You have gone through and successfully completed the rigorous process of applying and getting into the b-school. The next big question: how to fund your course? With the cost of attending a b-school on a gradual rise over the years, candidates are now considering for options beyond the scholarships offered by the b-schools.
Quite interestingly, a lot of fintech companies are also on the rise, offering zero-collateral loans to students across the borders. In today’s article, we will cover one of the well-known student loan lenders, Prodigy Finance with deeper insights by Mr. Aniket Agarwal, an HEC Paris candidate, who has benefited from this.
Read on to find out more on what Prodigy Finance has to offer to b-school candidates.
Prodigy Finance is a cross-border student load provider, having over 19,000+ students across 150 countries, who have benefited from their loan services. With a hassle-free and quick process to apply for loans, they are supporting over 740+ schools and are not limited to offering student loans for a particular industry. Offering up to 80% Cost of Attendance, for B-schools in the US, and up to 100% Cost of Tuition B-schools outside the US, Prodigy Finance supports Masters programs in Business, Law, Engineering, Public Policy, and Medical Sciences.
The application process is completely online and takes up to only 30 minutes to complete. Qualified applicants typically receive conditional approval for their loan within two business days. The best part, you do not need to have collateral or a co-signer to apply. Unlike banks, that offer loans after tedious evaluation of your past financial history, student loans at Prodigy are more forward looking, and are decided based on your credit history and future earning potential, and other factors such as the course and school you are going to attend. All this is irrespective of the current or application geography.
Depending upon the case, Prodigy may also cover your living costs such as housing, food, etc., besides the tuition fee. With no fee for early repayment, you can begin your repayment even 6 months post your graduation. The repayment period is flexible: from ~7 to 20 years.
Let us hear from Aniket about his experiences with applying for loans at Prodigy Finance.
Q1) When I apply to Prodigy for a loan to fund my MBA, on what factors is my profile assessed? Do my past experiences matter?
Prodigy evaluates your past and current financial standing, and how you are planning to procure the remaining funds for the b-school fee, i.e., outside the loan they are providing. In case of any other sponsor or scholarship, you need to provide details for the same, and the loan will be approved after deducting the mentioned amount. Apart from that, Prodigy does not require anything, not even a co-signer.
Q2) Why did you opt for Prodigy Finance over banks to fund your MBA?
With the option of zero-collateral loan, Prodigy does not require any co-signer either and has much lesser interest rates compared to other loan options available. Hailing from India, the interest rates are almost 4% lower than what I was offered by banks or NBFCs. Moreover, the loan approval process at Prodigy is hassle-free and requires minimal effort and documents, without any upfront fee. All these factors attributed to my decision of opting for Prodigy Finance.
You have reached this far; we are sure you would also like to read our article on how to Finance your International MBA.
Q3) When do I ideally need to apply for a loan at Prodigy Finance?
It is best to apply a couple of months before joining your B-School. For example, if you belong to the September intake, you can apply by March/April. This would give you enough time to figure out any Scholarship options you can opt for.
The loan approval process at Prodigy takes just 3 days. Prodigy has a fixed timeline after which you can apply for a particular intake. For example, they have recently opened the loan application for September 2021 batch at HEC Paris, only after 25th January 2021. You can submit your application at any time after that, at your convenience.
In case you must defer your course, Prodigy asks you to withdraw your current application and then apply for a new loan. You can get the complete information about Prodigy Finance, on their website, with a specific ‘Blogs’ section dedicated to common queries.
Q4) What are other such NBFCs that students can look at, for loans?
Other firms that operate like Prodigy are CTA Lendwise and MPower. CTA Lendwise also has a hassle-free process with zero human interaction and approves your loan within a week.
Therefore, if you have already received an admit from b-school, we recommend you begin planning to finance your MBA well in advance. Explore the scholarships offered by various b-schools, evaluate various loan options, and gear up to live your dream!