<p>Hi all. I just wanted to share an experience I just had which I found really, really confusing and stressful.</p>
<p>I've been in the process of obtaining student loans for a while now, and with my father's help managed to successfully apply for one large student loan, while I figured I could do the smaller public loan on my own. I notified my school of my request for a Stafford unsubsidized loan in the amount of $5000 and shortly afterwards received emails from Sallie Mae regarding my unfinished loan application for $5000 The form was already filled in with my contact and basic info (I didn't do it, nor did my father), so I assumed this was the process of applying for a Stafford. Stupid, I know, but I'm 18 and they already had an application on file, in my name, IMMEDIATELY after I asked for a loan of the same amount.</p>
<p>I went through the application process and only realized that something was wrong when I saw an interest rate of 11%. I knew it was supposed to be 6.8% and that was when I realized that this loan was one I had never intended to apply for (and, in fact, didn't start the application for).</p>
<p>I'm not at all sure how this happened, but if you are a student applying for your own student loans, be VERY careful about the type of loan you are applying for. I think I am pretty intelligent overall, but it's tricky trying to navigate this system when there are so many banks trying to secure your debt. And after this I would personally advise you to stay away from Sallie Mae entirely. This felt very shady to me.</p>