SELF Loans

The Minnesota Student Educational Loan Fund (SELF) program helps students who need assistance in paying for education beyond high school. The loan can be used only for educational purposes.

Who is Eligible?

To be eligible for the SELF program, a student must be either a:

  • Minnesota resident who is enrolled at least half time in a certificate, associate, baccalaureate, or graduate degree program, attending an eligible school in Minnesota, another state, or a Canadian province that has signed an operating agreement with the Office of Higher Education.

or

  • non-Minnesota resident attending an eligible school in Minnesota who is enrolled at least half time in a certificate, associate, baccalaureate, or graduate degree program.

To be eligible for a SELF Loan, the student must also:

  • have a credit worthy co-signer.
  • not be delinquent or in default on a SELF or other outstanding student loan(s).
How Does the Program Work?

Prior to applying, students are required to seek other sources of federal, state, institutional, or private aid for which they might be eligible. The campus financial aid administrator then determines the total amount a student may borrow and recommends a loan amount. The maximum cannot exceed the price of attendance minus all other financial aid that the student is eligible to receive.

How Much Money Can You Get?

Undergraduate students may borrow up to $7,500 per year (a maximum SELF total of $37,500). The minimum loan size is $500.

Graduate students may borrow up to $9,000 per year and can't exceed $52,500 from SELF, including his or her undergraduate SELF debt.

Borrowers are required to pay interest quarterly while in school. After graduating or leaving school, they're required to pay the monthly interest for up to three years; then they'll begin repaying the loan principal as well as interest monthly. Repayment is usually 7 to 14 years. See www.selfloan.org for repayment options.

The interest rate charged to the borrower changes throughout the life of the loan, and can change every three months. SELF loans are currently being made under Phase IV. 

Phase III & IV:  As of July 1, 2008 the interest rate is 5.8%.  The historical average for SELF IV is 7.19% (three quarters of data).

For more information, contact the Financial Aid Office.

Further Information: