• Idaho College Student Loans

Idaho Student Loans

Recently approved funds are now available to Idaho students wanting to attend college. In 2007, the Idaho Legislators agreed to fund the Opportunity Scholarship. The approval came with a $10 million appropriation to kick off the program. The goal of the program is to ultimately grow the corpus to $100 million through interest earnings while providing $10 million annually to Idaho students.

Students can apply for the Opportunity Scholarship by filling out both the Idaho Scholarship application and the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). The Idaho Scholarship can be filled out online and must be submitted no later than Jan. 15. The FAFSA can also be submitted electronically. Its deadline is March 1. For students who miss the Jan. 15 deadline, there is a second option. They can fill out the FAFSA and complete the Opportunity Scholarship application prior to March 1.

To qualify for the scholarship, students must be an Idaho resident and plan to attend an Idaho college such as Boise Sate University.

When applying for the scholarship, students may also be awarded a Federal Pell Grant or Idaho state grant. This is just an added bonus to filling out and submitting the FAFSA. Those who don’t demonstrate financial need can indicate a desire to learn more about federal loan programs. Through these programs, students can take out Idaho student loans to help pay for college. These loans are backed by the U.S. Department of Education.

Additional money can be requested from a private student loan lender in the form of a private student loan. Private student loans, however, should be utilized after all grants, scholarships and federally-backed loans have been awarded. With the private student loan, the borrower can bridge the gap between their financial assistance and the cost of education.