CLOSE-UP
The Best Little
Deal In Detroit
Detroit's best-kept secret just might
be JELS — the Jewish Educational
Loan Service, which has provided
interest-free loans to Jewish students
in the Detroit metropolitan area for
over 40 years. Administered through
the Jewish Vocational Service and the
Hebrew Free Loan Association and
funded through the Jewish Welfare
Federation, JELS last year granted
more than 125 students over $190,000
in loans.
According to Edwina Davis, JELS
coordinator, JELS applicants must be
full-time undergraduate or graduate
students and must furnish full family
financial and tax information. In addi-
tion, each student must provide three
letters of recommendation from
teachers or employers and also submit
academic records. Loan applications
must include a detailed budget of liv-
ing expenses as well as tuition, books
and fees. The loan amount is reached
by comparing the student's assets to
the expenses.
Each student signs a promissory note
and remains in contact with JELS un-
til the loan is repaid. The repayment
is scheduled through Hebrew Free
Loan once the student's studies are
completed.
In addition to in-state programs,
studies not offered by Michigan schools
— such as podiatry or rabbinical
studies — may be funded through
JELS. ❑
A family won't
lose face in the
community if a child
needs time to think
through his future.
02C
Minim/ II IMP a 1CIAQ
teaching, the government will forgive a
portion of the loan entirely.
Loans are available, as well, from private
sources. Certainly any parent or student
who owns a house will want to look into a
home equity loan or other second mor-
tgage arrangement. At least the interest on
such loans is still deductible from federal
income tax. Some colleges will insist that
a parent acquire such a loan before the stu-
dent can receive any further aid.
For Jewish men and women, the
Lemberg Scholarship Loan Fund, located
at 838 Fifth Avenue in New York, offers
interest-free educational loans to eligible
students. The Washington, D.C. based Hat-
tie M. Strong Foundation provides a
similar service on a nonsectarian basis, but
recipients must be within one year of
graduation from college. And every Jewish
resident of Metropolitan Detroit should
consult the Jewish Vocational Service (see
above).
In years past, needy students expected