<p>I don't know if ones major makes a difference for loans, as it seems to have in the "scholarship" area, but now that schools are selected - I thought it would be nice to share some information on LOANS.</p>
<p>I was surprised that the Parent Plus Loan interest was so high.</p>
<p>Does anyone have information on loans that you might have secured in the past for other children.... that have good terms and interest rates?</p>
<p>Thanks.</p>
<p>If you’re talking about parent loans, it’s hard to beat what you might get if you own a home with equity. We refinanced more or less the remaining term of our original loan and took cash out that we used to seed the college bill. Our loan is 10 years at 2.75%. The rates had dropped enough that this didn’t change our mortgage payment at all. If something like this is an option for you I think you’ll find the rates far more favorable than Parent Plus. My daughter also took out her own Federal loan as well so she can establish her own credit but sure, those rates are not as good as what we could do with our home.</p>
<p>Those Parental plus loans are, indeed, pretty terrible. We are looking at home equity as well, that or just selling the house and finding an apartment. Some can borrow against 401ks too though if you lose your job you’ll have to pay off the principal immediately.</p>
<p>We also re-mortgaged our house to finance college (and to pay off old Parent Plus loans.) The interest is much lower.</p>
<p>And of course Stafford loans have lower interest than Plus loans, even the unsubsidized Stafford loans. They are a bit of a drop in the bucket, however.</p>
<p>I agree that the home equity is the way to go - unfortunately it is not an option for us. We have actually had our house on the market for 2 years with no offers. Planning on lowering the list price again - we hope to sell it for enough to break even and then anything over that is definitely slated for college funds. We have 2 starting in the Fall. Yikes!</p>
<p>Just FYI, it looks like the new budget, if it passes, would provide some relief on loan rates.</p>
<p>[How</a> Obama Wants to Change Student Loan Interest Rates - Businessweek](<a href=“Bloomberg - Are you a robot?”>Bloomberg - Are you a robot?)</p>