Johan Wiggins, CEO and Student Hero’s co-founder gives us more insight into Student Hero.
Student Hero is South Africa’s largest student finance facilitation service, it is an initiative aimed to help current and prospective students to learn about, apply for and qualify for study funding from various educational finance providers, from a single platform, and at zero cost.
This is to avoid the need for students to submit multiple finance applications to various funding sources in order to explore all available funding options. Student Hero facilitates funding from 5 major banks (Standard Bank, ABSA, Nedbank, Capitec and FNB), Manati Alternate Student Funding and Fundi.
When should you consider financing your studies?
There are multiple reasons why it might be better for a student to finance their investment in education as opposed to paying cash up front. The number one reason to finance would be because it enables you to hold on to your savings for a rainy day while using a finance provider’s money to pay the educational institution.
To finance your studies out of necessity, the extended repayment term associated with the financing can reduce the monthly payment in line with what is comfortable for your particular financial situation.
To determine if financing is right for you, we recommend weighing the cost associated with financing education (fees and charges) against the increased earning potential induced by studying. Whatever your reason may be, it is very important to know your options and understand the qualifying criteria, terms and the cost associated with the different educational finance providers.
How is student finance different?
Educational finance providers appreciate how important it is to invest in education and they clearly express this appreciation in the way that student finance is priced and to be repaid. Student finance is priced at an interest rate of prime to prime plus 7%, which is a very low-interest rate if compared to other finance products. The most unique feature of student finance is that the repayment of the principal amount, the finance amount applied for, can in some cases be deferred until the student finishes their studies. This repayment structure affords the student time to start earning income before starting with the repayments of the principal. As a result of this, student finance is the most affordable type of finance offered by South African Finance providers.
What are the qualifying criteria and process to apply for study finance?
A finance provider will look at mainly two things to determine if an applicant can qualify for finance, the application’s affordability and credit score.
A finance provider will want to see that an applicant can indeed afford the monthly finance instalments. Affordability is calculated by deducting your fixed expenses, such as rent, insurance premiums and other credit commitments from your net income, the surplus has to be more than the finance instalment. Funding providers also consider your additional income, such as commission, a bonus or rental income, and even allow you to add a second person’s income as part of the affordability calculation. So remember to notify Student Hero about the availability of additional- or a second household income.
Your credit record does not have to be perfect to qualify for study finance, Student Hero is partnered with multiple funding providers and each has unique qualifying criteria, some more relaxed than others. If you are not sure about your credit score or affordability, feel free to reach out to Student Hero for a commitment-free pre-qualification after which you can weigh your options.
When will be a good time to engage with Student Hero about funding?
The most important thing to keep in mind for first-time students or their financial caregivers is that the student does not have to be registered before engaging with Student Hero, in fact, the sooner you reach out to Student Hero the better. Existing students or their financial caregivers are also welcome to reach out to Student Hero to apply for finance for the balance of their current fees or to finance further years of study. If you are not sure about whether you can or cannot apply for finance, please remember that Student Hero’s guidance is commitment free and at zero cost.
