What is an entrance interview?

Entrance interviews for student loans

Everyone knows about job interviews. They’re sometimes scary and intimidating, but they can surprise and delight you. Job interviews are a lot like entrance interviews for students about to dip into their first private student loan or federal student loan.

Basically, the person on the other side of the table wants to make sure you understand the company, your responsibilities, and your rights. They don’t want any surprises and neither do you.

The same thing holds true for entrance interviews with student loan lenders. It’s important that they know you understand the implications of accepting a student loan.

Before you sign on the dotted line, the lender has to make sure that you’re not entering into a legal contract blindly and that you accept and understand the consequences of default, should that happen.

Likewise, they want to make sure you understand what a grace period is, your various repayment options, how interest rates work, and any other policies and procedures that could affect how you pay off your loan.

Relax! You don’t have to wear a suit and tie for this one. Most entrance interviews can be completed online or through a simple phone call. However, just because the process is informal, doesn’t mean the process isn’t important.