Candidates attend the admission selection festival organized by Tuoi Tre newspaper in Ho Chi Minh City - Photo: QUANG DINH
Currently, students in difficult circumstances can borrow preferential loans according to the Government 's policy from student credit funds or from preferential loan programs of universities.
Borrow from Social Policy Bank
The current student credit policy is applied to support students in difficult circumstances to help cover the costs of studying and living during their time at school, including: tuition, living expenses...
According to regulations, in addition to orphaned students, the subjects eligible for loans include students belonging to one of the following groups: poor households, near-poor households, with an average standard of living according to the law; students whose families have financial difficulties due to accidents, illnesses, natural disasters, fires, and epidemics during their studies.
The representative of the household is the person who directly borrows the loan and is responsible for repaying the debt to the Social Policy Bank. The loan conditions for new students are to have a notice of admission or a confirmation of admission from the school.
The Social Policy Bank stipulates a specific loan amount for students, up to 4 million VND/month/student. From the date the student finishes the 12-month course as prescribed, the borrower must repay the principal and interest of the loan for the first time.
Borrowers can repay the loan early without incurring a penalty for early repayment. The preferential loan interest rate for students is 0.65%/month. The overdue interest rate is calculated at 130% of the lending interest rate.
The loan term is the period of time calculated from the date the borrower begins receiving the loan until the date of full repayment of the debt (principal and interest) stated in the credit contract. The loan term includes the loan disbursement period and the debt repayment period.
Recently, Ho Chi Minh City has also assigned the task to the State Bank of Vietnam, Ho Chi Minh City branch, the City Youth Union and relevant departments and branches to advise on the project "Supporting students to access credit capital to serve their study needs in Ho Chi Minh City in the period of 2024 - 2028". The City Youth Union is the focal unit, taking the lead in implementing this project.
The form of loan is unsecured (no collateral required). This project aims to provide financial support to students who are not policy beneficiaries of the Social Policy Bank. These agencies will verify the actual needs, compile a list and send it to commercial banks for loan approval.
The Ho Chi Minh City National University Development Fund has coordinated with banks to implement a 0% interest unsecured loan program for students. The bank is the direct lender to students, the fund guarantees the loans and pays interest to students from corporate funding.
Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Dinh Tu (Chief of Office, Ho Chi Minh City National University)
0% interest unsecured loan
According to Associate Professor Dr. Nguyen Dinh Tu - Chief of Office of Ho Chi Minh City National University, the program to support students to borrow money to study at this university is still continuing. The special feature of this program compared to other current student credit funds is that the Ho Chi Minh City National University Development Fund will coordinate with banks to implement a loan program for students with unsecured loans.
The beneficiaries of this fund are studious students with difficult circumstances who are studying in long-term, full-time training programs at training facilities of Ho Chi Minh City National University.
Mr. Tu said: "The Ho Chi Minh City National University Development Fund has coordinated with the bank to implement a 0% interest unsecured loan program for students. The bank is the unit that directly lends to students, the fund guarantees the loan and pays interest to students from the funding source of the enterprise.
After four years of implementation, 320 students were approved for loan support. The program aims to support students with difficult circumstances to cover part of their tuition fees, ensuring that students do not have to drop out of school due to their inability to pay tuition fees.
Accordingly, students can borrow a maximum amount equal to the tuition fee for the first semester of this school year, but not exceeding 20 million VND/semester. The loan period is calculated from the date the student receives the first loan amount until the date of full repayment of principal and interest, if any.
Students must pay the principal for the first time immediately after having a job and income, but no later than 12 months from the end date of the course (including cases where they do not have a stable job).
Specifically, the maximum loan term is eight years and is determined by the following formula: loan term = principal repayment grace period + repayment term.
The principal repayment grace period is the remaining study time of the student in the training course (maximum 5 years) + 1 year (from the time the student graduates). The repayment period (maximum 2 years) is calculated from the date the borrower must first repay the principal to the date of full repayment of principal and interest, if any.
For students participating in the program for the first time, the loan condition is that they are regular students with a first degree from Ho Chi Minh City National University.
Candidates learn about admission information at the choice day organized by Tuoi Tre newspaper in Hanoi - Photo: DANH KHANG
Preferential loans from schools
Currently, some other universities in Ho Chi Minh City also have programs to support students with financial difficulties to borrow money for their studies.
According to Dr. Phan Hong Hai - Principal of Ho Chi Minh City University of Industry, every year the school always fully implements policies on tuition exemption and reduction, scholarships to encourage learning and offers many scholarships to support students to overcome difficulties and excel in their studies.
"In addition, the school is working with banks to establish preferential loan funds for the school's students. In the upcoming 2025-2026 school year, the school plans to continue to spend about 70 billion VND on scholarships for students. All students of the school will receive maximum support to study with peace of mind," Mr. Hai affirmed.
Ho Chi Minh City University of Foreign Languages and Information Technology has also launched a "Student Support Fund" with a total value of 13 billion VND/year. Students in difficult circumstances will be considered to "borrow money" from this fund to pay tuition without having to pay interest.
The term of the tuition support loan is calculated from the date the student begins to receive the money until the date of final repayment of the borrowed amount in each stage. The maximum term for final repayment of student loans is two years from the date the student completes the school's standard full-term study plan.
Support 1,000 interest-free loans/semester
Mr. Tran Ba Duong, Chairman of the Board of Representatives of Phu Tho - Polytechnic Alumni (BKA) for the 2024-2028 term, said that BKA's operation plan for the next term will include many great support policies for students and the school. In the first term, BKA established the "Bach Khoa Scholarship and Development Support Fund". The fund has mobilized a total of 22.7 billion VND, of which 7.4 billion VND was raised at the faculties/centers.
In the past 241 semesters, BKA's loan guarantee and interest support program for students paying tuition fees guaranteed 406 loans with a total cost of VND9,140 billion. Notably, six students met the conditions to convert their loans into scholarships, including five scholarships worth 100% of the loan and one scholarship worth 50% of the loan.
"The fund supports students with 0% interest loans with the view of building a spirit of independence for students and not letting their studies be affected by tuition fees. In the last five pilot semesters, the fund supported 344 students with a total amount of nearly 4 billion VND. In the second term, we will continue to implement and expand the loan target with the goal of 1,000 loans/semester, a total amount of over 15 billion VND," said Mr. Duong.
Borrow 50 million VND/school year, interest rate 2%
On the afternoon of July 25, Ho Chi Minh City National University and Asia Commercial Joint Stock Bank (ACB) signed a cooperation agreement to implement the program "ACB accompanies students of Ho Chi Minh City National University", supporting students with tuition loans.
With a total limit of up to 50 billion VND, the program will be piloted in the 2025-2026 school year, applicable to full-time undergraduate students at member universities of Ho Chi Minh City National University.
Each student can borrow up to 30 million VND/semester (maximum 50 million VND/school year), no collateral required, no proof of income required, and simple, transparent procedures.
During the study period, students only pay 2% interest per year; the 3.5% interest difference is funded by the Ho Chi Minh City National University Development Fund through support from businesses. After graduation, students continue to enjoy preferential base interest rates, without margin.
TRAN HUYNH
Source: https://tuoitre.vn/vay-tien-hoc-dai-hoc-ra-sao-20250731092707778.htm
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