Funding for MS in US is probably the biggest hurdle for prospective students. Most students generally prefer an education loan over other funding options because of its many advantages - You don’t have to worry about foreign transactions and a secured loan from a bank in your home country shows you ties to the country which may help your case during the visa interview.

In India, getting an education loan at reasonable interest rate is a big hassle especially if it is a secured loan from a public sector bank. Fortunately, there are a few ways to help make this process smoother. I received assistance from WeMakeScholars, an initiative funded and supported by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, Government of India as part of the Digital India campaign. It is good to see such initiatives considering the sorry state of public sector banks in India. Sahib Khurana, my loan officer from WeMakeScholars, guided and helped me through the entire process to get the loan sanctioned. In addition, WeMakeScholars also promise to help the students if they face any issues during the loan disbursement process.

While education loan can cover majority of the expenses (approx 80%), there will still be some expenses that will need to be covered by the student. Therefore make proper financial planning and keep sufficient liquid funds for any emergencies or payments not covered by the loan.