by July 27th, 2010. Filed under: Financial Aid.
unthottie05 asked:
I am a sopohomore in college and I need a $3000 loan.. I am looking for one that is low in interest rate or one that the government pays the interest while I am in school.. any ideas would be greatly appricaited..
Caffeinated Content
I am a sopohomore in college and I need a $3000 loan.. I am looking for one that is low in interest rate or one that the government pays the interest while I am in school.. any ideas would be greatly appricaited..
Caffeinated Content
Filed under: Financial Aid
July 31st, 2010 at 2:12 am
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Well my mom had a loan you can go to direct loan and get one
August 1st, 2010 at 11:13 am
government student loans
If you want a federally subsidized loan (one on which the government pays the interest during in-school and deferment periods), you will need to apply for either a Subsidized Stafford Loan or a Perkins Loan. These loans are your best option and should always be your first stop. Of course, the only way to apply for Stafford and Perkins loans is through your school. You must file the FAFSA (http://www.fafsa.ed.gov ) and meet a number of eligibility criteria, which your school will establish using the FAFSA as their source on information. This process will definitely get you the lowest-rate loans possible (often subsidized), but it won’t necessarily be quick…
In the world of private loans, keep in mind that “quick” and “low-rate” are often mutually exclusive concepts. Lenders have come a long way in making their application processes fairly fast (with “instant preapproval!” etc), but some of the lowest-rate loans out there also take the longest, simply because they want to make sure that their applicants are really creditworthy.
The best way to qualify quickly for a low-rate loan is to apply for it with a co-signer who has good credit. Even if you yourself already have good credit, many lenders will offer you a lower rate just for having applied with a co-signer. Sallie Mae is a good example of a lender that “rewards” you for applying with a cosigner. In fact, I highly recommend their Signature Loan.
If you want fast, you’ll want to focus on a lender that does a lot of student loan volume and is technologically advanced. Of all the lenders out there that fit this criteria, Sallie Mae and Citibank are probably #1 and #2, respectively. Try these first, if they don’t pan out, check out FinAid.org’s large list of major education loan lenders and research which company best meets your needs:
(In general, you don’t want to apply for private loans indiscriminately. Every loan application you submit is another hit on your credit report so, in essence, the first application you submit could affect your ability to be approved for the second, and so on…)