Student Loans with No Credit?

nakirush

Hey H/A people,

So I just moved out on my own, have very little credit, not a ton of cash, and my job doesn't exactly pay a lot. I've also decided I hit the point where I need to get back in school (trade school, in case it matters).

The program I want to take is one year long and costs $12,000 paid in $3,000 chunks every quarter. Not much for education, but combined with living expenses it's more than I'm making right now.

I tried getting a student loan last year, but was turned down. No credit. My co-signer (dad) assured me he had good credit, but did not.

What steps could I take towards securing a student loan? I know the school goes through Sallie Mae, but are there other options? Maybe other companies that will deal with me having little/no credit?

Any help is greatly appreciated!

Shogun

Have you filled out a FAFSA?

nakirush

Yes, but according to the school the FAFSA does nothing for me since it's a non-certificate program.

Shogun

Well that severely limits your choices. In fact it means you can't get financial aid without private loans which sucks a lot. Have you considered something other than a tradeschool? What trade is this out of curiosity?

Without credit or a good co-signer it is going to be very hard to get a private educational loan. The department of education just got a ton of money for stafford/perkins loans, pell grants, etc etc so the money is out there.

nakirush

It's for concept art and design at Gnomon School of Visual Effects. I've looked at colleges and what not, but they're so expensive and I'd rather not be stuck paying off $100,000+ in student loans. Plus Gnomon has very good ties with the industry and has a great reputation for producing well-prepared students.

I assume that the Stafford/Perkins loans and Pell grants are only for degree students?

Would it be possible to get a private loan if I settled for a higher interest rate?

Kyougu

nakirush wrote: »

It's for concept art and design at Gnomon School of Visual Effects. I've looked at colleges and what not, but they're so expensive and I'd rather not be stuck paying off $100,000+ in student loans. Plus Gnomon has very good ties with the industry and has a great reputation for producing well-prepared students.

I assume that the Stafford/Perkins loans and Pell grants are only for degree students?

Would it be possible to get a private loan if I settled for a higher interest rate?

It may be, though I'm imagining it will be hard to get loans in the current economic climate. And prepare to get raped with interests rates.

Shogun

$100,000 in debt?

Man what

Assuming I graduate like I'm supposed to I'll graduate next year with maybe $10,000 in loans that have 4% interest that is subsidized by uncle sam.

Knock your first two years out at a community college where you can afford it out of pocket/with grants and then pick up loans and finish your last two years at a university. I'm not saying this is what you should do, but it is very possible to graduate from a good school with very little debt.

Also your ability to get loans period depends on your credit. If you have bad or no credit you probably are not going to get a loan regardless of what interest rate you're willing to accept. You need good credit or someone with good credit that is willing to vouch for you.

Jasconius

You aren't going to get private education loans in this day in age without at least some credit. I finished college by the skin of my teeth with "good credit" because I couldn't get the last semester's worth of loans.

Your best bet is FAFSA... but in my experience, unless you are a minority who is the product of two generations of welfare, you aren't getting much. I once filed with my mother as a single parent where her income was just above the poverty line and I didn't get a dime.

Shogun has the right answer in going to *community college* to get your general shit out of the way. You do not want to be paying 3 grand for a college algebra class when you can get it as good or better at a CC for a third of the cost. Those are the sort of classes you can pay for with a job at Starbucks while you build some credit, then go for the loans.