Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency (PHEAA) will provide alternative loans to fund unmet needs at Pennsylvania nursing schools prior to receiving FFELP eligibility. This initiative will continue to help develop and support the growth of the nursing community in Pennsylvania. There are three types of schools that this effort will initially target:

• New Nursing Schools
• Nursing Schools Trying to Reopen
• Nursing Schools providing Accelerated Program

In each case, students are ineligible for Stafford Student Loans, Pennsylvania State Grants, or PELL Grants because they have either exceeded limits of their student aid or are awaiting school accreditation to be eligible for student aid.

The loan program contains many of the same characteristics of the Family Federal Education Loan Program (FFELP):

• Similar loan amounts and loan terms as the FFELP
• Extended repayment terms
• No origination or guarantee fees charged (similar to PHEAA’s KeystoneBEST loan product)
• The variable interest rate is reset quarterly off of the preceding quarter’s average 91 day T-bill rate with a moderate additional amount added to that base rate. While in-school, the borrower has the option of electing to capitalize interest at the end of the in-school/grace period or making quarterly interest only payments.
• The only credit requirement is that the borrower not be in default on any other Title IV loan.

Download the Application.