How to Get Education Loan for Pathway Program ?

Know the steps to to apply Education Loan for Pathway Program – Majority of the bank in India are not keen in giving Education Loan for Pathway program or any linked degree with pathway courses. In this article, we will tell you about the different ways to get the loan for Pathway program linked with Graduation or Post graduation degree for universities & colleges of USA, UK, Europe, Canada, Australia etc.

What is a Pathway Programs ?

Before going for details, let’s understand about the Pathway program first and why is it necessary for International students ? 

Pathway programs are basically the preparatory courses that are designed to help international students build the skills, knowledge, and qualifications that they will need to enter a bachelor’s or master’s degree program. These programs generally for 3 months to One year linked or may not linked with the degree and many a time conditional also. Pathway course/foundation may offers a conditional promise of admission into any particular college/university abroad.

These program are structured for :

• Building the necessary language skills for the future degree
• Better chance of undergraduate admission
• Not relevant Degree for the Course
• Not Getting the choice of subject in the Degree/Post graduate
• Incomplete total Educational Years

Building the necessary language skills 

International students are required to have a certain level of proficiency in the English language. These levels are determined by standardized tests such as IELTS, TOFEL etc. Students who do not achieve the minimum required score on these tests will not be accepted to study at foreign  universities. In such cases,, pathway programs provide an opportunity for international students to study English while studying in the US, so if your English skills are not yet strong enough to pass the TOEFL, pathway programs are a good option.

For example in Germany, where many top universities offer mainstream courses in the German language. It is mandatory for candidates to be familiar with the German language for getting jobs. Hence, students who wish to study in Germany are required to undergo a short pathway course to study the language. So, in Germany most of the universities recommend institutes located there to students who need to complete a pathway course in the German language to pursue their further studies.

Better Chance of Undergraduate Admission

Most colleges and universities that offer pathway programs for international students also offer conditional admission into the degree after completion of the program. This means that international students who complete their pathway program with a certain GPA are automatically accepted into the main college or university.

If you are considering a pathway program, it’s important to research the admissions policy for each individual institution. Not all colleges and universities guarantee admittance after the pathway program; some offer personal college admissions instead.

Not relevant Degree for the Course

Many a time the existing qualifying degree is not suitable for the future course overseas. For example, if you have a degree in science, but wish to pursue your Master’s course in Health or any field which is not related to science then, instead of rejecting your degree application, the college or university chosen by you will recommend you to attend a pathway program. Only those candidates who complete their foundation courses with the required grades are accepted into the university/college.

Incomplete total Educational Years

The universities in many countries, e.g., UK, USA, require international students to have completed at least 16 years of schooling (for postgraduate courses) and 12 years of schooling (undergraduate courses). If a candidate applies for a postgraduate course having completed only 15 out of the 16 years, then they are recommended to attend a pathway course that can help fill the gap in their education.

How to Get Education Loan for Pathway Program ?

Since, the pathway program are not the regular courses so banks may reject your application on the same ground, it is because majority of the banks in India finance loan to study abroad only for the regular courses. Banks do finance for the pathway program if the college offer letter is not conditional and part of the course/degree structure.

Banks are finding it difficult while calculating the total cost of the Study as majority of the colleges doesn’t provide the separate cost for the pathway program. Many a time banks reject the application for the program due to demand of paying the full fees prior to VISA. Generally Government Banks doesn’t pay the tuition fees before the clearance of VISA.

The mode of financing the Education Loan for the study abroad are different for the various countries, like :

Pathway Program Education Loan for USA Universities 

Incase of United States universities the I20 form mentions the cost of pathway programs along with continuity of the proposed degree. This helps lending banks to take the cognizable decision on the total cost of study and finding easy for financing. 

Pathway Program Education Loan for UK Universities 

In UK, the majority of the universities are issuing the offer letter with RQF level linked with the concerned degree. The Pathway programs are generally for 3 months period. The major problems with the UK universities are that they don’t provide the separate cost for the pathway program and demand the tuition fees upfront. The pathway program doesn’t carry any fees.

Pathway Program in Europe

The offer letter of most universities in Europe states that the acceptance for the next course is conditional and mainly for the language. The course period for pathway program is also 12 months in general. In such cases majority of the banks are not giving the education loan for the pathway program but financing for the regular period.

With the clarity in the Pathway program, with dictation on the cost of the program, along with level of the concern degree and without condition may help banks to process the Education Loan for abroad study with collateral security of 100% value. The documents needed in such cases are :

(a) Collateral in the form of Immovable property like House, flat, non-agricultural land, a non-commercial plot with boundaries, etc. 

(b) Liquid Security: in the form of Gold, Fixed Deposits, KVP, NSC, Govt. Bonds, surrender value of life insurance policy preferably from LIC

(c) Any third-party collateral from the close relatives like Father, Grand father, brother, sister, spouse etc.

Unsecured education loan

Generally such loans are provided by Chit fund companies or NBFCs. These loans are very costly and purely be given based on the financial status of the parents. 

Also Know – Canara Bank Abroad Education Loan, Eligibility & Apply Online

How to apply for the Pathway Program Loan ?

We help you in extending the loans from the banks for study abroad. Just send us a email on sorapedia(at)gmail.com with details.