Filed under: College, College Students, Financial Aid, Ivy League, Students, Tuition, University
JPMorgan Chase is swooping in to save the student-loan-needing booties of international graduate students at Harvard. Citibank left Harvard and several other schools in the lurch this past fall when they announced they were terminating their arrangements with the schools, “citing the effects of the frozen credit markets.”
Because international students don’t tend to qualify for financial aid, they need to take out loans. And because they’re international students, applying for loans has a whole new level of red tape. The arrangement Citibank made eased that process along for the students by allowing them to apply for student loans without a cosigner (not typical for student loans).
When Harvard found out on October that Citibank was ditching their international grad students, the school had to run around madly trying to stretch financial assistance. The new arrangement they’ve made with JPMorgan Chase will hopefully relieve some of the stress.
It’s better for everyone if international students can find a way to go to school here. Right after 9/11, there was a big halt for student visas (I’m ranting on the inside). The University of Washington was a ghost town while international student were sent back home, waiting to hear whether they’d be able to finish their degrees in Seattle. Everyone benefits financially, culturally, and global-citizen-wise when campus populations are mixed. I know that JPMorgan Chase is pretty much just in it for the money, but they’ve still done a good thing.
Further Reading:
Citibank Cuts Loan Program for Harvard Grad Students
Citi Loan Program Ends Nationwide
Posted by Alexa Harrington
Alexa,
It is definitely important for us to have international students at our universities, as you said. In some fields we don’t have enough “home grown” people to supply the pipeline of important fields like engineering and science-related fields. If we want to stay competitive we not only have to invite international college students, but we have to find a way to keep them here. There is no point in educating foreigners in our country, only to send these qualified, educated, and talented individuals back to their home countries to compete against the U.S., especially in areas of technology, development, and innovation!