school that
leads to a degree or certificate.
Loan Criteria
To be eligible for a JELF loan, an applicant must meet the following criteria:
- Applicant must be Jewish.
- Applicant and family must be a resident of Georgia, Florida, North
Carolina, South Carolina, or Virginia (excluding metro DC) for at least
one year prior to completing the JELF loan application.
- Applicant must be a U.S. citizen or have legal immigration status in the U.S.
- Applicant must demonstrate financial need.
- Applicant must be enrolled in a post-secondary institution that is accredited and located in the U.S.and be enrolled full time in a program leading to a degree or professional certificate.
- Loans from JELF can be used for undergraduate study, graduate study
or special post-secondary training (vocational courses or prerequisite
programs).
- Applicants make their own educational plans and determine whether to
attend a public, private, in-state or out-of-state institution.
However, JELF has a limited amount of funds available each year for
interest-free loans. Therefore, in considering funding, JELF looks for
applicants who make sound educational choices for their fields of study
and who take into account, among other things, financial considerations.
- JELF considers undergraduate applications before considering graduate applications.
- JELF’s interest-free loans provide “last-dollar financing” (i.e.,
the dollars that bridge the gap between a student’s total financial
resources and the cost of attending school). For that
reason, applicants must demonstrate that they have sought and accepted
financing from all available sources, including government and other
loans, scholarships, family contributions and personal earnings. (Information on government loan programs is available at www.studentaid.ed.gov.)
- Applicant must provide at least one co-signer — one or both
parents, a legal guardian or spouse — for JELF loans. The co-signer
must be credit worthy and have the ability to repay the full amount of
the loan if the borrower fails to do so. JELF reserves the right to
request a second co-signer. JELF also reserves the right to contact
co-signers, request tax returns to verify income, and run credit checks
on co-signers, with their permission.
- Applicants who receive JELF assistance must be in good academic standing and maintain a cumulative grade point average of at least 2.0 to be eligible for continued funding.
