“Dear Customer, your loan options are as follows: Secured. Unsecured. Without Collateral. With Cosigner”, Aadesh read aloud from the computer screen. He was not familiar with any of these options, and was expected to choose one.

Even with a 50% scholarship from the University of Texas, Aadesh was still in the initial stages of financial planning. He had planned every day of every month until receiving his acceptance letter, and had never really thought about life after this milestone. Thoughts of his upcoming visa interview loomed over his head. Aadesh wondered how he could pay his fees when he hadn’t considered a foreign education loan yet.

Overwhelmed by the various options of available loans, he decided to do what he did best—Plan.
Day 1-Day 2 Research on educational loans and speak to a finance advisor.
Day 3-Day 7 Choose a viable option and submit paperwork…

As he browsed the loans on different websites, Aadesh noticed how all the websites offered loans on a similar basis. He glanced at option 1, USD Loan with US Cosigner. After understanding what a cosigner meant, he realised he didn’t have a cosigner who was a permanent resident. He scrolled down to option 2. USD Loan- Unsecured. Though he fulfilled the additional requirement of good academic credentials, the interest rate seemed quite high. It was time for option 3. INR Loan with Collateral. This seemed like a viable option. Moderate interest rates, 10 year repayment period, he decided to shortlist this option.

Option 4 was INR Loan Without Collateral. Aadesh was surprised that this kind of loan existed, he had never heard about it. The advantage of this option was that he didn’t have to worry about placing their ancestral property as a collateral. But the major drawback was the high rate of interest. He decided to go forth with option 3.
But then he realized how option 3 stemmed out into another set of options, each having their own choices. Aadesh decided that it was time to consult his unofficial financial advisor- his father. He was well aware that they would require a professional financial advisor at some point, who would recommend the most suitable loan option for him.

He read through the entire plan and was ready to implement it. Content with his plan and ready to discuss finances with his father, Aadesh thought to himself, ”University of Texas, here I come!”