<p>If your child is going to college in Massachusetts or if you are a Mass resident, have you used MEFA loans?</p>
<p>We are NJ residents but our D is will be going to college in MA. We are considering using MEFA loans instead of PLUS or NJCLASS because the interest rate is lower than either. However, MEFA loans cannot be consolidated; also, they are co-signed by both parents and student, unlike PLUS.</p>
<p>My D is planning on going to medical school. I don't want her to have a bunch of MEFA loans in her name when she is applying for medical school loans. We are paying for her undergraduate education even if her name is on the loans. </p>
<p>Any thoughts or perspectives?</p>
<p>What is the interest rate? If it is a lot lower, it’s a good consideration, but bear in mind that the PLUS has an insurance build in–if YOU the borrower, OR the student should die, the loan is forgiven. Also, the terms of repayment are flexible. And yes, they only go on your credit history, not both yours and your daughter. So for a small difference in interest rates, I would say that PLUS has some features to consider.</p>
<p>The MEFA loan is 6.89. But I think we will go with NJCLASS. I called MEFA and the student must be the borrower or co-borrower. My D is going to take out Staffords and I really don’t want her name on any other loans. NJCLASS allows parents to be the sole borrowers (like PLUS) and also to consolidate when the student is finished with undergrad. The NJCLASS rate is 7.35, a little better than PLUS.</p>