Private Elementary School Loans
Get the Best For Your Child
Private schools have come into their own especially in the last couple of decades as the public school systems have been gutted of federal funding and teaching becomes a more hands-tied and disillusioned profession offering little in return as far as income to make the ride worth it.
Trends in Elementary Education
In particular regions of the country, public schools are in bad shape. Couple this situation with the increasing emphasis on getting kids into college and it’s no wonder many families are scraping together funds to send their kids to private school. Very rural and very urban areas are beginning to find respite though thanks to teacher incentive programs funded by state governments. Teaching students are encouraged to work in underserved public school systems in exchange for student loan forgiveness. In the process, it is the middle of the road school systems losing good teachers and kids who would be tracked for college are at risk.
While statistics are showing a slowdown in enrollment among private elementary schools, overall the institutions remain popular. About 10 percent of all K-12 students attend private schools, with that figure rising or falling across specific regions.
Private School Costs
Private schools, from kindergarten through graduation, cost anywhere from about $10,000 to $30,000 a year, give or take:
- Hamden Hall Country Day School in New Haven, Connecticut costs between $15,000 and $20,000 for grades K-6. Grades 7-12 cost even more.
Figures like these are enough to make any parent gasp and run for their financial advisor. And while you might think kids at private schools are wealthy on the whole, the reality is that many are middle to upper middle class and their parents also have to plan for college savings, too. So how are they doing it?
According to many private school observers, parents are spending their savings, taking out second mortgages, applying directly to independent schools and applying for private loans from lenders who’ve gotten savvy with this population’s needs.
Available Resources
There seem to be many more resources available for those wishing to go to private school than you would think. Most offer their own brand of financial aid, meted out to families on a very subjective basis, and many families receive outright grants that make it possible for schools to diversify their populations, one of the biggest trends in recent years.
Specialized student loans are becoming a bit more commonplace now that a few major lenders are offering them. While some parents are still hesitating loan products designed to finance private K-12 education are attracting attention:
- The Education One Loans from Chase are a handful of loans that cover the range of educational purposes a family may need to draw from. The K-12 Loans are exactly as they sound, special purpose loans intended to give parents an affordable and competitive alternative to second mortgages and home equity loans. The products are bundled with low interest rates, generous payback terms and enough of a borrowing ceiling to fund almost all private school tuitions.
- The Citiassist K-12 Loan from Citibank offers competitive rates and terms. Parents may borrow up to $15,000 each academic year, which limits this loan, compared to the Chase product.
- Keybank AchieverLoan is Keybank’s answer to private school financing. Eligible applicants may borrow up to $30,000 each year with flexible, no fee terms.
Besides outright grants from private elementary schools and loans such as these, parents of private school students are setting up tuition payment plans through lenders that make budgeting and paying for a private education a bit less cumbersome.
