Anyone know of a good lending service for private student loans? Ive never gotten any kind of financial aid or student loans before, but I need some help for the fall and spring semester. I kind of screwed up my gpa last fall and took the spring semester off which put me on progress warning, which makes me ineligable for loans through ncsu. I do have a job but I have a limited credit history. Any help will be appreciated.

6/12/2008 12:50:20 AM

before I got into grad school I was looking at Bank of America. I don't know who you bank through but call them and ask. If you still work for the state look into the SECU.

Do you still live at the farm? Answer via PM

6/12/2008 1:09:44 AM

bttt

11/13/2008 6:33:51 PM

Thanks, OmarBadu!

11/13/2008 6:43:26 PM

any of the big banks are all going to be the same

i think that citibank doesnt charge you any fees

11/13/2008 9:04:15 PM

sallie mae

11/13/2008 9:41:11 PM

I used Sallie Mae at first. My interest rate was lower when I had a cosigner (obviously), but after the first year I put everything in my name which raised it about 2% even though my credit score is around 730.

Sallie Mae's rates were also unsubsidized. Not exactly an ideal situation, but if you are serious about school and have no other options then you just have to chalk it up as an investment.

Wachovia has since picked me up at a far lower rate and subsidized interest, but it took 2 years of making dean's list and turning the ripe old age of 24 for things to actually go my way financially and receive any real aid. This is because the DOE goes by your parents W-2's until you are 23-24 regardless of how much your parents contribute to your education.

11/14/2008 12:00:26 AM

CFNC.org?

I didn't really have to go THROUGH ncsu to get mine for studying abroad in the summer. I don't know though, I didn't interact with the normal process of the Financial Aid office, so this may be a stupid post

11/14/2008 2:13:44 PM

mine is through CFNC. i consolidated several years ago and locked in 3%, but with interest rates like they are now they automatically lowered it to 2.5% (temporarily, i'm assuming). i would give them a call.

11/14/2008 2:42:50 PM

Dear God
If you HAVE to go through Sallie Mae, keep notes on EVERYTHING:
- who you spoke with
- when
- about what

Do as much correspondence via email as possible. Keep an eye on your credit report. Keep copies of all payments processed.

They have a very long history of getting shit wrong, and maliciously fucking with their debtors - either current or former. They exhibit no respect for the Fair Debt Collections Practices Act, and don't really ever seem concerned with fixing mistakes in their systems.

I'm sure other lenders aren't perfect either, but the horror stories from Sallie Mae are FAR worse and more common than any other private lender.

Always, always, always meet with someone from the Fin Aid office - someone helpful - before assuming that you have to go with a private lender. Most of the folks there genuinely want to help students get their financial aid, and can help you get funding. By "someone helpful", I mean someone who clearly listens. I've found that in my dealings with them, you can tell pretty quickly whether or not the person you're dealing with is going to be of any use, by assessing their listening skills. "well, just ask your dad for those papers" isn't an appropriate response to "I've asked my dad for these forms, but he won't get them for me". If you wanted to be dealing with that sort of crap, you wouldn't be coming to the financial aid office, and they really should know better.

Spontaneous, if you want to PM me what's going on, I might be able to help.

11/15/2008 1:24:10 PM

just an FYI (and i know you prob already know this) but you should only go through a private lender if you HAVE HAVE HAVE to and you can't qualify for any federal loans. because the federal loan forgiveness programs are pretty sweet and they still let you consolidate (a lot of the private lenders are doing away with that). there's more than just stafford loans out there (as far as the federal loans go).


http://www.equaljusticeworks.org/node/215

11/15/2008 8:16:11 PM