IFHARU is the institution where Panamanians can request a student loan. It is not a bank in the regular meaning of the word. This institution only gives student loans and scholarship.

Scholarships are given to good standing student and student with not enough resources to pay for education. When I was in Junior High, I won a scholarship from IFHARU because I had the highest grades from my whole group. However, years before I tried to obtain one of those scholarship with no success. In Panama, you need to know people in the government if you want to win or applied for things like, scholarship. The Scholarship I won lasted for three years and I got pay three times a year.

Now I am applying for a student loan, to pay part of my tuition in the UK. The highest amount you can loan from the Government is $ 40,000.00; however, you will need to start paying the amount, as soon as the money is deposit in your account. Nevertheless, if you only loan $24,000.00 you can start paying at the end of your studies.

If you want to ask for a loan, there are some qualifications you need to fulfil before they consider you for a loan. Good grades (from High School if the loan is to pay University tuitions) and the wiliness to archive a higher education are the two qualifications they have in their website (IFHARU) but in reality, you need two good co-borrowers who earn enough money to pay the loan back and then they will look into the other qualifications.

The best way to pay your tuition fees is by requesting a loan for the Government, they have the lowest interest rate and if at the end of your studies, you have the highest grade from your group you might not need to pay the loan back!