Foundation Financial Services
Mary E. McGarry Student Loan Fund
Through a generous gift from the estate of Mary E. McGarry, Fresno State Foundation administers an endowment fund that is dedicated to providing student loans to financially needy, full-time Fresno State undergraduate or graduate students majoring in a field within either the Jordan College of Agricultural Sciences and Technology, or the Craig School of Business.
If you qualify for a loan from the Mary E. McGarry loan fund, you may have some or all of the loan forgiven if: (1) you enroll in COMS 101 (1 or 2 units), and through that class you perform a service learning project administered by the Jan and Bud Richter Center for Community Engagement and Service-Learning, and (2) you satisfactorily complete the requirements of the service learning project within the semester that you received the loan. Up to $1,250 may be forgiven for each one unit of COMS 101 that you satisfactorily complete. You may take and complete no more than two units of COMS 101 credits in one semester, for a maximum of $2,500 of loan forgiveness per semester. Any income tax liability resulting from such loan forgiveness shall be the sole financial responsibility of the loan recipient.
In order to be considered for a Mary E. McGarry student loan, you must first fill out and submit online a FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) form by the deadline date for the McGarry loan application form. In addition, you must fill out a Mary E. McGarry loan application form.
The deadline for completing the FAFSA form and submitting this application (complete including signature from the Dean's Office) to the Financial Aid Office is July 31, 2024 for a loan for the 2024-25 academic year. You must be enrolled in a minimum of twelve (12) units as an undergraduate student or eight (8) units of 200 series classes as a graduate student, before submitting your Mary E. McGarry loan application to the Financial Aid Office.
The interest rate for a Mary E. McGarry student loan is zero percent (0%) simple interest (however interest is charged at one percent (1%) following any default on the loan by the borrower). The maximum amount that a student may borrow, subject to his or her financial need, is Fifteen Thousand Dollars ($15,000) per year ($7,500 per semester) for a maximum allowable cumulative amount of Sixty Thousand Dollars ($60,000). All loan proceeds and accrued interest shall be fully due and payable no later than five (5) years after you cease to be enrolled as a full-time student at Fresno State.
PLEASE NOTE THAT THERE IS A LIMITED AMOUNT OF LOAN FUNDS AVAILABLE FOR EACH ACADEMIC YEAR. LOANS WILL BE AWARDED TO THOSE WITH THE GREATEST FINANCIAL NEED AS DETERMINED BY THE FOUNDATION IN ITS SOLE DISCRETION. AS A RESULT, IT IS POSSIBLE THAT AN APPLICANT MAY QUALIFY FOR A MARY E. MCGARRY STUDENT LOAN BUT NOT RECEIVE ONE DUE TO THE LIMITATION OF FUNDING. IT IS ALSO POSSIBLE THAT A QUALIFIED APPLICANT COULD RECEIVE A LOAN, BUT IN AN AMOUNT THAT IS LESS THAN HE/SHE REQUESTED. NO LOANS WILL BE AWARDED UNTIL AFTER THE APPLICATION DEADLINE HAS PASSED.