Greetings from snowy Chicago!  It has been a number of weeks since my last post, so I thought it would be helpful for you to have an update on our progress in securing a loan for our international students without a cosigner.   I have good news to report. 

A few facts first:  Since October, we have been working very closely as part of the University-wide effort to find a solution for our international students who do not have access to a U.S. cosigner.  We have explored traditional options such as banks as well as non-conventional sources of funding.  Our goal has been to secure a "guaranteed" loan for our international students at competitive market rates with favorable terms.   

The good news:  We are in active discussions with a number of organizations at this time and are close to reaching agreement with the first of these lenders.  While conversations are ongoing, we fully expect that Chicago Booth will have at least one viable loan program for our international MBA students well in advance of fall 2009. 

This has been a year filled with so much uncertainty, and I am hopeful that we will have "certain" terms to share in the near future.  Thanks for your continued patience.