Western Illinois University in Macomb will be one of three pilot schools in the state for a new loan program ISAC is preparing to launch for college seniors attending Illinois institutions.

The Capstone Loan is meant to help seniors who are nearing graduation but who have run out of other financial-aid options and “really need a financial boost to finish up,” McNeil said.

Students taking out a Capstone loan will have up to 20 years to repay it. Loan terms include an interest rate that starts at 8 percent but can be lowered for some students, including those in lower-paying jobs such as teaching.

Also, loan incentives will be offered to students who live and work in Illinois after they graduate.

For the coming academic year, which will be Capstone’s first, the loan will be available only to students at certain “pilot” schools. The other state pilot schools are Midstate College in Peoria and the University of Illinois at Chicago.

McNeil said the new program is part of an ongoing effort to make ISAC “more Illinois-centric.”

“The long-term goal that I’d like to see is that any Illinois high school student who works hard enough to get into an Illinois school will be able to go there regardless of his or her financial situation,” he said.

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This entry was posted on Wednesday, June 27th, 2007 at 2:17 pm and is filed under College Loans, Education. Tags: College, Student. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.