Private education loans, also called alternative loans, help fill the gap between the cost of attendance and traditional financial aid including scholarships, grants, and federal loans. Private loans allow for a loan to be placed in the student's name. Interest will accrue while the student is in school, but payments do not have to be made while the student is enrolled in school at least half-time.

Deer Valley has partnered with CU Student Higher Education Loan Program (CU Student H.E.L.P.) to offer a private education loan program that gives borrowers a 12-month grace period after graduation and no penalty for prepayment. These are credit-based loans. Applicants are encouraged to apply with a creditworthy cosigner to increase their chances of approval and of obtaining a lower interest rate and/or loan fee.

For details about this program, click here.

For general questions regarding the CU Student H.E.L.P. loan call 877.CUEDLOAN or 877.283.3562. Click here to apply online. Applicants will receive a decision usually in less than a minute.

Undergraduate and Graduate Loan

To be eligible for a Deer Valley CU Student H.E.L.P. loan, the borrower must be 18 (19 in Nebraska, Puerto Rico and Mississippi – Mississippi residents under the age of 21 may borrow with written consent from a parent or guardian) by the date of application, enrolled at least half-time in, or admitted to, an eligible institution and a U.S. citizen or eligible non-citizen holding a valid, unexpired USCIS form I-151 or I-551. Borrower must be making satisfactory academic progress.

ANNUAL PERCENTAGE RATE EXAMPLES: The examples below are for illustrative purposes only but should help you understand how much a student loan may cost. The actual rates and fees of your loan may vary from the examples below depending upon your credit history and other underwriting criteria. The first example represents a “typical” transaction and assumes a loan fee of 7% and an interest rate of Prime +2.5% (4.9%. The second example represents a “well-qualified applicant” transaction and assumes a loan fee range of 0% - 6% and an interest rate range of Prime – 0.7% to Prime + 3.9%. A “well-qualified applicant” is an applicant with a strong credit profile according to current Lender underwriting guidelines at a 4-year degree-granting institution accompanied by a creditworthy cosigner. Both examples make the following assumptions: you borrow $10,000 which includes your loan fee; your loan is disbursed in one disbursement; you are in school for 22 months after the first disbursement; your grace period is months; you request a repayment period of 300 months (25 years); interest capitalizes once at repayment; and the Prime Rate, which is 5.00% as of July 1, 2008, remains constant.

Typical transaction: With a loan fee of 7% and an interest rate of Prime +4.9%, your ANNUAL PERCENTAGE RATE will be 10.37% with an approximate monthly payment of $115.46. The total costs associated with this loan are $34,637, which includes repayment of the principal amount of the loan and all finance costs.

Well-qualified applicant transactions: With a loan fee range of 0% - 6% and an interest rate range of Prime –0.7% to Prime + 3.9%, your ANNUAL PERCENTAGE RATE will be 4.28% to 9.30% with an approximate monthly payment of $61.09 to $104.23. The total costs associated with this loan are $18,327 to $31,267, which includes repayment of the principal amount of the loan and all finance costs.

Please note that the Annual Percentage Rate will vary and is indexed to the Prime Rate as published in the Wall Street Journal. In addition, any increases in the interest rate will result in an increase in the amount of your monthly payments.

“You may qualify for federal student loans. We encourage prospective customers to exhaust federal student loan options before applying for a private student loan, as federal loans are often less expensive and offer the widest variety of repayment options.”