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School Loans
Mai-Kero
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
So I've been waiting for one of my parent's PINs to come in so I can finally sign this year's FAFSA, and I'm probably going to call or something because it's been like a month and a half since I requested it.
In any event, the first bill is due on the 28th of this month, and I'm not sure how long the FAFSA money is going to take to come in, and I almost assuredly won't have enough to cover more than 2/3s of the tuition from it, even though my parents aren't contributing anything (aside of a room, which I appreciate, but desperately need to move out of.)
I need to seriously take a look at private loans. In addition to, you know, paying for tuition, I've got books and gas to buy, and last year I took those out on a credit card that I'm still paying off now. That should be done in a month or two though, but that doesn't leave me with any way to get books and other supplies this semester. Additionally, I'm certain that moving closer to campus would greatly improve my grades. I won't have to drive an hour a day, work will be much much closer, and I won't have to deal with bullshit family drama. I think there might be a few apartment complexes near the school that I can get into for around $300-400 a month, which I'll obviously need a loan for, since I rarely get close to 40 hours a week at my shitty retail job. Dorms aren't an option because I'm going to a regional campus until next year.
Are there any banks that stand out above the rest in terms of not-being-assholes about school loans? My credit should be kind of decent for a young person since I've been working for a year, going to school for a year, and paying off credit for a year and a half (I started with my cell phone bill, which I paid with a card every month, and then promptly paid that off so I never had a balance.) I'll need, with the FAFSA direct loan taking care of 2/3s of it, something like $2000 for tuition for the year, $3600 for a year's worth of rent on a cheapo-apartment, and probably $600-800 for books. So, probably at least $6500. Maybe $7000 to be safe. Where should I go? Is visiting each bank individually the best plan? Any online sources I should be aware of?
In any event, the first bill is due on the 28th of this month, and I'm not sure how long the FAFSA money is going to take to come in, and I almost assuredly won't have enough to cover more than 2/3s of the tuition from it, even though my parents aren't contributing anything (aside of a room, which I appreciate, but desperately need to move out of.)
I need to seriously take a look at private loans. In addition to, you know, paying for tuition, I've got books and gas to buy, and last year I took those out on a credit card that I'm still paying off now. That should be done in a month or two though, but that doesn't leave me with any way to get books and other supplies this semester. Additionally, I'm certain that moving closer to campus would greatly improve my grades. I won't have to drive an hour a day, work will be much much closer, and I won't have to deal with bullshit family drama. I think there might be a few apartment complexes near the school that I can get into for around $300-400 a month, which I'll obviously need a loan for, since I rarely get close to 40 hours a week at my shitty retail job. Dorms aren't an option because I'm going to a regional campus until next year.
Are there any banks that stand out above the rest in terms of not-being-assholes about school loans? My credit should be kind of decent for a young person since I've been working for a year, going to school for a year, and paying off credit for a year and a half (I started with my cell phone bill, which I paid with a card every month, and then promptly paid that off so I never had a balance.) I'll need, with the FAFSA direct loan taking care of 2/3s of it, something like $2000 for tuition for the year, $3600 for a year's worth of rent on a cheapo-apartment, and probably $600-800 for books. So, probably at least $6500. Maybe $7000 to be safe. Where should I go? Is visiting each bank individually the best plan? Any online sources I should be aware of?
Mai-Kero on
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Posts
In general a place like that, that's more focused towards student loans is going to be much more pleasant to deal with than a random bank/financial institution that happens to also provide student loans.
[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
I got my private loans through sallie mae because my college was one of the universities getting kickbacks from them on the dateline special a few years back. I've had a completely different experience.
I missed a payment and they called my cell phone eighteen times a day, after a year of on time payments.
I check their website, and it's never up to date, it always shows I owe about $200 on average more than I actually do when I call them.
Just thought I'd give you another side of the story.
Regarding financial aid offices, check online, find five or six loan offices you like the rates from, pick one, then take that bid to your financial aid office.
I can't speak for every school, but mine was found accountable for purposefully recommending a specific loan company to students in return for financial favors.
If you want some better rates you might try Wachovia, their rates are better in comparison to Sallie Mae and a few of the other big fish.
Sometimes, these loans are paid directly to your school and you have to requisition the money from them, which isn't always immediate.
we also talk about other random shit and clown upon each other
This Fall, they tried to offer me a 7.5% variable interest rate loan, when I had a 4.5% fixed interest rate offer from CitiBank. CitiBank had the lowest rate out of the handful of loans I applied for.