Hi all, I'm considering going back to school. My credit is about a 640 with TU, and around 630 with the rest. Any thoughts on what my best route might be to get student loans? I'd prefer not to have a co-signer but with 640 scores, I'm not sure how realistic that is. Thoguhts?
AFAIK, as long as you have never defaulted on a student loan before, and as long as you meet the scholastic criteria for a student loan (going to an accredited college, etc), you are guaranteed approval for Stafford loans. Under no circumstances should you ever go through a private lender. No way, period, end of discussion. It's been a long time, but I'm pretty sure the federal government guarantees your loan.
Sparq is right- you'll have no problem getting Federal Student loans. Private loans, on the other hand, will require that you have good credit scores or a cosigner, but I would avoid those too. Don't forget to use the time wisely while your in school to get those scores up as high as possible though. You'll want to finish school with your credit scores in great shape.
Ok, filled out FASFA, but federal loans and financial aid won't cover my cost of living, and I won't be able to work during school. Any thoughts on the best companies to go through for student loans of this nature?
I don't have any specific companies to recommend. However, keep in mind that you will be taking on long-term debt at high interest rates (given the FICO you provided). The interest will compound many times over, and you will almost certainly be required to start making immediate payments; you will most likely not be able to defer payments on these loans until after graduation. This translates to easily paying $50k or more for $20k of loans (and $20k is a razor-thin margin for cost-of-living over two years). I urge you to reconsider not being able to work during school. If it's simply 100% out of the question, then it is what it is. But if you can even take a part-time minimum-wage job, you will save thousands in interest. Have you considered online degrees? There are many scammy online "universities" out there (some are even accredited!), but there are also very worthwhile programs from your local universities. I have an online degree from a major local university, and the degree itself -- as well as my qualification -- is indistinguishable from what I would have gotten had I attended class in person. My transcript in no way indicates that I took online classes instead of in-person classes. The reason I suggest this is that you could save a fortune on cost of living expenses by going online. Failing all of that, I would only consider loans that offered fixed rates. Avoid variable-rate loans at all costs. Nothing like starting out on a 3.9% loan only to watch it jump up to 39.99% after five years. Get the shortest repayment period that you think you can afford. If they disperse the funds all at once, put everything you'll need for years 2, 3, and 4 into guaranteed investments like CDs -- that will help offset the compounding interest. Good luck!
Yeah unfortunately working is out of the question as it's an accelerated medical degree (squeezing four years into 1.5). I looked at online degrees (I got my undergrad from Upper Iowa Online) but since this is medical, no one offeres it online as you have to complete clinicals. My FICO isn't horrible, but not great (640's). Any suggestions?
Your FICO score of 640 is going to make it tough to get approved for a private student loan. While it's not horrible, it is considered in the "poor credit" range these days. If part-time work is completely out of the question, I'd start looking for a co-signer.
Taking a student loan is not bad but you have to know the rule,cuase you might be having a trouble a Defaulted student loan in the future.
