<p>I was thinking about taking the time to examine each lender and try to figure out which is the best, but I didn't want to waste my time if they are all pretty much the same.</p>
<p>Any opinions?</p>
<p>Thanks.</p>
<p>Edit: Oh, and one more thing. Is it pretty much guaranteed that your loan will be approved? I don't have bad credit, but I do have a good chunk of credit card debt, so I was wondering if that might hurt. :/</p>
<p>Not all lenders are the same. By looking at your "preferred lender list" I can understand why this may seem like an irrelevant decision. </p>
<p>Lenders are all required to followed the same Federal guidelines - such as, interest rates, deferment options, repayment terms - but the difference from one lender to the next is between service, credibility, and their repayment incentive. </p>
<p>Find out WHEN the repayment incentive starts - right away or if there is a waiting period (36 mos, 48 mos)? Find out if you lose the incentive if you are late or miss a payment - and find out if you can regain eligibility if you do have a late or missed payment. Find out how many of their current borrowers in repayment receive the incentive. </p>
<p>Also - because there are so many lenders - and all seem to be the same - find out about their long-term commitment - many lenders will buy and sell loans to other lenders - so ask if that is common for their company.</p>
<p>I hope that helps - sorry to not make it easier on you. You should talk to your financial aid office to see if they can post the answers to these questions on their list - it would be helpful for you and others at your school I would imagine.</p>
<p>Yes, look for repayment incentives. For example, the main lender in my state offers a 1% of the principal balance rebate incentive per year as long as the repayment is in a current state. That's real money! It's worth comparing and a simple phone call is all it takes. The lenders know if they offer something another lender does not and will be happy to inform you.</p>
<p>If the money you are borrowing is unsubsidized, check to see when the lender adds the interest that accrues on the loan. (This is called capitalization). Student loan lenders have different capitalization policies. Ideally, the lender will capitalize one time at the beginning of repayment, but a lender could choose to capitalize your interest every three months; every six months; or once each year. When interest is capitalized on an unsubsidized Stafford loans, you begin paying interest on interest. Lenders who only capitalize one time at the beginning of repayment save you a lot of money.</p>