Students who are having a hard time paying rent or are accruing medical bills or other minor financial obligations because of uncontrollable circumstances now have a place to turn.

The Associated Students of the University of Utah’s Student Advocacy Office has organized an Emergency Student Loan for such cases.

Those eligible for the loan can receive up to $250 per year. Students then have three months to repay the loan. There will be a 4 percent interest applied if the loan is not paid back in the allotted time.

Academic qualifications for the loan include a minimum 2.0 cumulative GPA, admittance into a degree-seeking program and enrollment in at least six credit hours.

Students must also be U.S. citizens or legal non-citizens, at least 18 years old or with a co-signer if under 18 and must not appear on the Student Loan Office’s bad check list.

Applications are available in the Student Advocacy office in Union 234.

ASUU has budgeted about $12,000 from it’s contingency fund for the Emergency Student Loan this year. It will allow up to 50 accepted applicants.

“You can get book loans and student loans, but what you can’t get is a loan for a small thing like a car payment at low interest or nonacademic things,” said Jason Chadwick, Student Advocacy director.

“If students don’t have a place to turn, this is another service we want to provide for them.”

Sadaf Baghbani