Let’s face it: every young Nigeria would rather be elsewhere than in Nigeria. Student visas have proven the surest path out of the country to Europe and US. But thanks to ballooning exchange rates, tuition fees have become unaffordable! Here’s a student loan company that can help you get a student visa for virtually nothing.
Japa: How It Started and How It is Going
According to a now world-famous stat by the African Polling Institute with support from the Ford Foundation, about 69% of Nigerians said they would relocate out of the country with their families if given the chance. In 2019, this same poll reported the stat to be 39%. The reason for this is too numerous to list.
Word on the street is that the surest way to move abroad in 2024 is through student visas. In July 2022, the Association of Nigerian Students in Europe revealed that Europe alone has more than three million Nigerians enrolled in different higher institutions of learning. Let that sink it.
According to another oft-quoted stat, about 89.87% of Nigerian youths prefer to study in a university outside the country. Student visas allow one to get a good education and japa at the same time. Well, that is for those who can afford it.
This Is Where Mpower Student Loans Come In
Mpower Financing offers student loans for international undergraduate and graduate students to help you study in either US or Canada. They allow you to borrow up to US$100,000, to cover both your school fees and living expenses. You repay over a period of 10 years. You are not required to have someone co-sign your loan or hand in a collateral.
Mpower Financing was founded in 2014 by two students both who faced difficulties financing their education in the US. They founded the company specifically with international students in mind who are unable to finance their studies. The federal government in both the US and Canada give loans to their citizens to help them finance their studies.
Mpower Financing loans are only available in the US and Canada and across 400 universities and colleges.
Key Features of Mpower Financing
- No Co-Signer/Collateral Is Required: Mpower does not require you to have someone co-sign your loan or hand in a collateral. Seriously, they don’t ask for any of that stuff. It’s just you and your dreams.
- 10-Year Term: You repay the loan and interest monthly for a period of ten years. For instance, for a $10,000 loan, at an APR of 12.48%, you pay $146.28 monthly for 120 months. This is a no-brainer.
- Interest-Only Payments While In School. While in school and for 6 months after your graduation, you start making payments, after 45 days. These payments, however, will be interest-only and will be deducted from your loan. So it’s no bother.
- No Pre-Payment Penalties: If you hit it big and want to repay your loans ahead of time, you don’t have to about extra charges for paying off the loan early.
- Fixed Interest Rate: The interest rate for the loans are fixed at 12.99% for the lifetime of the loan. This means your rate won’t change and your payment will remain the same even in a rising interest rate environment.
- They Offer Admission and Visa Support for International Students: The loan is specifically designed for international students. They will provide visa support for you among other things at no cost. They guide their students through the visa application stage, by holding webinars featuring immigration attorneys and former visa officers.
- Global Payment: You can repay your loan from anywhere, anytime.
- Career Hookups: They’ll even help you polish your CV and maybe land a job. Talk about going the extra mile!
- Credit Score Booster: If you’re thinking of sticking around in the US or Canada, which I bet you are, this loan can help you build that all-important credit score.
How Mpower Works
- Eligibility: You are required to be enrolled or accepted into a program at one of more than 400 eligible universities and colleges in the U.S. or Canada. If you are not enrolled, you only need to get admitted and afterwards start your application. Mpower will guide you through this. To be sure, you must be a student—parent loans aren’t available. You need to be in your last two years of school or just starting a one- or two-year program. This means that Mpower loans are best for masters programs.
- Documentation: The application typically requires you to submit proof of admission, personal identification, and information about your program.
- Loan Offer: Mpower will contact within 3 days, documentation is approved with a conditional offer detailing the amount, interest rates, and repayment terms. Afterwards, you will upload additional documentation, watch an introduction video and complete a short assessment. Afterwards, they will review the documentation and make you a final offer. Upon your request, they will also provide you a visa support letter.
- Disbursement: The loan funds are disbursed directly to the International Student Office of your school. Sorry, but you don’t get the money yourself, which is a good thing so you can invest it directly into your studies.
If you’re considering japaing but lack the finances to do so, you can consider Mpower. When it comes to getting a visa, Mpower is particularly effective. The reasons is because visa officers prefer students to have financial statements and loan documents that are denominated in U.S. dollars, issued by a U.S. firm and are under the student’s name (rather than that of a parent or relative). MPOWER loan documents fulfill all of these criteria.
Also, Nigerian students with Mpower loans have a 67% visa application success rate, which beats that of most agents in the business.
Gain More Insights
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