Student Freedom Initiative

WHO IS ELIGIBLE TO PARTICIPATE IN THE STUDENT FREEDOM LOAN AGREEMENT??

SFI’s income-contingent private education funding alternative is called the Student Freedom Loan Agreement (SFLA). The SFLA, through Student Freedom Fund (SFF), empowers students to focus on what truly matters: excelling in school and building a career path in STEM.   

To be eligible to receive funding under a SFLA, a student must meet the following application criteria: 

• Complete a free application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) or an acceptable state alternative 
• Have a valid social security number 
• Be a sophomore, junior or senior for the school year being funded 
• Be majority age or older 
• Be working towards a degree in an approved STEM major or an approved STEM certificate program (For students with non-eligible majors, SFLA funds can cover costs for those courses associated with eligible STEM certificates.) 
• Be enrolled at least half-time for the coming academic year (An exception is available if the student can complete their degree within one year with less than half-time coursework required for degree completion in the final year.) 
• Meet Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) as defined by the student’s school  

International and foreign exchange students authorized to enter the U.S. on a non-immigrant visa are not eligible for the funding option.  
Please visit SFI’s Partners page to see the complete list of approved STEM majors. 

HOW DOES THE SFLA WORK?

Students who participate in the SFLA will receive up to $20,000 annually toward their academic endeavors. Students can apply without a credit check or co-signer. 

The SFLA offers: 

• No origination fee 
• A low, fixed interest rate 
• Interest with no capitalization  
• No payments required during school 
• An option to defer 12 monthly payments (and pay $0 those months) 
• $0 payment when income is less than 300% of the Federal Poverty Level ($45,180 in 
• 2024) 

Debt forgiveness begins in the sixth year when income is below the income threshold. 

Once committed to the SFLA, students will pledge to pay back into the program after they graduate college. Graduates who benefited from the program while in college will make fixed payments for a certain period, with the payments based on income. Payment amounts may rise and fall throughout the payment period, as they are income-contingent, and participants will only be asked to make monthly payments. All payments made by the graduated students will be recycled into the program to benefit thousands of future students, supporting the next generation. 

It is important to keep in mind that SFLA should be considered just one part of a student’s overall financial aid package. The SFLA can cover a student’s remaining cost of attendance after other aid sources are considered — and is a potential alternative to other private education loans and the Parent PLUS Loan. It is not intended to replace any state or institutional aid, federal grants, work study, and Direct Subsidized or Unsubsidized loans.  

While the SFLA offers many benefits for qualifying students at Morehouse College, it might not be the best alternative funding option for every student. With this in mind, students should work with their financial aid counselors to better understand the terms of the SFLA and all loan options. From there, students can make informed decisions that best meet their interests. 

To learn more about the SFLA and review the Application and Solicitation Disclosure, please visit SFI’s website.  

Note: Morehouse College does not endorse SFI’s SFLA as an alternative to Parent Plus and other private education loan products. Morehouse College is not affiliated with SFI or Student Freedom Fund, LLC. 

WHAT IS THE HISTORY OF SFI?

Morehouse College has a special connection with SFI. SFI grew out of the vision of Robert F. Smith, the Founder, Chairman and CEO of Vista Equity Partners (Vista), to expand student opportunity beyond his transformative gift to the Morehouse College graduating class of 2019. View Smith’s speech and gift announcement at the 135th Commencement at Morehouse College. 

Immediately following his gift to Morehouse College’s graduates, Smith challenged a team of dedicated individuals to develop a solution scaled to serve more students, who have historically been disproportionately affected by student loan debt. Smith inspired the group to find a way to create a lasting program based on a “Pay It Forward” paradigm, under which current participants provide funding for future students. Funds would be provided to an initial set of students, and amounts received back from them would be used to support future generations of students, instead of allowing investors to profit from those least able to afford it. He also charged the team to go beyond merely alleviating the financial burdens on these students and develop a program that included holistic student support services and assistance for modernizing MSI/HBCU/TCU infrastructures. 

The team met the challenge, and SFI was born. There were several partners in the development of SFI. For a full list of donors, visit SFI’s Donors page. 

Following in the tradition of his 2019 gift to Morehouse College graduates, Smith also personally pledged $50 million to SFI, which is intended to allow SFI to support 500 students per year, every year, for the entire future of the program. This gift matched the $50 million gift provided by Fund II Foundation, of which Smith is the founding director and President.  

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