For around 200 Lake State Students, MILoan has been a friend. An ally, a trusted companion. Or, at least, if those are the sort of words one might attribute to a loan company. As the only alternative loan company available to LSSU students that offered a fixed interest rate, it has been the loan company of choice for many, and the one most strongly suggested by the experts in the Financial Aid Department. Unfortunately, that option has been taken away, and any student who was counting on the program to supply their funds for the new school year will find themselves looking for another ally in the war against college costs.

Unfortunately, the information stated in the email that was sent to MILoan recipients in February consists of almost all the available information on the topic. Due to the decline in the state of Michigan’s available budget money, the money that in previous years funded the MILoan pool has all dried up. Students who have already had loan money disbursed will not be affected, but no new applicants are being taken, and as of now, despite the fact that the program is technically only ‘temporarily suspended’ it is unlikely that the program will be available for the 2008-2009 school year – a big problem for students who were counting on it, and something the Financial Aid office has expressed great concern over.

“The news came as a complete shock to us as well”, Deb Faust said on Monday, regarding the announcement. MILoan has been the first suggestion from that office for years, thanks to the fixed interest rate, and with its absence, the office has been moving as quickly as possible to find other companies or programs that might be able to offer the best available service to LSSU students. The office has asked about fixed interest rates of several companies, but as Faust said, “We already know the answer will be no.”

Financial Aid has been working on ‘Preferred Lender Questionnaires’ to send out to the five or six top lending agencies, and hopes to use these to post a list of the five best options for students to take when working out their financial arrangements this summer, out of the more than 3600 available. In the meantime, there is a small list of agencies on the website as a placeholder, though Faust emphasized that they have less information just now than they would like, and so those are not yet recommendations.

“The students need to complain about this, let their representatives know that this is an important program”, she also said. “There’s a better chance that the program will be brought back if they know it is important.” In the meantime, however, it’s back to the drawing board – and the loan application table.

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