School certification is the process by which your school verifies your loan details and confirms they match their records. Earnest sends your loan information directly to your school for certification.
What Information Will My School Verify?
Your school will confirm the following details:
- Loan amount - Your school will add your requested loan amount from Earnest to any other loans or financial aid to ensure your total funding does not exceed your cost of attendance (COA). For more information about the cost of attendance, check here.
- Enrollment status - Your enrollment status and expected graduation date.
- Grades - Your school may require you to meet satisfactory academic progress (SAP) to remain eligible for funding. If you’re in your first semester, you’ll meet SAP automatically since no grades are on file yet.
- Disbursement date - The date your school requests to receive the loan funds.
How Will My School Certify the Loan?
Your school may certify your loan in one of the following ways:
- Certified - No changes are made to the loan.
- Certified with changes - The school may reduce your loan amount based on your COA or other financial aid, or make minor adjustments to ensure the loan matches the school's information. Your school will never request an increase to the loan amount.
- No certification - The school does not accept the loan.
Once your school certifies your loan, we’ll notify you by email. If you need to change the total certified amount (for example, if you are approved for more or less than you need), contact your school’s financial aid office. Only your school can adjust the final certified amount.
Do I Need to Do Anything?
Some schools require additional steps before certification, such as:
- Completing a short informational course about private loans.
- Attending an orientation class.
If these steps are required, your school should reach out to let you know before they certify the loan. If you have been waiting more than two weeks for certification, we recommend reaching out to your school’s financial aid office to confirm whether they need anything from you.
How Long Does School Certification Take?
The timing for school certification varies by institution; some schools certify loans within a few weeks of classes starting, while others take 3–5 weeks to process certifications regardless of when they receive the loan information. To ensure there’s ample time for your school to certify your loan and schedule the disbursement of funds before your semester begins, we recommend applying for and finalizing your Earnest in-school student loan as early as possible.