About Meritize
We know you are more than your credit score, and we believe your past achievements are an important indicator of your potential. That’s why Meritize looks beyond FICO and uses your previous academic or military achievements to enhance your credit evaluation and potentially improve your loan options.
Unlike most lenders, Meritize goes beyond just looking at your FICO score and considers your academic or military achievements to enhance your credit evaluation and potentially improve your loan options. Even students who may lack a co-borrower can improve their loan options by sharing their past merits.
You can call us at 833-MERIT-4U (833-637-4848) or email us at[emailprotected].
To see a list of the states we are licensed in, clickhere.
To see our Privacy Policy, clickhere.
- We never sell your information to third parties.
- We practice fair lending in accordance with state and federal laws.
- We ask for your most recent transcript, military documents, or career information to potentially improve your credit evaluation and loan terms. It will not be shared.
- We may use aggregated, non-identifiable user information to track trends for data research and publishing purposes. Any information used for research and publishing purposes is completely anonymized.
- For more information, read ourPrivacy Policy.
Apply for a Loan
If you know which program you want to attend, you can access the Meritize loan applicationhere. If you don’t know what program you’d like to attend, use theMeritize Connecttool to learn more about the options available to you. Through Meritize Connect, you can apply for funding directly and get connected to programs to learn more.
Checking your loan options online will not impact your credit score. When you check your rate to see what offer(s) you may qualify for, we perform a soft inquiry on your credit report, which won’t impact your credit score. Other creditors won’t be able to view soft inquiries since they can only be seen by you. Once you’ve selected the loan option that’s best for you, you’ll be asked to complete an application and to enter additional information. Once your application is complete we perform a hard inquiry on your credit report which may impact your credit score. We will let you know during the application process at what point your credit score might be impacted.
You must be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident to apply for a Meritize loan.
Having a co-borrower can potentially improve your loan options. Because Meritize considers your academic, military, or work achievements, you get credit for your merit and could be approved without a co-borrower.
Meritize pre-approves our school partners. If your school is not currently a partner, let us knowhere.
You can also speak with your school about becoming a Meritize partner, which can increase access to student funding.
Call us at 833-MERIT-4U (833-637-4848) or email[emailprotected].
To accept your loan offer, either accept within the application, or reply back to the email you received from[emailprotected]with the subject line “Congratulations from Meritize.” If you are having trouble finding this email, please check your junk/spam folder. If you have any further questions, call us at 833-MERIT-4U (833-637-4848) or email[emailprotected].
93% of Meritize applicants will receive a decision at the time of application. For applicants that require additional information, a loan decision will be made within two business days after Meritize receives all requested information to complete the application. A completed application includes your merit documents or confirmation that you do not plan to include these with your application.
Yes. If your loan is declined, you’ll receive a notice via email to help you understand the reason for your denial. Once you have addressed the issues listed on your credit report, we encourage you to reapply.
Your application will be sent to the school for an enrollment verification, or a certification of your loan application details, such as your start date, loan amount, and expected graduation date.
After your school completes your enrollment verification, you will receive your final loan documents and disclosures from Meritize, and we will disburse the funds to the school. Disbursem*nts occur on Fridays, with the exception of the weeks of July 4, Thanksgiving, and between Christmas and New Years.
Merit Documents
Merit documents are records from your academic or military history.
Meritize has a proprietary credit evaluation that takes your previous experience and gives you financial credit for it. We look beyond your FICO score at your merit documents to potentially give you better loan terms.
If possible, please submit your merit document with your online application. If you applied and did not include your merit document, please send it to[emailprotected].
Meritize accepts transcripts in English. Your transcript can be from a country other than the U.S. if it is in English with detailed descriptions of classes and grades.
In some cases, a student cannot be approved for a Meritize loan without merit information.
A student may be asked to provide merit information in the application and may subsequently be asked to provide corresponding merit documentation.
Not all applicants will be asked to provide merit information. Each applicant is subject to a soft credit check at the time of application. After the soft credit check has been completed, a student may be asked to provide merit information.
Meritize loan products do have both underwriting and credit requirements. Merit information is evaluated in addition to those underwriting and credit requirements.
About Your Loan
Interest begins to accrue once money is disbursed to your school. Interest will accrue on your loan while you are in school, even if you select to defer making payments until after you complete your program.
Meritize calculates interest at a simple daily rate and a portion of the interest accrues every day.
Call us at 833-MERIT-4U (833-637-4848) or email[emailprotected].
Call us at 833-MERIT-4U (833-637-4848) or email[emailprotected].
If you withdraw from your school, please notify us as soon as possible by calling 833-MERIT-4U (833-637-4848) or emailing[emailprotected].
Pay Back Your Loan
MOHELA is our servicing partner. You will manage and pay your loan through MOHELA and can log in at meritize.mohela.com.MOHELA is a student loan servicer with more than 30 years of experience working with students and families. They are among the 10 largest student loan servicers in the nation.
Meritize Loans offer fully deferred payment options to allow you to focus on your education and not make payments until after you finish your training. You can also make interest-only or full payments on your loan while in school. It’s your choice.
Yes, you can set up autopay**. You can receive a rate reduction of 0.25% if you enroll.
** The 0.25% autopay interest rate reduction applies if you make monthly principal and interest payments by an automatic monthly deduction from a savings or checking account. The benefit will discontinue and be lost for periods in which you do not pay by automatic deduction from a savings or checking account. Autopay is not required to obtain a loan.
Meritize does not charge prepayment, early payment, or extra payment fees.
Borrower Benefits
Career Services are available to our Meritize borrowers at no cost and provide a job search bootcamp and new-to-the-job coaching to improve your performance. Learn more here.
Meritize offers borrower assistance services to help with unemployment and underemployment when it might be difficult to make payments. By engaging in our free Career Services, you may be eligible to receive forbearance on your loan and gain valuable career assistance to get you back on your feet with a job.
