Michigan Student Financial Services Bureau

Michigan Student Financial Services Bureau

Michigan had some of the best student loan programs in the country.

But many have been suspended indefinitely.

I'm going to include information about them in the hopes that they will be restarted soon.

Until this year, many Michigan colleges participated in the Federal Family Education Loan Program (FFELP). State lenders were able to add incentives which lowered the cost of federal student loans for Michigan residents.

• The Michigan Students First (MSF) Program reimbursed or paid the federal loan origination fee. It also dropped the interest rate to 0% after 36 on-time payments. (Program suspended April 21,2008)
• The Michigan Engineering Incentive Program was for engineering or technology majors who intended to live and work in Michigan. It reimbursed or paid the federal loan origination fee and provided federal loans at 0% interest from the start of repayment. (Program suspended April 21,2008)
• The Michigan Advantage Consolidation Program(MAC) allowed graduates to consolidate federal loans with a 1% interest rate reduction after 3 years and a .25% interest rate reduction for electronic debit. (Program suspended April 21,2008)

Most Michigan colleges have switched to the Federal Direct Loan Program because none of the lenders who still participate in the FFELP are offering any incentives.

Michigan also offered a private college loan, the:

MI-LOAN Program (Program suspended Feb. 15,2008) This program featured:

• a choice of student or parent as the applicant
• a choice of either a fixed rate (6.95%) or a variable rate (LIBOR+ 1.5%)
• a minimum loan amount of $500- maximum of cost of attendance minus other aid and a lifetime cap of $125,000
• a maximum repayment period of 25 years and a forbearance of up to 5 years

State Grants to Pay for College Left in Michigan?

• the Michigan Work Study Program
• the Michigan Educational Opportunity Grant
• the Michigan Nursing Scholarship
• the Adult Part Time Grant

Also, the Michigan Competitive Scholarship was only partially funded this year.

Fortunately for the state's students, federal stimulus funds have been used to offset these cuts and colleges (such as MSU) have created new scholarship programs, too.


Make sure you check for all the college grants and scholarships that you are eligible for.