Private College Student Loan

Which Bank should I pick for a private student loan (read info)?

Im goin to borrow somewhere between 12k & 13k and these are my options... -----Fifth Third Bank----- Benefits * Save more than $8,000 over traditional 15-year private payment-deferred student loans, putting you on the fast track to financial success1 * Competitive interest rates that reward good credit * No disbursement or repayment fees * Smart RewardSM- receive a 2% reward in your Upromise account each month-just for making the scheduled monthly payments on time2 * A 0.25 percentage point interest rate reduction is available while enrolled in monthly recurring automatic debit3 * Loan amounts up to your total education cost after scholarships, grants, and federal aid4 * Applying with a creditworthy cosigner may help you qualify for and/or receive a lower interest rate * You can apply to release your cosigner just 12 months after the separation period5 ------Sun Trust------ Benefits * NO FEES. * SunTrust Graduation Reward - $300 principal reduction on each SunTrust Academic Answer loan upon graduation Proof of graduation (copy of diploma or final transcript) must be submitted within 90 days of graduation. * Six-month grace period after graduating or dropping below half-time enrollment. * No payments required during in-school period. * Interest rates start at 1-month LIBOR + 3.75%. * Lower your interest rate by 0.25% when you choose to have your payments automatically deducted from your personal bank account. * Cosigner release option available after 48 consecutive on-time principal and interest payments (borrower must meet credit guidelines at time of request). * Borrow up to the cost of education minus financial aid received. * Up to 15 years to repay. * Satisfactory Academic Progress is not required. ------- Chase ------- Benefits * No origination or repayment fees.. * A 0.25% interest rate reduction for borrowers who have their monthly payments automatically deducted from a bank account. *. * Competitive interest rates.. * In many cases, lower rates may be obtained by applying with a qualified cosigner.. * Cosigner release option available after 36 on-time consecutive payments.**. * No payments required while in school.. * This information was current as of March 23, 2010 and is subject to change. You can find interest rate, fee and other cost information, as applicable, at -------Wells Fargo ----- Benefits * No payments are required while a student is in school and for up to six months after graduation or leaving school * 0.50% interest rate reduction at repayment upon verification of graduation with the Wells Fargo Student Graduation BenefitSM Program (effective for loans disbursed on or after July 1, 2008). * 0.25% interest rate reduction at repayment when Wells Fargo automatically withdraws payments from a personal checking or savings account - discount is removed if automatic payments are cancelled (effective for loans disbursed on or after July 1, 2008). * No origination, disbursement or repayment fees * Combined billing for federal and private loans * One place for all your financial needs * Cosigner release after the first 24 consecutive monthly payments are received on time – minimum credit guidelines must be met at the time of the request * Convenient online and phone application with instant credit decisions Wells Fargo reserves the right to discontinue or modify our rewards for future disbursements at any time without notice * .Most students will require a cosigner - apply together to speed up the application process. i already got federal loans (subsidized and unsubsidized) and its not enough, hence the private loan

Public Comments

1. Private loans are evil and should be avoided at all costs. You should always take out the FIXED rate federal student loans instead. Variable rate loans suck because the interest rate WILL go up. YOur payments will be different every month (always more than the month before). You MUST have a cosigner with excellent credit to be approved for any private student loan. You also need to be aware (and make your cosigner aware) that you will need them to cosign for you for your entire college career. Be sure they know that, I'd hate to see you have to drop out your last year because no one would cosign for you. Honestly, if you can not attend a school on federal student loans only, then you can't afford your school.
2. Is there any way you can get federal student loans. I have a private student loan and I wish I would have never gotten it. The interest rates are a lot higher especially now that banks do not want to give out loans anymore. (Mine is from Sallie Mae) But for the case that is your only option, I would call each one and ask them to send you a plan of how many payments you would have to make, when they would start, how much they would be, etc.
3. colleges.mywebcommunity.org - it provides some tips about applying to US federal and state grants for college students.
4. I think that wells fargo is good. In all reality they're all good banks. I would recommend going into the banks and talking to the representatives in person. It'll help you make a better decision. Good luck.