<p>D received her pretty generous financial aid award, but there is 17k left to come up with. She is a junior and this is the first year I've had to apply for a loan. My younger D is entering a 15-month certificate program for which we will need to borrow about 10k. </p>
<p>The financial aid person at D1's school says that Federal PLUS loans can start at 5 (?) percent and have a fixed rate, etc. The school refers us to a website where one can compare terms of loans from different banks, but the lowest interest rate offered is 8.9%. Is there a better place to search for a lower interest rate, or should we be looking at "private alternative" loans?</p>
<p>As for covering D2's tuition, are Federal PLUS loans available for non-4 year institutions, or where would you recommend we look for a loan with good terms, hopefully deferral of payments until after graduation, etc?</p>
<p>P.S. I am renting a home at this time and had planned to buy a home by the end of the year. I worry that having two student loans in my name is not going to be great for qualifying for a mortgage. Can my daughters apply for their loans in their name, or since I would have to co-sign anyway, would the debts show up on my credit report regardless?</p>
<p>Thank you.</p>