Private College Student Loan

Can you answer questions about college loans?

I filled out the FAFSA form and it reported that I would get around $5320.00 to help pay for my education, possibly more depending on if I get Pell Grants or the Stafford Loan. I need more money. I need to get an apartment because the college I got into doesn't have very many rooms for Transfer students. Can I go through a bank, like Wachovia, to get a loan that will help pay for an apartment, a laptop and college? I'm very confused about all this, I'm not sure what to do. I was also hoping to find a loan through a bank that could be paid after I leave college, like starting six months after. Is that possible?

Public Comments

1. Pounce: At the very least, you will be offered a Stafford loan. You mention that you are a transfer student, so I'm going to guess that you are not a first year college student. A dependent freshman can borrow $5500 from the Stafford program, second year students can borrow $6500 and 3rd and 4th year students are eligible to borrow up to $7500 a year. Now take a look at the EFC score that you received. You should have received an SAR report from the Department of Education that contained your score - if not, you can go back to the http://fafsa.ed.gov website, and view your aid report right there on the page (look under the big number "3"). If your EFC was 4041 or below, that means that you demonstrated "exceptional need" on your FAFSA application - and that will have qualified you for special forms of financial aid known as "need-based" aid. The best-known aid of this type is the Pell Grant. If your score was above 4041, then the only form of Federal Student Aid that you will be offered is the Stafford loan. Your school's aid offer will be revealed to you in an "aid offer letter" that you will receive from the Department of Financial Aid. That's where you'll learn about your Stafford loan eligibility, and it's where you'll find out about any other aid (including the Pell) that your school has available for you. If your school's offer is not sufficient to cover all of your expenses (including tuition, fees, room and board, textbooks and school supplies), you will need to supplement the aid offer with some combination of out-of-pocket money, scholarships or additional loans. Unfortunately, the news about additional loans is not good. Though banks were once fairly liberal about lending money to college students, they have really clamped down over the last year. The reality is that student loans are high-risk loans to the banks. When you start lending large sums of money to applicants with no income, no assets, and a poor or non-existent credit history - simply on the gamble that they'll get a good job later - a lot of those loans don't get repaid, and the banks just aren't willing to take that level of risk right now. Whereas student loans used to be widely available, now there are only a handful of lenders accepting applications, and every one of these lenders applies the same rigorous standards. It is nearly impossible for a college student to be approved for a private educational loan right now - unless they can offer a highly creditworthy cosigner, who is financially able, and willing to guarantee the debt. This has to be someone with an excellent income, and an outstanding credit history. Given the great difficulty in finding private loans, it is very important that you take maximum advantage of any federal student aid - and especially those Stafford loans - that the government is willing to make available to you. Contact financial aid, and ask when you can expect your aid offer letter. Hopefully, you'll find that there will be enough there to cover most of your costs. If you're absolutely convinced that you are going to need a lot more money, now is the time to try lining up a really great cosigner, and applying for a private educational loan with a legitimate lender like Chase, Discover, Sallie Mae, or Wells Fargo. Good luck to you!
2. Almost all student loans you have until 6 months after you graduate to start paying. I went through Citi for my extra school loans and they were a good place to go through for loans. You could call your school and see what bank they suggest