There are several ways to fund higher education costs, which includes credit from banks and grants from college authorities
Published: Thu 17 Dec 2015, 12:07 PM
Last updated: Thu 17 Dec 2015, 2:11 PM
Saving for college education and schooling is the biggest year-end factor for many families. While students are busy filling applications or awaiting calls from their colleges to start terms next year, for many, the wonderful opportunities and hope for a bright future are laced with concerns of funding for the education.
Naturally around this time of the year families are often navigating through an array of options on how to pay for the college fee. If you are planning to fund education costs for your children, or probably looking to invest in higher education for self, institutes and banks in the UAE offer a range of options to wade you through.
Grants and scholarships
One of the primary goals when researching for college payment options is identifying all the sources that do not result in over-leveraging or long-term debt. It would be good to keep in mind that seeking financial aid is not a cakewalk. It is a laborious process that requires a lot of research, talking and reaching out to professionals or experienced people in the sector. The more you research, the better informed you will be to prepare a financial road map and make prudent choices.
So let's start with the basics: Reach out to the college authorities and student counsellors to know about the grants, scholarships and deferred payment schemes, if any, run by the college. Many educational institutes, especially the ones offering courses in science, have tie-up with firms that extend generous financial aids to students, or allow steep discounts for students on merit.
The key is to start early and identify programmes that suit your needs. Most of the grants and scholarship aids have extensive application forms and take time to review, select and process payments for selected candidates. You would not want to be rejected last minute only because of a late application.
Help from banks
When approaching banks, there are several funding options you can choose from. Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank, for instance, offers solutions that take care of the complete experience including books, transportation, library fees and more. As a short-term finance solution, you can use any of the bank's MasterCard or Visa credit cards to pay tuition fees and repay it in six equal instalments at zero per cent interest. The bank doesn't charge any processing fees on such transactions.
In case of a longer-term finance option, ADIB offers Education Personal Finance that lends up to Dh250,000 per application and can be repaid in about two years.
Similar options are available with other banks as well. So, don't let expensive finance options bleed you dry; get active and sift through all available choices before you select and sign up for one.
suneeti@khaleejtimes.com
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