Office of Career Advancement
The OCA supports students and alumni seeking to develop rewarding professional careers.
Why Harvard Kennedy School?
Find out why Harvard Kennedy School provides a unique experience and education.
Home > Degree Programs > Student Financial Services > Prospective Students > Student Loans > Supplemental Loans for Domestic Students
Supplemental Loans for Domestic Students
Supplemental education loans are credit-based loans that may be borrowed to meet the gap between your cost of attendance and any financial aid you may be receiving. The following information is provided to assist you in making an informed decision regarding supplemental loan options. When considering supplemental loan programs, careful attention should be given to the interest rate (whether it is fixed or variable), to the length of the repayment period, to any borrower benefits (such as interest rate reductions and services) and to the deferment options. Students who anticipate continuing their studies beyond HKS should pay particular attention to the deferment options for each of the loans.
Federal Supplemental Loan
Direct Lending Graduate PLUS Loan
Harvard University is a participant in the Federal Direct Lending program. Students wishing to borrow loans over and above the Stafford generally borrow through the Federal Direct Grad PLUS loan program. For further information including interest rates and borrower benefit, see the Grad PLUS page.
While students may borrow through the loan program of their choice - including both federal Grad PLUS loans offered by private lenders and private loans - there is a significant advantage to borrowing through the Direct Lending program.
The federal government has created a new federal loan forgiveness program for borrowers who work in public service. However, only federal direct lending loans qualify for forgiveness. Therefore, loan borrowers are strongly encouraged to consider this factor prior to electing to borrow through a private loan program or through a federal loan offered by a private lender. For those students who have already borrowed from a different lender and wish to continue to do so, please contact your lender directly to apply.
Private Supplemental Loan
While for many students the Grad PLUS loan has some significant advantages, some students may find private loans preferable. If you expect to earn a salary which would make the income-based repayment plan less viable, private loans can offer interest rates that may be more attractive than the fixed 7.9% for the Direct Lending Grad PLUS.
In November of 2008, Harvard University sought proposals from lenders offering non-federal education loans for the 2009-2010 academic year through an open Request for Proposal process. The RFP was designed so that Harvard could provide information to its graduate and professional students on private loan products that have competitive rates and other borrower benefits. Please review Private Loans for Graduate and Professional Students for further information regarding private loan options as a result of the RFP process.
For further information on supplemental lenders, please review the information on private student loans at FinAid.org.
print
email