Hungarians across the border are also eligible for the Student Loan1, said Péter Magyar, the newly appointed CEO of Hungarian student loan company, Diákhitel Központ Zrt. (Student Loan Center Ltd.), on Kossuth Rádió’s Good Morning, Hungary! program.
Magyar said that more than 20,000 Hungarian students are studying at Transylvanian universities, but only a few dozen apply for student loans. The application requires evidence of a valid student’s legal status in a higher educational institution and a Hungarian bank account, both papers translated into Hungarian.
He emphasized that the goal is to help young people in Hungary and in the whole Carpathian Basin to be able to study in higher education irrespective of their financial, familial, or other circumstances.
Magyar also recalled that within the framework of the Student Loan1 scheme, students can apply for a maximum of seventy thousand HUF per month for up to five months per semester with a 1.99% interest rate. The Student Loan2 scheme is free of interest and 20% of the eligible students who are enrolled in self-financed studies take advantage of the opportunity.
According to the Diákhitel CEO, it is also possible to apply for both student loans. This requires a valid student status, and students have to start paying back the loans four months after graduation – however, it can be prepaid at any time free of charge. Magyar added that according to their data, students have no problem repaying the loan.
Magyar also mentioned the new loan scheme for language learning, which will be available from October 1, 2019. Under this program, people can claim a one-time payment of 500,000 HUF, which should be repaid within five years. In the case of a successful language exam, the initial interest rate of 1.99% becomes zero percent.
featured photo: Zsolt Szigetváry/MTI