Students must successfully pass through four stages in order to secure a loan:
Application: 8B Education Investments accepts applications within a specified window of time. Interested students must complete an application through our secure online portal. Here they are asked to provide basic information about themselves, including their university acceptance, their proposed area of study, the funding gap they face, their future ambitions, and how long they have until graduation. This information helps 8B to score an applicant’s probability to afford a loan and make repayments in the future. Some students will not progress to the next stage.
Additional Documentation: In the event that a student meets the threshold for further consideration, additional information and documentation is requested from shortlisted students, including on how much funding they have secured (or are on track to secure) from their university and private sources to meet cost of attendance. 8B expects the student to present a truthful and accurate picture in their application. For instance, misrepresenting the cost of attendance will negatively impact the application. Supporting documentation will be reviewed closely to check whether a student meets 8B funding criteria.
Interview: Students who meet the funding criteria are invited for an interview with a member of 8B’s management team. At that point, students are also expected to provide reputational guarantors: persons who can vouch for a student’s character.
Approval: If students pass the interview stage, their university enrollment is verified, after which they are approved for a loan and receive terms of 8B financing. Applicants are encouraged to consider the terms carefully, as they include such details as origination fees and timeline of repayment. Those who accept the terms of their offer then sign a contract, after which funds are transferred directly to the university.
