<p>I'm going to be a 20 yo Junior and I don't know which private student loan to take out. I transfered last semester on campus and luckily only needed to take out 1k of private loan and I was naive and asked the financial lady to help me find me one since I did't know how and it seems like a scary process and she said she only found one private loan for me and I took it and it had a 10% origination fee and I have no idea what the interest rate is. I feel like I shouldn't let them pick private loans for me again(or should I?) so I'm wondering how you guys know which one is the best one to take out.</p>
<p>I get 25k in grants and scholarships and 6.5k in subsidized and unsubsidized gov loan. My financial aid package said I can take out a maximum of 10k of private loan to cover the rest of the cost based on the actual cost of attending.</p>
<p>I don't want to max out private loans every year so I did my own actual cost of attending and tried to go bare minimum and figured out I only need to take out 4.5-6k of private loan a year for 3 more years(5 year teaching degree plan). With that, I have no idea where to start to actually apply. I don't know what my credit score is, I have one credit card for a bit over a year and it's always paid off in full and I rarely use it. I have no co-signer. And I'm worried what if next year or the year after that I would be denied private loan because of bad credit score from too many inquiries. I read that you get 5 points deducted for each inquiry. If I apply to 5-10 places a year for 3 years, that would be about 75-150 points. What if I'm 30 points away from a bad credit score and this is my last year of good score.</p>
<p>I'm hoping for a miracle that when I return to school in a month for fall semester, the financial lady could put me as independent so I can take out more gov loan.(can she do that? She knows I'm independent last semester when I was struggling financially) Since I live off campus now, I have medicaid and food assistant starting this month, don't have a bed(won't be investing in one to save $), and have no way to pay for school beside private loans which I have no clue how it works.</p>
<p>But I shouldn't hope for a miracle and plan for the worse which is taking out private loans and hoping that I'll keep on getting approved until I graduate. If the interest rate is ridiculously high, I still have no choice but to take it if I want to stay in school.</p>
<p>Thanks for reading and hopefully you can give me some insight.</p>
<p>A couple of things came to mind when I read your post - first, as a junior, you’re eligible for $7500 in Stafford loans, not $6500. Also, as an education major, you could be eligible for a $4K federal TEACH grant if your school participates (it becomes a $4K unsub Stafford loan if you don’t fulfill the teaching requirement). If those don’t fill your gap, check to see if your state sponsors a student loan program, as many do now. Is there a problem having one of your parents take a small Plus loan or cosign for a private loan for you? </p>
<p>You don’t mention what your family situation is, but most 20 years olds would not meet the FAFSA definition of an independent student, which means one or more of the following are true:</p>
<p>1.You are enrolled in a Masters program, Doctorate Degree, or graduate Certification program.
2.You have a child or children that are your legal dependent(s).
3.You are married.
4.You are under the age of 24 and both of your parents are deceased.
5.You were a ward of your state until you were 18 years of age.
6.You are 24 years of age or older.
7.You are a Veteran of the United States Armed Forces.
8.You were a foster child after the age of 13.
9.You are an emancipated child as determined by a court judge.
10.You are homeless or at risk of homelessness as determined by the director of a HUD approved homeless shelter, transitional program, or high school liaison.</p>
<p>Finally, I have no direct experience with private loans but have seen others post that they were satisfied with the rates and service they received from Discover and you can check their rates and terms online.</p>
<p>The school classify me as a sophomore though and said it’s based on my credits/units and not how many years I’ve been in school. = /</p>
<p>Thanks, but there’s one requirement that I don’t meet for TEACH grant. Maybe I will next year. On their website. “maintaining a cumulative GPA of at least 3.25” I don’t know if this means hs or college, but either way, I don’t have it. = </p>
<p>I’m attending a out of state private university so does “check to see if your state sponsors a student loan program” still works for me? Do I look at my old state or my new one? I’ll ask my financial lady next month when school start about this also. Thanks.</p>
<p>I haven’t seen my parents for over a year or two and have no contact with them whatsoever. But I know they both have bad credit because my mom has over 50 credit cards of $500 and she max all of them out and never pays them back and I have a copy of her credit report which is like 25 pages long for proof of that. So even if I have my mom’s number, I would never ask her since she’s no help.</p>
<p>I know the rule of fafsa, I’ve been searching the internet for hours upon months for any other solution or story of if someone got independent without meeting the requirement and can’t find any. I also searched for private loan help and advice but it’s always the same and no answer. So I thought I’d try posting on a forum.</p>
<p>I’ll check out Discover but I thought private loans don’t give out what rates you get until after you sign the contract? That’s what I read on one of my searches.</p>
<p>Well, you’re in a pickle on every single point! Generally, state loan programs are for state residents and used at instate schools…but you could either post the state you’re from and are in or google it. The only other suggestion I have is to explain, and perhaps show, your mom’s abyssmal credit report and complete indifference to the FA people. I don’t know if it’s possible for them to certify you for the additional $4K Stafford unsub loans that you’d be eligible for if your parent applied and was denied a Plus loan. Finaid.org recommends this path, but our resident FA expert (kelsmom) says no…you certainly don’t have anything to lose by asking!</p>
<p>Can’t really help you with the private loan rate question…I believe they’re all variable and the final rate depends on your credit score or your cosigners. Discover’s rate is Prime + .5 - 7.75, but they advertise having no origination fees:</p>
<p>[Discover</a> Student Loans](<a href=“Find the right student loans for you”>Discover Student Loans)</p>
<p>The best favor you can do for yourself is to work very hard to bring your gpa up! Not only should it make things a bit easier financially, but it will help you compete for jobs…which you’re going to need fairly quickly in order to make those loan payments!</p>
<p>Have you considered transferring to an instate school to reduce your loan burden? How do you file FAFSA with no parental contact?!</p>