The study on “ The Effects of Higher education Students' Loan Board’s means-testing upon enrollment of needy students in Tanzanian private universities: A case of St. Augustine University of Tanzania” was guided by four objectives, the main one being assessment of the effects of Higher Education Students’ Loan Board’s means-testing upon enrollment of needy students. A quantitative approach based on questionnaires with open and closed ended questions was employed while documentary review was employed for secondary data. The primary data for this study was collected from 112 informants in four faculties purposively sampled using non proportional quota sampling considering gender equality was collected from SAUT admission office and SAUT loan office so the study revealed both positive and negative effects. It was concluded that there were very few needy students who fairly benefit from the loans as graded using the means-testing, the faculty of education has been on the safe side when compared to all other faculties necessitating the need for decentralization of HESLB, reforming the available means-testing if not changing to the market model of financing education which will enable self-financing of educational sector. To recommend, improvement of means-testing and the practice is compulsory in order to minimize the big gap between negative and positive effects; equality in percentages of beneficiaries between public and private universities is very important and that HESLB employees need to be carefully employed by the government so as to get faithful officials. Conclusively, means-testing as a tool for loan disbursement to students especially those of low economic status, has both positive and negative effects towards enrolment whereby the negative side weighs higher than positive side.