JVS of MetroWest accepting loan/grant applications
The Jewish Vocational Service of MetroWest is accepting applications for need-based, interest-free student loans for Jewish students planning to attend accredited institutions of higher learning next fall. Applicants must be residents of the Greater MetroWest Jewish community.
The Perlmutter Student Loan program offers need-based, interest-free loans of up to $3,000 per year to Jewish college students who need financial assistance in order to pursue their full-time, post-high school education at an accredited institution of higher learning (including a community college, vocational, or technical institute, four-year university, etc.). The loans are awarded only after the student has exhausted all other forms of financial aid. Repayment of the loan begins one year after the student completes their studies and is paid monthly over five years until the loan has been repaid in full.
In addition to the student loans, JVS also administers the Shapiro Scholarship Foundation grants for students pursuing post-graduate degrees in medicine, medical science, nursing, or rabbinical school. Students may be awarded grants of up to $10,000. These grants, which are funded by the estate of Belle Shapiro, may be renewed each year, pending the approval of the estate executors.
Benjamin Perlmutter, the founding chair of the JVS Student Loan Committee, said, “For more than 40 years, we have had the privilege of helping hundreds of Jewish MetroWest students pursue their education at accredited institutions of higher learning across the United States and even abroad. By making these interest-free loans and grants available, even during unprecedented times, we are fulfilling the highest form of tzedakah as taught by the wise Jewish sage Moses Maimonides — to help someone help themselves.”
Applications are due by June 1. To apply, complete the application portal at jvsnj.org/loans-and-grants. For more information or questions about the process, call Hannah Smith, development associate, at (862) 704-2230 or email hsmith@jvsnj.org.
To register for the online information session, email studentloans@jvsnj.org, and a link will be sent.
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