Georgia students can apply for new loan

Georgia families struggling to pay college bills can get some help from the state’s new loan program.

The Georgia Student Finance Commission will accept a second round of applications for the Student Access Loan Program starting Friday. The deadline is Oct. 31.

Details:

The loan carries a 1 percent interest rate and the maximum annual award is $10,000.

Each loan includes an origination fee of 5% of the loan amount not to exceed a total of $50 dollars per loan. The fee is deducted equally from each disbursement.

Loan funds may be used towards any part of the student’s cost of attendance.

Interest payments are required while the student is enrolled.

Students who have yet to begin their first year of attendance in college must have graduated from an eligible high school with a 2.5 GPA in core subjects.

Students who are in their second or subsequent year of attendance at an eligible postsecondary institution must have a cumulative 2.0 college GPA.

Students must be Georgia residents and United States citizens or eligible non-citizens.

Students must be making Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) in accordance with the SAP policy at your college or university. Failure to maintain SAP may result in your ineligibility for this loan.

To be eligible for a SAL Program loan, students must have applied for and exhausted other student financial aid including federal and state student loans, Parent PLUS loans, and scholarship and grant programs.

Students will be randomly selected from the pool of all applicants received during the application cycle.

Student must be attending an eligible college or university IN GEORGIA.