<p>I’m sure this has been covered multiple times, but I’ve tried multiple searches on this thread and can’t find what I’m looking for.</p>
<p>We’re new to the unsubsidized Stafford Loan “process”. I’ve gone through the school’s financial site, and they are not a direct lender. You must choose a lender—their drop-down list has Sallie Mae, Chase Manhattan, and Citibank. I’ve read everything that says we should compare the fees. From what I can tell, they all charge a 1% loan origination and a 1% federal default fee; I can’t see much difference between them at all. I’ve also looked at Bank of America’s…their loan looks the same.</p>
<li><p>What else should I be looking for? They look the same to me.</p></li>
<li><p>Everything shows the interest rate for Stafford Loans as 6.8% until June 30, 2008, and from google searches, I think the new interest rate be 5.6%. Is this correct? Should we not “accept” the offer until after July, 2009 to get the lower rate, or is it based on when the funds are dispersed, which I assume would be after 2009 for the 2009/2010 school year.</p></li>
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<p>I don’t think you have to use the lenders the school lists. There are lenders out there that do not charge fees. My son used used a local State bank that does not charge any fee and my daughter’s school is a direct lender so I have no experience with the big lenders. But as a for instance Discover loans may be one that does not charge the fees according to some posts I have seen on CC. Personally I would go for the upfront ‘no fees’ discount rather than worrying about the promised interest rate deductions etc. Though if you can get both that is even better.</p>
<p>Unsubsidized is 6.8%. Unfortunately only the subsidized loan rates are going down.</p>
<p>OK, I’ll do some more googling. I understand that the subsidized loan rate is now 6.0% and is going down to 5.6%. For the subsidized loan, should we wait until after July 2009 to accept it? (back to my original #2…sorry, I should have been more specific)></p>
<p>Oh sorry - I didn’t see that you also had subsidized loans. Yes the 2009-2010 rate is dropping to 5.6%. I am pretty sure the rate is based on when they are disbursed, so you should be able to go ahead and accept them from the school without problem. Hopefully someone else will confirm.</p>
<p>Thanks for the info. I finally got a response from the financial aid office email inquiry (I’ve given up trying to call them!) and they said EXACTLY what you just did, it is based on when the loan is disbursed.</p>
<p>Legally, you can choose any approved Title IV Lender, even if they are not on the schools recommended lender list. HOWEVER, be aware that some lenders will refuse to issue loans to certain schools even if the student/parent want to use that lender. Schools cannot blacklist a lender but lenders are allowed to blacklist schools.</p>
<p>Most lenders and guarantee agencies are each charging 1% (for a total of 2%). At the current time some lenders are still stating zero origination fee but word through the FAA grapevine is that most lenders will be charging a 1% origination fee on loans disbursed after July 1…only time will tell what the reality is, as current speculation by FAA’s and lenders could change based on Obama’s recovery plan and the economy.</p>
<p>I have a related question. Can you take out an unsubsidized Stafford even if it is not mentioned by the school on their fin aid offer? I assume that, if you were able to do this, you would have to stay under the annual $5500 (freshman) total loan amount.</p>
<p>We were offered a $2500 Perkins, but would like to be able to take out an additional $3000 unsubsidized Stafford. Possible?</p>
<p>You should be able to as long as your total aid including the loans does not include the school’s COA. The $5500 loan limit is just for the Stafford by the way. The Perkins is a completely separate loan and having a $2500 Perkins should not affect the $5500 Stafford eligibility.</p>
<p>You would have to ask your school to be sure. Some schools may have their own odd rules. A poster the other day was saying their school said they would take away the SEOG grant they had awarded them if they took out a loan. (COA was not covered). Fairly unusual I believe, but the school is the best one to tell you…</p>