Financing an Education for Muslim Students - A brief guide to Loans, Grants, Scholarships and Resources

I am regularly asked by Muslims students for assistance on Shariah compliant financing for their education. Although there have been many creative attempts to structure financing in a way to meet Shariah financing, in reality the only practical and legitimate source now available to my knowledge is charitable loans (qard hasan). Good luck in finding someone willing to finance it for you on terms that can work! (Not to be a pessimist, because I know there are many many generous Muslims out there who love to help).

So how can a religious Muslim pursue and finance an education?

As the old adage goes, When there is a will there is a way!

Below are many suggestions and tips to assist you in achieving your academic goals while conforming to your religious principles (Please note - by linking an organization, website or a program, I am in no way endorsing it or guaranteeing the content. Please visit at your own risk;-) ):

1. Earn a full ride scholarship - Do your best at the level you are at now (be it high school, undergrad) in order to open doors to full rides.

2. Be the best and most persistent visitor to the financial aid office. Those folks are paid to help you get funding. Sometimes a little persistence pays off. A classmate of mine went to the financial aid office in the first week of law school, told them he could not afford it. They happened to find a half ride scholarship which was available and not used (may have been offered to someone who backed out at the last second).

3. Register at fastweb.com - Fastweb.com is an awesome resource whereby you input all your particulars, and they constantly inform you of scholarships that you may qualify for. They constantly add information about new scholarships.

3. Seek an employer who will pay for your education. Many larger employers and some smaller ones will pay some or all of your educational costs if you pursue it while working for them and in furtherance of your career with them.

4. Invest in long term educational investments - such as 529 plans, Coverdell Education Savings Plans and Roth/Traditional IRA. This is great advice for undergrads and high schoolers to begin their investments early, especially in Roth IRA's where your investment grows tax free and allows qualified withdrawal for education purposes.

5. Seek a fellowship/Assistantship - Many graduate programs will provide some funding if you assist professors, research or work in the department.

6. Work full time while going to school part time. Although this solution may not be ideal, you have to face your reality sometimes and if that is your only option so be it.

7. Seek grants from the federal government, your university and local institutions/foundations. Grants do not require repayment.

8. If all else fails and you still need funding, and I am not endorsing this from a Shariah point of view, the federal subsidized loans allow you to not owe any interest until 6 months after you graduate. If you choose this option,  make a serious commitment from the outset to pay it off within the 6 months, and don't wait. If it means you have to begin putting away money on a weekly or monthly basis, the best time to start was last year and second best was last month and third best was last week and fourth best was yesterday. I made this mistake and am still paying off some loans, may Allah forgive me!

9. Last tip - For you high school students out there, did you know you can take Advanced Placement exams without having to take the course in your high school? Some high schools only have limited AP classes anyway. Each exam costs approximately $80 and will save you a whole semester of course and tuition if you pass with a qualifying score. I have friends who have entered college with 30-60 credits or the equivalent of 1-2 years of study. If you take 20 tests and only pass 2, the time and money you save is still worth it. You can purchase study guides for the AP exams at most bookstores or new and used at amazon.com or other sites. I would suggest you form study groups with other like minded students and pursue this aggressively and strategically, by assigning each person to focus on a subject and lead the study group in that subject. Also make plans to balance out x number of exams per year. Lastly, sometimes high schools will allow you to dual enroll and have your college tuition subsidized by the district.

If you have some comments or additional advice, please email me at omh@ais.org