Compare education loans on your course fees
Enter the course fees and your income. You see how much each bank lends you, and its education loan priced on your loan: the monthly repayment, the processing fee and the real yearly rate (EIR). Pick one and apply on WhatsApp.
- The banks' education loans, side by side
- The processing fee counted in your EIR
- On a subsidised course? MOE's student loan worked out too
- Nothing you type leaves your browser
Your course
A few figures. About 30 seconds.
Today's education loans for you
For a private, overseas or unsubsidised course, where MOE's loan doesn't reach. Sorted by the real yearly rate (EIR) on your loan, the processing fee counted. Pick one and apply on WhatsApp.
On a subsidised course? Check MOE's student loan
At a local university or polytechnic, MOE's Higher Education Student Loan (HESL) usually costs less than a bank's: no interest while you study, then 3-month SORA plus 1.5%, repaid over up to 10 years.
Put in your subsidised tuition fee. You get what HESL lends, what you'd owe at graduation and the monthly repayment after it, with every figure in full, a PDF, and a link to share or save on WhatsApp.
Free check: your student loan
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Your student loan in full
Where a bank's loan comes in
MOE's Higher Education Student Loan covers most of the subsidised tuition at the local universities and polytechnics, with no interest while you study. Where it doesn't reach (a private school, an overseas university, an unsubsidised course, or the part of the fees it leaves), a bank's education loan can. It costs more: interest runs from when the bank pays out, at a higher rate, and the bank keeps a processing fee out of the loan. How much a bank lends depends on income, yours and any joint borrower's together, up to the bank's own top limit.
What HESL lends at the universities
| You are | Tuition loan | Also |
|---|---|---|
| Singapore citizen | Up to 90% of subsidised tuition fees | Means-tested: the other 10% too, if household income per person is S$3,500 or less |
| Permanent resident | Up to 65% | |
| International student | Up to 45% |
On top of the tuition loan, a means-tested living allowance loan of up to S$4,100 a year. There is no interest while you study; it starts the day after your final exam. You then repay over up to 10 years, at least S$100 a month. The interest rate is 3-month compounded SORA plus 1.5%, reset every 1 April and 1 October: the rate the banks publish for the period is the one that counts. These are the universities' figures (NUS, NTU, SMU and NIE), as OCBC sets them out; polytechnic figures differ.
HESL replaced MOE's Tuition Fee Loan, Study Loan and Overseas Student Programme Loan in July 2026. Loans taken before then keep their own terms. Apply through MOE's StudentLoanSG portal.
The other way: your parents' CPF
The CPF Education Loan Scheme pays the tuition from a parent's CPF Ordinary Account. Interest runs from the day the money leaves the account, at the Ordinary Account rate (2.5% a year now), and you repay it in cash into that account over up to 12 years, starting a year after you graduate. It costs your parent the interest their CPF would have earned, so it is cheap, but it is not free. Source: CPF Board.
Common questions
Bank loan or MOE's loan?
On a subsidised course at a local university or polytechnic, MOE's Higher Education Student Loan (HESL) is usually cheaper: no interest while you study, then 3-month SORA plus 1.5%. A bank's education loan is for what HESL doesn't cover: private and overseas courses, unsubsidised courses, and the part of the fees HESL leaves.
Are these the banks' real rates?
They are the education loans the banks publish on their own websites, which our team keeps up to date. Only the bank's letter of offer is binding.
How much will a bank lend me?
Each bank caps it at a multiple of your monthly income, usually 10 months, and at its own top limit; some also at the fees still to pay. The comparison above works out each bank's limit on your income.
Do I need a joint borrower?
Banks often ask for one, usually a parent, when the student is under 21, studying overseas or earning little, and then count their income too. Each bank sets its own rules: we check them with you when you apply.
What replaced the Tuition Fee Loan?
MOE's Higher Education Student Loan (HESL), from July 2026. It brings the Tuition Fee Loan, Study Loan and Overseas Student Programme Loan into one scheme, applied for through the StudentLoanSG portal.
When does HESL interest start?
The day after your final exam. Nothing is charged while you study. A bank's education loan charges interest from when it pays out.
Can I repay HESL early?
Yes. OCBC says you can repay in full, even before you graduate, without a penalty.
I'm at a polytechnic. Does HESL apply?
HESL covers polytechnics too, but the percentages and the living allowance differ from the universities'. Check with your polytechnic's financial aid office.
What happens when I tap Apply via WhatsApp?
WhatsApp opens with the package and your loan amount filled in. Nothing is sent until you press send. We then check the package with you and tell you who we'd pass your details to: our contact at the bank, or a referral partner. We pass them on only after you say yes.
What does it cost to apply through BankLoan.sg?
You pay us nothing. If you take up a loan we helped you apply for, the bank or our referral partner may pay us a referral fee. Ask us and we'll tell you whether one applies to your case.