College Access Loan (Texas Residents)
The fixed interest rate for 2023-2024 is 5.85% for loans initiated on or after September 1, 2023.
The College Access Loan is available from the state of Texas for certain students who are Texas residents. You must have submitted a FAFSA or TASFA.
Eligibility: The student will be the borrower, and traditional undergraduate student will require a credit-worthy cosigner to qualify. Spouses are not eligible to cosign on this loan.
Effective September 1, 2023, the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB) is required to calculate the final loan amount based on a student's "manageable debt" for the borrower's program of study on College Access Loan (CAL) applications. See TAC, Section 22.49(c)
All educational loan debt is considered in the manageable dept calculation, therefore, the CAL application may be denied or the amount approved by THECB may be less than what was initially applied for.
Favorable Credit Evaluation Requirements
Students or cosigners must:
- have an Experian Vantage score of 650 or higher;
- not have public records such as tax liens or bankruptcy proceedings;
- have a minimum of four credit tradelines; excluding student loans or authorized user accounts;
- not have defaulted on any federal or private education loans.
In line with financial industry practice, Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board reports account obligations to the credit reporting agencies. The reporting is at the loan level, with each loan reported as a tradeline. Cosigners are equally responsible for the repayment of the loan if the student fails to meet his or her repayment obligation.
Loan Terms: Effective 09/01/2023, the CAL has a fixed interest rate of 5.85%. Repayment begins 6 months after the date you (the student) are no longer enrolled at least half-time (or you graduate). No origination fee will be assessed for all approved borrowers; an Experian VantageScore of 650 required for approval. Balances under $30,000 have a ten-year repayment period; balances of $30,000 or more are paid over twenty years. Postponements of loan repayment and income-sensitive or graduated repayment schedules are available.
For information regarding using these funds for summer school, please see summer financial aid.
Important: If you will be applying for a CAL loan for summer as well as a CAL for fall/spring, you must wait for a minimum of 2 weeks between these applications. (See the summer financial aid page for more details regarding summer financing.)
Processing time on state loan programs is approximately 3-4 weeks.