No Cosigner?

Paying for College
1

I know that students can only take out federal loans without a cosigner, but what if I have my own credit history? By the time I need to take out student loans, I will have two years of credit history. Will that allow me to take out private loans without a cosigner or will I still need a cosigner because of my age and student status? I know my brother could get a loan after only one year of credit history, but he did not go to college and the loan was for a car.

I know someone who couldn’t get a loan because her parents’ credit score was too low and she had no credit, so she had to go to community college. That’s part of the reason my parents got me my own credit card last year, but I am unsure if having my own credit history will change that. Does anyone know anything about this?

2

No. Credit history does not help. The banks want people with income/assets to pay back the loan in case your cannot.

3

Having your own credit history will probably not help (unless you somehow have a large income from some source). You would have to have an income to support the amount of money you are borrowing in order to qualify for a loan in the amounts you might need to attend school. A lot of people do end up attending community college because going straight to a 4-year school is outside of their financial means. It’s not a bad way to go as it can save thousands of dollars. NO employer cares where you start out- they will only look at where you graduated from. You do not want to graduate from college with large debt.

4

I don’t believe you would be able to. The federal loan limits are applied based on your status as a dependent/independent student, not the amount of credit history you have. That’s why your brother could get a car loan - it’s a private loan, not a federal loan.

That said, since you have 2 years of credit history, you may be able to get a private loan. Private loans are generally not encouraged for college, but if it’s your only option, you should do some research on terms, interest rates, etc., and see if it’s a good fit.

I see from your other posts that you’re a junior. People have probably already told you this, but focusing on financial safeties is a hundred times better than trying to take out private loans for college. Community college / transferring is also an option, but keep in mind that there’s usually very little FA available for transfers.

5

In another thread you said your parents have an EFC of $25-30k and they expect you to pay for college on your own. Your current top choice, Syracuse, costs ~$62k/year. They think you’re going to cover that by taking private loans? Who do they think is going to give an 18-year-old that kind of money in an unsecured loan?

Your best bet is to search for merit. If you file the FAFSA you can take the ~$5500/year federal student loan, and if you work summers you can probably earn another ~$3k/year. That gives you ~$8k. If your parents can’t/won’t contribute anything, you need to find schools that offer merit for your stats.

6

You still have to qualify for the loan. For a Stafford loan, you qualify by being a student and by having not defaulted on previous loans, not having a drug conviction, etc.

For a private loan, just having a co-signer is not enough either. The co-signer has to qualify for the loan with a debt:income ratio, with a credit rating in the zone the bank determines, with security if the bank prefers.

7

OP mentioned in another thread that her parents don’t intend to cosign loans.

@carmen00, You said your brother didn’t go to college. Is that because he didn’t want to or he couldn’t afford it? What are your parents suggesting you do after high school? Do they expect you to work? Would they let you live at home and commute to school?

If your parents really mean they won’t help you at all, post your stats and maybe we can help you find something. You’re in PA, right? What’s your intended major?

8

Without a high income to show that you can pay the loans, no bank will approve you. Credit score is only half the issue. INCOME is the other.

Thank goodness you’re only a junior, so let’s find you places you can AFFORD!!!

What are your stats?

What is your major and career goal?

What do you like about Syracuse?

You can still apply to some financial reach schools if you want, but we want you to have at least 3 schools that you’ll apply to that will give you massive amounts of merit so you can afford to attend.

9

@coolweather @takeitallin @catbird1 @austinmshauri @twoinanddone @mom2collegekids thank you all for your help! As you can tell, my family is just trying to figure the process.
And no, I would not be taking out an insurmountable amount of private loans. I would only consider private loans if I needed to cover an extra couple thousand that federal loans and my own savings did not cover.

10

@austinmshauri my brother was planning on going to community college, but he was lucky enough to find a good paying job that had on-the-job training. He was never one to care for school, so he was lucky to find the job he did.

My parents expect me to go to college because I have always done extremely well and I care about my education. My parents are willing to let me stay at home and commute if needed, but I would prefer if I could live on campus somewhere. No one in my family has ever gone to college (including extended family) so my parents are scared of the day that I leave for college.

Both you and @mom2collegekids offered to help with finding financial safeties, so here are my stats!

Intended major: Public Relations (willing to do a comm major if I can take classes that focus on PR)

GPA: about 3.9 UW, 4.48 W
SAT: 1350
Class Rank: 7/142 or 5%
Classes: 14 Honors (including junior year) AP classes are being introduced next year so I will take 3 next year. Also planning on spending a half day at Lehigh or Moravian next year so I will be taking college courses.
State: PA (expensive state schools !!!)
ECs:

  • Newspaper (president)
  • Debate (no leadership but dedicated)
  • Volunteer during the summer
  • Typical summer job (starting this year)
    About me: Hispanic, first-gen

So yeah, those are my stats. I’m hoping to either get my SAT up when I retake or get a better ACT score. My stats are pretty typical. I would love to go to a large school, but if I need to, I will go to a smaller college if I get a scholarship.

11

Those are good stats. I think the 1350 is equivalent to a ~29 on the ACT. You may qualify for some tuition grants with those scores, but if you can get it up to a ~1450 (32 ACT) I think you’ll be eligible for more. Start by checking the [Yola scholarship site](http://automaticfulltuition.yolasite.com) to see what’s available. Then go directly to the college websites to get a list of updated requirements in case they change.

Even with a full tuition award you’d still need ~$12k/year for room & board, plus money for travel and living expenses during the year. If you file the FAFSA you can take the federal student loan ($5500 as a freshman, $6500 as a soph, and $7500/year as a junior and senior). If you work summers you can probably earn ~$3k/year. That gives you ~$8k/year. If your parents won’t cover even a small gap, you may have to start at a cc then commute to one of your local Penn State branches or be flexible about the type of college you attend.

12

Some schools still recognize 1400 as a 32 equivalent, so look at the yola site list.

13

<<<
@austinmshauri my brother was planning on going to community college, but he was lucky enough to find a good paying job that had on-the-job training. He was never one to care for school, so he was lucky to find the job he did.

My parents expect me to go to college because I have always done extremely well and I care about my education. My parents are willing to let me stay at home and commute if needed, but I would prefer if I could live on campus somewhere. No one in my family has ever gone to college (including extended family) so my parents are scared of the day that I leave for college.

Both you and @mom2collegekids offered to help with finding financial safeties, so here are my stats!

Intended major: Public Relations (willing to do a comm major if I can take classes that focus on PR)

GPA: about 3.9 UW, 4.48 W
SAT: 1350
Class Rank: 7/142 or 5%
Classes: 14 Honors (including junior year) AP classes are being introduced next year so I will take 3 next year. Also planning on spending a half day at Lehigh or Moravian next year so I will be taking college courses.
State: PA (expensive state schools !!!)
ECs:

  • Newspaper (president)
  • Debate (no leadership but dedicated)
  • Volunteer during the summer
  • Typical summer job (starting this year)
    About me: Hispanic, first-gen

So yeah, those are my stats. I’m hoping to either get my SAT up when I retake or get a better ACT score. My stats are pretty typical. I would love to go to a large school, but if I need to, I will go to a smaller college if I get a scholarship.
<<<<

Are you low income? Med income? High income?

How much will your parents pay each year? Ask them, please don’t guess. We see later posts from a lot of disappointed students who thought their parents would pay more.

As for your parents fear about you going away to college. There are some cultures that do fear this… Particularly if no one in the family has ever gone to college. There can also be a fear that a college-educated child might “look down” on the rest of the family and the there will be friction/fracture. If any of this applies to your situation, you can reassure them of your love and devotion even when going to college and working in your career.

Yes, do retest. Study the SAT and ACT…if you get your scores up, the more merit you’ll get