Eduloan: Opening Doors Across All Markets

Since 1996, Eduloan has helped over 720 000 South Africans to unlock potential by furthering their education. Eduloan is dedicated to offering a variety of loan solutions to students, parents, businesses and corporates as well as civil employees to further their education in order to unlock potential and to contribute to a brighter South Africa.

Whether you, your child or your employee is looking to complete school, graduate from college, technicon or university or if you require a solution to invest in your employees’ skills, we have a product to make education more accessible:

	Students and parents	Bursars and sponsors	Business and corporates	Civil employees	Schools and Tertiary institutions
Tuition loans for fulltime and part-time studies at school, university, collage and technicon	l	l	l	l	l
Further education opportunities to up-skill	l	l	l	l	l
A refresher course at a training facility	l	l	l	l	l
Study related equipment (including laptops and tablets)	l	l	l	l	l
Accommodation loans	l	l	l	l	l
Salary deduction	l	l	l	l	l
Fund and bursary management	l	l	l	l	l
Training fund management			l	l	l
Expense management			l	l	l
SCI fund management			l	l	l
Student attendance management	l	l	l	l	l

We have allocated over R 3, 7 billion in study loans and continue to pioneer products to allow South Africans to further their education, despite the current financial climate.

For more information and to find out how Eduloan can assist you to unlock even more potential, visit our website, contact out call centre 0860 55 55 44 or sms ‘EDU’ to 32150 and we will call you back!

Early Applications For Your First Year Of Tertiary Studies – Don’t Leave It Too Late

Many schools, parents, colleges and universities encourage 2014 students to apply to their chosen tertiary institutions as early as possible. You might be thinking “what is the fuss about?”, mainly because you have tons of 2013 Matric commitments, responsibilities, activities and studies that you might want to focus on. Many colleges and universities open for applications in April and application deadlines can come as soon as 30 July. Here are 6 reasons to get you applying now:

Reason 1: Faster Application Feedback

Because there are less applications being submitted to the administration office, you might get a response a bit sooner. If you apply in June, your application may be submitted along with thousands of other students’ and you might get a delayed response.

Reason 2: Pressure

If you receive early acceptance to your chosen college or university, you will have one less thing to worry about – and an important one at that - when you are trying to prepare for your preliminary or final exams.

Reason 3: Applying For Accommodation

Many colleges and universities only consider applications for student housing and accommodation, once you have been accepted at the institution. If you are planning to study at a college or university away from home, you might need to take the time to plan and make sure you apply early enough to get a spot in student housing or accommodation.

Reason 4: Options

By applying early, you can ensure that you have options available. Many colleges and universities will allow you to change your degree or diploma after being accepted as long as you fulfill the requirements. And, if you change your mind completely, you still have time to do something about it.

Reason 5: Running Out Of Spots

Universities and colleges often have a limited number of places available in the program. This often depends on resources. By applying early, you can be sure that “we are unfortunately full for the current year of study” will not be a reason featured on your application feedback.

Reason 6: Financial Assistance

As soon as you have a letter of acceptance from your college or university, you will be able to contact us to find out how we can assist you. We can give you a study loan to cover your study fees as well as accommodation, textbooks and even a laptop or tablet.

Pick up a book & expand your world on World Book Day

In the busy world we live in, a lot of us don’t have the time or the patience to read. Now that television, video games and movies are so readily available and easy to consume, we often associate reading books as something we had to do in school.  Many of us would shudder at the thought of reading a book for pleasure.

But since today is World Book Day, we thought we should remind you just how amazing reading can be and what it can do for you.

1. Enhanced brainpower

Reading a book will help you optimise your brain and improve in almost every area of your life. People who read have higher intelligence and more general knowledge than those who don’t. Research has found that reading, in general, makes you smarter and it keeps you sharp as you age. No matter what you want to do or become, you can’t do it without more knowledge and reading is an excellent way to get more information on your future plans and where you want to go.

2. Reading reduces stress

By simply opening a book, you allow yourself to be invited into a fantasy world that distracts you from your daily stressors. If you’ve had a stressful day, a book can easily distract you and get your thoughts off your worries for a while. Reading is the best way to relax. Reading an amazing fiction book is perfect right before bed time. Sometimes it’s hard to put the book down if it’s really good, but you’ll still be relaxed.

3. Improved logical thinking

If you’ve ever read a murder mystery and managed to work out who the murderer is before it’s revealed by the author, you’ll know that analytical thinking is boosted by reading. Readers improve their general knowledge, and more importantly are able to spot patterns and clues quicker. If you can spot patterns quicker, your analytical skills receive a boost.

4. Build your vocabulary

It’s no secret that reading increases your vocabulary and improves your spelling, but did you know that reading increases your vocabulary more than talking or direct teaching? Reading forces us to look at and try to understand words that we might not have seen or heard recently. Knowing what other people are saying and using the perfect words to convey your feelings is a critical part of boosting your brainpower.

5. Improved creativity

Reading books takes you to places you’ve never been, and as a reader you might often wonder how a writer can piece together real or fictional events with such accuracy and detail. Reading about places you’ve never been to (or even places that don’t exist) opens your mind up to new possibilities and allows you to be more creative in your own thinking.

Here are some common reasons why we don’t read and the ways you can get around them:

I don’t have enough time

Try to set aside ten or fifteen minutes every day for reading. Whether it’s just before going to sleep, while travelling in the bus to work or even while eating, you might just find that this little bit of “me” time will become your favourite time of the day.

I don’t have the patience

For those who have never sat down and read a novel of their own choosing, finding the patience to get into the book might be an uphill task, as the activity is so unfamiliar. Perseverance is the key here, so make it a habit to read for a few minutes every day. Once you get into the book you’ll find it easier to get stuck into it.

Books are boring

There are millions of books in existence, each one on a different topic, portraying different scenarios and covering dozens of different genres. Therefore, all books cannot be the same and all authors certainly cannot be the same. Take the time to make a list of the things that might be of interest to you (you could base this on the type of movies you like to watch, or the activities you enjoy). If you don’t like the first book that you try, remember not to give up on the idea of reading. You’re bound to find something that you like if you keep on looking.

Books are too expensive

If you find that bookshops don’t suit your budget, the best place to start a love affair with reading is at your local library. The books may be slightly older than the latest novels at the book store, but the good news is that books don’t have expiry dates like food at the supermarket!

“Reading takes us away from home, but more importantly, it finds homes for us everywhere.” - Hazel Rochman

Why your parents worry about you living in res - 5 tips on bridging the communication gap

Going off to university or college for the first time may be an exhilarating time for you, but not so much for your parents or guardians. In fact, many parents or guardians dread the day they will have to send their child out into the world of tertiary education, fearing for your safety and hoping you will be able to stay focused and disciplined. These fears will be amplified if you have to leave home and stay in a residence or other student accommodation.

1. E.T. phone home…

It’s likely that they will want to call you all the time to find out if you’ve eaten or if you remembered to wear warm clothes because it’s slightly cold outside. It may seem a little intrusive and feel almost as though your family doesn’t trust you, but just remember that they’re doing it out of love and you’ll probably do the same with your own children one day.

One of the most helpful things you can do is to discuss your parents’ expectations for communication before you leave home. If you feel they need to give you some space, try and break it to them that it would be easier for you to call them whenever you have a moment, but make sure you do call at least once a week, otherwise they’ll feel you’ve abandoned them.

2. You’ve got mail!

E-mail is another form of communication that works well for many families. Student life is sometimes unpredictable—you’re not always going to be in your room between 5 and 10 p.m., when your parents are home from work and want to talk to you. If you and your parents have access to computers, tell them you’ll communicate with them by e-mail during the week as well. SMS messages can also work well if they don’t have e-mail.

3. Coming home

Although students who stay on campus over the weekend tend to meet people more easily, because there’s less studying and more social time, it’s also healthy to leave campus from time to time to reconnect with your loved ones.

When you’re in the residence halls and your focus is on your academics and maybe on a part-time job, you have a big to-do list and a lot of stress, so it’s good to get away and let your mother spoil you with your favourite home-cooked meals.

4. Speak out

If you’re feeling highly emotional or if you’re having thoughts about quitting your studies and coming home, talk to your family. They might be able to think of a way to help you feel less isolated. You can also visit your university’s counselling service for advice on how to overcome the challenges you are facing. Often an initial visit will help you learn about the kinds of support available from your institution and elsewhere on campus.

5. Let’s talk about marks

University is a time when students become more independent — though they may have mixed feelings about it. Even students who don't seem close to their families usually still care about what their parents think and fear disappointing them.

Many students have struggles. It’s important to remember that your parents only want what’s best for you. If you’re struggling in varsity don’t be afraid to tell them. Sure, they may be disappointed, and they may even get angry, but they aren’t going to kill you. They’ll almost always want to help you, because they want you to be successful.

Everyone gets a bad mark once in a while. Sometimes the test was harder then you thought, or you didn’t get enough sleep. Just don’t come up with excuses when you don’t do your work. If you lie, your parents will only get more upset and concerned.

Your parents want you to succeed, but it’s your decision whether you will be successful or not. Don’t argue with your parents if they want to know your marks. Whenever you inform them about a bad mark, have a strategy for recovering from it and let your parents know that you are being proactive about the problem.

In general just be honest with your parents and try to communicate with them more. The more you communicate the better they will feel about your schoolwork and the better you’ll feel about telling them.