REPAYMENT project

Evelyn Johnson

16.11.2025

The number one reason why student loans are actually more than anything other than personal loans is how they are repaid: with a student loan, the monthly payments are made, until you learn, only on the interest on the loan. After graduation, you (or the main debtor) will have from 6 to 12 months (the grace period provided for you to search for a job) before you start monthly payments. After that, your student loan will need to be repaid in the direction of four to five years (usually). With a personal loan, on the other hand, you start paying almost immediately.

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Duty

Before signing up for a student loan, make sure you are aware of all the bureaucratic red tape associated with liability. These criteria differ from bank to bank. For example, student loans through Nedbank and Standard Bank must be made in the name of the student applying for the loan, while Absa and FNB allow guardians or sponsors to sign loans for bad credit, most incurring repayment obligations. After that, they are listed as the “primary debtor”.

Guarantee

In the event that you decide to freeze a loan that will be issued in your name (perhaps the interest rate is lower), it is possible for you to require that someone (a parent or a sponsor) put his signature on a guarantee – an agreement that says, in fact, what this is the person who will make the payments if you are unable to. You will most likely need this contract if you are unemployed and not receiving income.

INTEREST RATES

Loans for self-employed with no proof of income in South Africa have significantly lower interest rates than individual loans. On average, home loan interest rates start at 15% and student loans start at 10.5%. Student loan interest rates are driven by several factors, such as the year you are applying for and the type of certification you are trying to get. But you have to take it into consideration, don’t let them hold you back from your perfect career.