Alternative and private education loans are non-federal student loans offered by private lenders and a few state government agencies. Students who apply for these types of loans will usually need a credit-worthy cosigner.
Before applying for alternative or private loans, SDSU requests that students complete the FAFSA to determine eligibility for federal loans and grants. Federal student loans may have terms and conditions that are more favorable than those offered by private or alternative lenders.
SDSU does not recommend lenders, and students may use any lender that makes loans to students. SDSU's lender list is available at FASTChoice. In choosing lenders, SDSU considered customer service and dispute resolution records, loan terms and past loan volume.
When filling out your application for a private or alternative loan, please use SDSU's school code which is 00347100.
Your lender will need approximately three weeks to process your private loan. Your lender will send your loan to SDSU to certify once you and your cosigner have completed the application, certification, disclosure process and promissory note. Please contact your lender if you have any questions about loan processing.
Once SDSU gets your loan, it can take us up to two weeks for us to certify and process it. We will process loans in the order that we receive them.