Due to recent media coverage, we know that families may be wondering if the "student loan crisis" will affect DePaul's ability to provide loans to students. We are writing to assure you that students at DePaul will continue to have access to federally guaranteed student loan programs for the foreseeable future.

Our decision over a decade ago to participate in the Federal Direct Loan program means our students will have little (if any) difficulty securing loans during their time at DePaul. The current funding crisis you may have heard about affects only some of those institutions who participate in the Family Federal Education Loan (FFEL) program. It does not affect Direct Lending schools like DePaul.

Funding for Direct Lending programs offered at DePaul (such as the Subsidized William D. Ford loan and the Parent PLUS loan) comes directly from the federal government. Unlike the other federal loan program (FFEL), our funding is not reliant on banks or other financial organizations involved in the open markets. This may sound complicated, but it really just means that DePaul's students will not experience any difficulty receiving federal loan funds now or in the future.

Because DePaul graduates have excellent loan repayment histories, other private loans are still available for our students, and several of the more popular private loan lenders have indicated that they have secure funding. However, the majority of DePaul students - more than 90% - don't use private loan funding to finance their educations.

If you are interested in learning more about educational loans, we have developed a short summary about various loan programs for students and parents to help explain your options.