Higher education is not always affordable, especially if you want to study at one of the most prominent colleges or universities in the country. The cost of education in India has gone up exponentially over the years and tends to rise further as you go up the rungs of the education ladder. The cost of education in foreign universities is even more expensive. The cost of education for international students at public national universities in the United States, for instance, has risen more than 160% in the last two decades. Therefore, you are quite likely to need an education loan to study abroad or even in India.
Availing of an education loan is not a straightforward road. There are many finer points to it that you need to take into consideration, such as loan tenure, interest rates, processing fees, the actual cost of education, and so on. Moreover, banks are not the only ones who lend money for financing education. Several Non-Banking Finance Companies (NBFCs) have come up in India that offer easy financing options for education. While a nationalized bank may take up to a month to grant a loan, NBFCs generally offer quite a speedy road for financing education.
The key difference between the education loans of a bank and an NBFC lies in their overall application process and paperwork. While there are definite benefits of taking an education loan from a bank, especially in terms of tax benefits, it does require a lot of effort from the applicant to get their loan approved. There is a long list of documents required by most banks for education loans, and the application process in general moves at a slow pace. It can take almost a month to have your loan approved by a bank. The lengthy, tiresome application process only adds to the stress of the student availing to study at the college of their dreams.
On the other hand, NBFCs have a much more flexible and fast loan application process. These organizations excel in working under shorter timelines, and can typically get loan decisions communicated within just 3-4 days. NBFCs streamline the loan application process, reducing a lot of unnecessary hassles and headaches for the students.
Course flexibility
NBFCs are comparatively much more relaxed when it comes to the course types and loan for education to a wider selection of academic programs and courses across the planet. If you choose to study certain innovative programs rather than the mainstream courses, then taking up an education loan from an NBFC would be your best option.
Taking up a loan
Broadly speaking, no matter whether you take up an education loan from an NBFC or a bank, it can ultimately be considered to be an investment for your brighter future. It shall allow you to pursue quality higher education, and subsequently create a path to becoming more employable and having lucrative prospects. Both banks and NBFCs have their pros and cons, however, the popularity of the latter is steadily climbing owing to its quick service.