Earnest and Nova Credit Partner to Offer International Private Student Loans

Earnest, a low-interest student loan provider, and Nova Credit, a cross-border consumer credit bureau, have partnered to launch International Private Student Loans for students moving to the U.S. to pursue higher education.

International students at select U.S. schools are eligible for the loan program, which can pay for tuition, housing, living expenses and other education-related costs, Earnest said in a statement.

The loans are available for eligible international students from India, Mexico, Canada and South Korea who are pursuing a juris doctorate or masters degrees in business administration, law or science in engineering at select schools.

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Under the program, Earnest will use Nova Credit’s Credit Passport technology that allows borrowers to share their home-country credit information to generate an equivalent score and access Earnest’s loans without the need for a co-signer.

Demand for private student loans has grown

According to market research organization OpenDoors, there were nearly 950,000 foreign-borne students enrolled at U.S. colleges and universities for the 2021-2022 school year, representing about 4.7% of the total U.S. student population.

While about half of those students fund their education through personal savings, family funds or methods such as work-study programs, demand has grown for private student loans but access to these loans has been limited, Earnest said.

Last month, Nova Credit inked a deal with American Express to expand credit access to consumers who have moved to the U.S. from Brazil, Dominican Republic, Kenya and Nigeria. The credit bureau’s other activity includes a partnership with HSBC that provides the bank with global access to its cross-border credit data.

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