Emergency loans provide fast cash for students

"No- questions- asked" $400 loans are currently being offered by Texas A&M University-Commerce to students in need of financial assistance.

Upon application and approval, the loan will be distributed to the student without restraint on how the money is managed or where it is spent. The only stipulation is that the loans must be repaid by the Nov. 21 deadline or the student will be charged a $25 late fee on top of the $5 processing fee added to the loan after disbursement.

"This is generally intended for books and supplies but we have no control with what students do with the money," Bursar Charles Robnett said.

Robnett approximates that A&M- Commerce lends from $100,000 -$200,000 each semester to almost 500 individual students. These unsecured loans are being disbursed to students without stipulation to use for academic purposes, and the administration has no agenda planned to monitor that these funds are used properly. One anonymous senior said she would consider "taking it to the casino in Oklahoma and double it at the tables" after she was told there was no accountability standard in practice.

Undergraduate student Lacy S., who withheld her last name, praised the school for offering this loan option.

"I had a car payment and bills to pay that I couldn't because I had not received my FAFSA funds yet," Lacy S. said. She adds, "That $400 helped me stay above water until the money came in, and I do not have to repay it for a couple months."

There are financial penalties resulting from missing the Nov. 21 deadline as well as academic punishment. Students "will accrue a 5% interest charge after the semester if it has not been paid" Robnett said. Along with the interest accruing monthly, an academic hold will also be placed on transcripts and course registration in the succeeding semesters.

Students do not receive counseling about whether or not the emergency loan is the smartest avenue to consider.

Robnett addresses the issue of non-repayment by stating that it "doesn't mean you have to borrow the full $400." He suggests that a student should be aware of their ability to repay the loan and that a smaller loan might be a better option.

"If you only need $100 then request that amount; we are pretty flexible," Robnett said. "If you can't pay it by the deadline, we will work with students on a case by case basis and do what we can to help."

Loan eligibility requires a student to be in good academic standing and to meet the GPA requirements for undergraduate and graduate students: 2.0/3.0, respectively.  

"The biggest misconception about this loan is that students think it is based on financial aid, but it is not; this is simply a loan from the university itself," Robnett said.

Robnett also said he is uncertain where the money for this program initially came from and that it began before anyone currently in the Bursar's office was working at the university/

"The emergency loan fund is completely separate from student tuition," Robnett said. "This comes from an endowment fund, it pre-dates everyone here and no one here is quite sure where it came from or how long it has been around."

The revenue generated from the loans is placed back into the endowment along with the repaid principle.

Information on applying for the emergency loan can be found on the university's website or at the Bursar's office in the McDowell Administration Building.