Education and Career Forum

Dear Sir, I am interested to study Music after my 12th. My question is, if I will not be able to get admission in BSc course and secure admission for BA(Music) course then still I am eligible to get an Education Loan from any bank?

In the case of arts students, banks look at the course the student proposes to pursue, the institution, the alumni of the institution and the possibility of a handsome salary on completion of the course.

Most banks give arts students loans on a discretionary basis. Bankers insist that the interest rate, margin and security are the same irrespective of the area of study with a loan up to 4 lakh coming at an interest rate of anything between 10.50 per cent and 13 per cent.

Some banks such as Bank of Baroda may also look at the profile of the students' parents. "If the parents have given the bank a lot of business in terms of loans or deposits, the branch manager may give decide to sanction the loan."

Arts students in the domestic market have it easier though since a few banks such as BoB finances this category of students under its 'Baroda Gyan' scheme.

Foreign bank HSBC insists that it does not turn down students based on the area of study but it has list of universities that it would finance. The list contains 300 universities abroad and over 100 in India.

It also runs a scholarship for students wishing to study in esoteric areas such as urban architecture, specialised area of economics, tropical medicine, etc. It is currently financing six scholars in the United Kingdom.