I did my schooling in the interiors of  Arunachal Pradesh, and the only branch of a bank we had in the area was SBI, such is the reach of SBI bank with over 24000 branches across India. It is one of India's most prominent and trusted public banks and thus follows the government’s push for education passionately. SBI has many attractive education loan schemes that cater to students wishing to study both in India and abroad at a very affordable rate of interest. SBI has very flexible loan policies that certainly do help when in need.

Students usually approach SBI for a secured education loan for all the right reasons because an SBI education loan without collateral security can get them only up to 7.5 lakhs in an ideal situation and with collateral up to 1.5 crores. SBI has different education loan schemes for both in India and abroad cases and ideally, you are required to pledge collateral for an amount above 7.5 lakhs but if you've gotten yourself into one of the prestigious institutes in India then you may as well get up to 40 lakhs through SBI education loan without collateral.

The two main education loan schemes to which the majority of student's loan requirement falls under are the SBI global Ed-Vantage and SBI student loan scheme but the less talked about scheme i.e SBI scholar scheme is all about SBI noncollateral education loan with 100% financing. We will be discussing all three schemes focusing more on the SBI scholar scheme later in the article.

SBI Student Loan Scheme-

This scheme is for study in India cases where you can get up to 20 lakhs. Though you can get up to 7.5 lakhs through an SBI student loan without collateral, for an amount above 7.5 lakhs and under 20 lakhs you are required to pledge collateral to take a secured loan against it.

SBI Global Ed-Vantage Scheme-

This scheme is exclusively for abroad education, under this scheme you can avail from 7.5 lakhs to 1.5 crores. This is a secured loan which means you are required to pledge collateral of value more than your total loan requirement for a minimum loan margin. Under the SBI Global Ed-Vantage scheme, SBI keeps a loan margin of a minimum of 10% and covers up to 90% or less of your total loan requirement depending on the collateral value.

Acceptable collateral by banks for secured education loans-

  • Immovable property like house, flat, non-agricultural land and
  • Liquid security like Fixed deposits, Insurance policy(Term Insurance), and govt bonds.
  • Properties under municipal corporations are easily accepted by banks for an educational loan.

Here is an informative article on SBI education loans covering every aspect of both the schemes mentioned above.

SBI Scholar Loans Scheme-

This scheme is especially for meritorious Indian students who have secured a seat to Professional/Technical courses in Select Premier Institutions through the Entrance Test/Selection process.

Basically, SBI has four lists for institutions i.e AA list, A list, B list, and C list if in any you get admitted to, you can avail up to 40 lakhs through SBI education loan without collateral security

  1. The AA list consists of some top IIMs (Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Calcutta, Indore, etc) and there are a total of 13 institutes on the AA list for which you can get 40 lakhs SBI collateral free education loan.  
  2. On list A there are a total of 64 institutes including IIMs, IITs, BITS, etc for which you can get 20 lakhs SBI noncollateral education loan and 30 lakhs collateral education loan.
  3. For the 50 institutes on list B, you can get 20 lakhs through SBI student loan without collateral
  4. And there are a total of 92 institutes on list C, the limit for SBI collateral free education loan for list C institutes is just 7.5 lakhs but with collateral, you are eligible to get up to 30 lakhs.

Courses Covered

  • Regular full-time Degree/ Diploma Courses through entrance test/ selection process.
  • Full-time Executive Management Courses like PGPX
  • Part-time Graduate/ Post-Graduate Courses offered by Select Institutes

Expenses Covered

  • Fees payable to College/School/Hostel/Examination/ Library/ Laboratory fees
  • Purchase of Books
  • Caution deposit / building fund/ refundable deposit supported by Institution bills/ receipts [not to exceed 10% of the tuition fees for the entire course].
  • Travel expenses/expenses on an exchange program
  • Purchase of computer/laptop 

Loan Margin

  • No loan margin on amount of up to Rs. 4 lakhs
  • 5% on any amount above 4 lakhs up to 7.5 lakhs
  • No loan margin on the amount above 7.5 lakhs

Documentation Required for SBI Scholar Loans Scheme

  • Duly Filled Application Form
  • Mark sheet of 10th, 12th, Graduation (if needed), Entrance Exam Result
  • Proof of identity (Aadhaar card / driving license / passport / PAN/ any photo identity)
  • Proof of residence (Aadhaar card / driving license / passport / electricity bill / phone bill)
  • Proof of admission [ Offer Letter/ Admission Letter/ ID card if available]
  • Schedule of expenses for course
  • 2 Passport size photographs of Student / Co-borrower / Guarantor / Parent
  • Bank Account Statement for the last six months of Parent/ Guarantor / Co-borrower
  • PAN Card of the Student and Co-borrower 

Some salient features of the SBI Scholar Loans Scheme

  • 100% Financing through SBI education loan without collateral
  • Interest Rates – 6.85% to 8.15%
  • Zero Processing Fee
  • Quick sanction at Designated Campus Branch or more than 5000 Selected Branches all over the country
  • Repayment period of up to 15 years after Course Period + 12 months of the moratorium period

SBI scholar loan scheme is a great initiative by the SBI to finance students going to India's topmost universities with 100% financing through SBI education loan without collateral but for students going abroad, under SBI global Ed-Vantage scheme they are required to pledge collateral. Though there are lenders like private banks and NBFCs that provide education loans without collateral to students going abroad, approaching them can be a cumbersome task for students since it may consume a lot of their time. During this pandemic, it is not advised to step out for work that can be done from home and an education loan without collateral can be done online or digitally, you can reach out to WeMakeScholars as we work digitally, we get you your loan done at the best deal possible without you having to visit the branch more than 2 times.

Note: WeMakeScholars is an organization funded and supported by the Government of India that focuses on International Education finance. We are associated with 10+ public/Pvt banks/ NBFCs in India and help you get the best abroad education loan matching your profile. As this initiative is under the Digital India campaign, it’s free of cost. The organization has vast experience dealing with students going to various abroad education destinations like the US, Canada, UK, Australia, Germany, Sweden, Italy, China, France among others.