<p>Is there a way to find out what your interest rate would be from a particular lender without going through the whole process of applying for the loan? All the Lenders seem to say something like...LIBOR +3.50% to +10.75%...or...Prime +1.00% to +7.75%. I believe the difference lies in your credit history but this number would be something I would need to make a decision. How far into the application process do you have to go to find out what this rate would be and if it's to high, are you at a point where you can still back out?</p>
<p>i had to complete most of the applications to find out my student loan intrest rate for the different loans. i did not finish any of the applications completly becuase i did not want to accept them yet…you just have to make sure not to accept/fully compelte the application</p>
<p>Can you tell me what lender you ended up using? Was it a private student loan? There are so many, and just when I think I’ve made a decision I find something negative about the lender.</p>
<p>the exact same thing keeps happening to me! it is a private student loan and i did not even have a cosigner. even though i hear bad things about them too, i think i might end up with wells fargo. wells fargo has a program where they 1/2% just by showing proof of graduation and so far they have the lowest intrest rate for me…</p>
<p>which lender are you leaning towards?</p>
<p>Actually, we just went with Chase Student Loans. I had read several places that it’s better to go with a lender that uses the LIBOR scale which they do, they gave us a pretty good interest rate and they have no fees. I REALLY hate to do this but the reason we steered clear of Wells Fargo is because I read quite a few stories about their terrible customer service, (like if you have problems or questions) It could just have been the “complainers” but I read enough that it put me off of them. Also this was not good:
[Consumer</a> Complaints about Wells Fargo Student Loans](<a href=“http://www.consumeraffairs.com/finance/wells_fargo_student_loans.html]Consumer”>http://www.consumeraffairs.com/finance/wells_fargo_student_loans.html)
It could just be that people didn’t read the fine print. No matter how difficult it may be…read all the details, make phone calls, ask lots of questions & try to get as much as possible in print, & print it out!
Good Luck!</p>
<p>If you’re a student looking at private loans, you might want to read this article on FinAid. It refers to private loan “teaser” rates which go up over the life of the loan, and how parent Plus loans fixed at 7.9% for 10 years actually often end up costing less in the long run.
Happy reading.
For parents: [FinAid</a> | Loans | Loan Tradeoffs - Public vs. Private](<a href=“Your Guide for College Financial Aid - Finaid”>Your Guide for College Financial Aid - Finaid)
For Students: [FinAid</a> | Loans | Student Loans](<a href=“Your Guide for College Financial Aid - Finaid”>Student Loans - Finaid)</p>
<p>I would like to know if anyone deferred their loans when they returned to graduate school. My current interest rate on my private loan is 3%. Am I better off continuing to make payments while I’m enrolled full-time to keep the interest rate low?</p>
<p>jesscollegemom -
do you remember where you read that loans using the LIBOR scale are better than those using the prime rate? The Discover private loan looks very good - rate starts at 4.25% for those w/ very good credit - prime rate + 1% - so I’m tempted to go w/ them.
Do you mind saying what rate Chase gave you?
Thanks!</p>
<p>Momcat2 - someone on another thread recently mentioned the Discover private as being the best deal in her particular situation as well. I personally fail to understand what is great about the 7.9% of the direct parent plus interest rate (esp. when they take 4% on disbursement). Maybe if you search “Discover” you can find that thread/reference.</p>
<p>does it goes against our credit to appy for student loans to mulitple companies to compare the rates we get from each?</p>
<p>We just got the Discover loan. The rate is anywhere from 4.25% to 11.25% depending on the student’s credit (or the cosigner’s). Since we qualified for the best rate, the PLUS loan made no sense at all to me. I’ve also heard good things about Chase, and that would have been our second choice. I steered clear of Wells simply because it is a clone of my bank, B of A, which has terrible customer service.</p>
<p>
You might want to call a couple of the lenders and ask at what point in the app process it gets reported to the credit bureaus. But note that they will tell you the rate before you sign and submit the app.</p>