Frequently Asked Questions Got questions? We've got answers!

To ensure that our educational loan program will be around to help future students for many more years, JELF only provides interest-free loans (as opposed to scholarships). As each student loan is repaid, the funds recycles to help future students in need. For other resources for paying for college and beyond, please check out JELF’s Financial Resources Page.

JELF provides “last dollar” loans, allowing students to borrow with no interest for the final dollars needed to actually get to school. Students apply to JELF after applying for all other student loans and scholarships for which they qualify.  Further, since different schools have different costs associated, students have already made their school choice before JELF can determine how much they still need.

For these reasons, JELF applicants must fill out the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) and plan to accept all financial aid for which they qualify, including the Federal Direct Subsidized and Unsubsidized Loans (also know as a Stafford Loan).  This loan, which is awarded to anyone who completes FAFSA, is a low interest ((as opposed to high interest or 0% interest like JELF) student loan with a set amount per year of school.

JELF’s “last dollar” loans are designed to provide under $10,000 annually, with a $4,900 average loan in 2022.  Since each student’s need is personally determined based on that student’s true last dollar need, there is no ‘set amount.’

There is no application fee to apply for a JELF loan. Our loans are totally free — no fee and no interest! The only thing a recipient will ever pay back is the money they actually borrow.

JELF serves students who identify as Jewish, which is represented by lineage or personal choice. Each applicant is given the opportunity to explain their religious identification in their application.

All students must be registered full-time at a U.S.-accredited, degree-seeking college, university or  CTE (Career & Technical Education) Program / vocational school.

Students must have legal residence in JELF’s five-state region.

While the majority of JELF’s loan recipients are between the ages of 18 – 25, there is no age cap to apply for a loan.

Each JELF recipient must demonstrate need through a combination of financial documentation and details provided during a personal interview.

JELF serves students from the five-state region of Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia (excluding metro DC). This five-state region was formed through JELF’s inception as the Hebrew Orphans’ Home (HOH) in 1889, which served B’nai B’rith District #5, this same five-state area.

To qualify,  students must provide proof of residency in one of these fives states for at least one (1) year immediately preceding the application deadline. JELF verifies a student’s legal address through legal documentation, including driver’s license and tax return.

While students must provide legal residency in one of these five states, they may attend the U.S.-accredited school of their choice.

JELF funds students to attend the U.S.-accredited school of their choice.

JELF applicants must be full-time students attending a university, graduate or vocational program leading to a degree or professional certificate. JELF welcomes applications from undergraduate and graduate students, as well as students who are pursuing a CTE (Career & Technical Education) Program or vocational school.

JELF loans are based on financial need, not a student’s GPA.  In order to be eligible (or stay eligible) for funding, all loan recipients must prove to be in good academic standing each semester.

JELF loans are open to students attending U.S.-accredited universities, vocational or CTE (Career & Technical Education) programs. If a school is eligible for FAFSA, it also meets JELF’s criteria. While most universities outside the U.S. are not FAFSA-eligible, JELF has funded students to attend several schools and programs outside the U.S. such as the American Medical Program at Tel Aviv University in Israel which is accredited through NYU. In order to find out if a school qualifies for support through FAFSA, please contact the individual university or program.

The purpose of the personal interview, which involves both the student as well as their cosigner(s), is to learn even more about the applicant and their need.  Financial data, such as tax returns, only tell a piece of the story and this information is often over one year old. This interview will cover personal questions about the student’s selected educational program, professional aspirations, family dynamics, current financial situation including possible debts, extenuating expenses and more. Click here for more details or to prepare for a JELF interview.

JELF interviews are conducted with the utmost of confidentiality.  In most cases, the Local JELF Administrator (LJA) is not an employee of JELF but rather a social worker or like-minded professional contracted through a local Jewish agency.  LJAs serve as part of the intake process only and are not involved in funding decisions. After the interview, all of the information is presented anonymously to JELF’s Loan Review Committee along with a summary of the application.

This is not a problem!  As long as an applicant has legal residency within JELF’s five-state region, JELF is happy to consider them.  Many applicants come from smaller Jewish communities around the region and we will work to ensure that a Local JELF Administrator (LJA) is assigned to each student regardless of their location.  Please contact JELF’s Central Office for further assistance.

Once awarded a JELF loan, both the student and their cosigner must sign a Promissory Note accepting and agreeing to the amount. Once JELF has both fully executed Promissory Notes, JELF will deposit the student’s loan check through ACH (automatic bank deposit) after bank account verification.  If awarded funds for the full academic year, students receive 1/2 of their loan award in August and the other 1/2 in December.

Yes.  When filling out the application, most applicants do not yet know their total financial resources.  If a student feels that they no longer need to borrow funds from JELF after being awarded their loan, they do not have to accept the loan.  Further, JELF appreciates a student or family kindly withdrawing their application from consideration as soon as they discover they no longer need the loan.  Students can always reapply for subsequent school years as needed, should they discover a gap in funding.

No, in order to determine a student’s need, JELF subtracts a student’s total financial resources (including state, school and federal aid as well as possible family contribution) from the total cost to attend school for that academic year.

JELF also compiles a summary of each student’s need using  a combination of the SAR (Student Aid Report) supplied through FAFSA,  applicant and/or parents’ tax returns  and the additional financial information provided on the loan application and during the in-person interview.

JELF loan reviewers evaluate all the information from the loan application and supporting documents on an annual basis because we recognize that financial circumstances and school selected / living costs can all change from year to year.

JELF takes both the total cost of the student’s education as well as the family’s total resources into account. We have found that defining need is very personal and different for different families – based not only on household income but also the number of individuals in a household, as well as a medley of other factors related to health or employment that may directly alter what funds exist for a student’s higher education.

Learn more here about JELF’s process for determining each applicant’s loan amount. 

JELF loans are awarded directly to the student applicant, not their family or the school they are attending. It is up to each student to determine how to best utilize these funds throughout the semester.

No, JELF does not require Parent PLUS loans. However, if a student’s gap is considerably larger than JELF’s average loan size that school year, JELF may have to tell a student or family that they need even more financial aid before JELF is able to assist.  JELF loans are intended to be ‘last dollar,’ typically covering everything from food to books and healthcare and more.

The difference between a dependent and independent student depends on whether the student is relying on any parental support.

A dependent student is under the age of 25 and is claimed on his or her parents’ income tax form(s) for the previous year.

An independent student is 25+ or, if under 25, is not claimed on his or her parents’ income tax form and receives no parental support. If a student is independent and under 25, JELF will require further verification.

While JELF does not charge interest or any fees, we have a responsibility to ensure that every dollar loaned is repaid in full. JELF therefore requires a cosigner for each loan made.

A cosigner can be anyone who is willing to be legally responsible for repayment if the loan recipient defaults. If something happens and the borrower is not able to repay the loan, a cosigner is legally responsible to repay the loan. All JELF loan recipients must have at least one valid cosigner who:

• resides in the U.S.
• can provide tax returns, W-2s, and photo ID
• is not an applicant’s spouse

While a student’s cosigner is typically their parent, legal guardian or relative, there are other examples of cosigner relationships.  All cosigners must complete JELF’s cosigner form (at the appropriate time and after receiving email instructions to do so), including all required documentation.  In some cases, a second cosigner may be required.

JELF keeps all applicants’ identities as confidential as possible. Only the appropriate JELF staff and Local JELF Administrator (LJA) who interviews the applicant and cosigner will know that someone has applied for a loan.

We are very sensitive to the issues that cause individuals to seek financial assistance, and therefore ensure our privacy of applicants and cosigners by assigning each application a non-identifying code. Neither JELF loan reviewers or other staff members have access to an applicant’s name or gender.

JELF never sells (or gives) lists of loan applicants to outside parties and will only disclose the name of a recipient with the recipient’s permission.

All of the information that JELF collects from students and cosigners runs through our secure email platform and is maintained through our private, secure server and CRM software. We make every effort to ensure that private and confidential information is properly maintained while in use and deleted after it is no longer necessary. If JELF ever has reason to believe that our data has been breached at any point, we will inform all of those affected as soon as possible. In six decades of servicing educational loans, we are fortunate to have never been subject to a data breach.