College Access Loan Program

The College Access Loan Program provides alternative educational loans to Texas students who are unable to meet an institution's cost of attendance (COA), including both direct and indirect expenses. 

Students must: 

• Be classified by the institution as a Texas resident 
• Be registered with Selective Service, or be exempt 
• Be accepted for enrollment and enrolled at least half-time at an eligible Texas institution in a course of study leading to a certificate, an associate, bachelor’s, graduate or higher degree, or an approved alternative educator certification program 
• Meet the satisfactory academic progress requirements set by the institution 
• Receive a favorable credit evaluation or provide a cosigner who has favorable credit and meets other credit requirements

Students may borrow no less than $100 and up to the cost of attendance minus any other financial resources. 

Cosigners must: 

• Be at least 21 years of age 
• Have a regular source of income 
• Not be the borrower or the spouse of the borrower 
• Receive a *favorable credit evaluation 
• Be a U.S. citizen, or a permanent U.S. resident and live in the U.S. or in a U.S. territory 

*To receive a favorable credit evaluation, students or cosigners must:  

• Have an Experian VantageScore of 650 or higher 
• Not have public records such as tax liens or bankruptcy proceedings 
• Have a minimum of four credit trade lines (excluding student loans or authorized user accounts) 
• Not have defaulted on any federal or private education loans 

• Interest is currently a fixed annual rate of 5.85% 
• Interest begins to accrue on the outstanding principal from the date of disbursement using simple interest 
• Loans are not eligible for interest subsidy, but the interest is not capitalized 

• Loans have a six-month grace period from the date a borrower ceases to be enrolled at least half-time at an eligible institution 
• Principal balances under $30,000 have up to a ten-year repayment period with minimum monthly payments of $50. 
• Principal balances of $30,000 or more have a repayment period up to 20 years. 
• The loan will not be sold to another lender 
• Postponement of loan repayment is available 

Note: Borrowers who enroll in the automatic debit or Automatic Clearinghouse (ACH) payment service receive a 0.25% interest rate reduction on the interest rate of each applicable loan in repayment. 

You can apply at Apply Online.