Are there any good sources for private loans for undergrads?
I’m a junior BBA student, at a pretty good school, in a major that typically ends up paying well. I have a pretty low risk profile for a lender.
Does anyone have recommendations on where to look for private loans at decent rates? I’m pretty strapped at the moment.
What is your current financial package from your college, what are your parents paying, what is the gap between what you can pay and what you need, how much debt do you have right now?
You are a terrible risk for a lender because the loan isn’t secured by a house, a car, a boat, or something which can get repossessed if you are in default. So your PARENTS will be on the hook for the loan if you have already taken the federal maximum for a student loan. They will assume responsibility for repayment if you are in default.
Can they borrow? Will they borrow? What’s your situation right now?
YOU will not be able to get a private loan on your own. Your parents would have to cosign. ParentPlus loans are not private. Have you looked into those? If you parents are not credit worthy then you are out of luck.
No, if his parents aren’t credit worthy for a PLUS loan, that’s good news as he’d be eligible for an extra $4-5k in Stafford loans.
The bad news is that it is fairly easy to qualify for a parent plus loan.
Are you attending Southern Methodist Univ? Looks like just the tuition is around $52k per year.
In a previous thread you said you got $22.5 k scholarship. Not sure what else you received. So how much of a gap are you trying to cover?
Yes. I am at SMU, I got a couple of small loans in addition to the $22.5k scholarship, so I’m trying to cover a $10k gap. I live off-campus, and I would just deposit the money into my checking to help cover living expenses, as that is where 80% of my need stems from.
I have looked into the ParentPlus loans, and the rates are pretty terrible, so I wouldn’t be willing to take those on.
The rates on private unsecured loans will not be much better. Stafford loans are subsidized by the government and that’s the only reason they are so low. You won’t get that rate anywhere else. SMU might have some private loans available, so your first stop should be the FA office.