Hi! I've been using this forum to research the different loans that people have mentioned and here's what I've found..
The first thing is if you're looking for loans to live off of the key words that you don't want to see are "borrow up to the full cost of attendance minus any other financial aid that you have received". Those are based on what your school determines is what it costs to attend school for a year and for example.. the school I'm going to attend.. after federal loans.. loans that say that will only give me $10,000. These loans fall under "cost of education loans".
What we're looking for are OUTSIDE THE COST OF EDUCATION LOANS. If a company disburses the money directly to the borrower - then it falls under this category.
Wells Fargo Ed Connection/P.L.A.T.O.
- Annual amount 1,000 -25,000/year; no origination, disbursement, or repayment fees; interest from 5.75%-15.50% (depending on credit); can decrease your interest by 0.25-0.50% with auto-debit from checking acct.; decrease interest by 0.50% after 48 consec. monthly payments; 15 year repayment; $$$ disbursed to borrower
Suntrust - eMax Loan
- Annual amount 1,000 - 25,000/year; no fees (origination); interest from 6-15.5%; decrease interest by 0.25% with auto-pay; decrease interest by 0.5% with 48 month on-time payments; forgot to write down the repayment length; never got a hold of anyone to see if it's disbursed to the borrower or school
Bank of America - Education Maximizer
- 1500 - 30,000/year; Interest is figured with the Libor Index (couldn't find an exact interest rate); origination fees from 5-10.5%; proof of enrollment; proof of income; funds sent to borrower
PNC Bank - National Collegiate Loan
- 1500 - 30,000/year; interest using Libor Index + 4.65%-7.25%; origination fees 5-10.50%; repayment up to 20 years
Sallie Mae
- 1500 - 45,000/year; 20 year repayment; funds sent to borrower; supplemental fee from 5-10%; Interest from Prime + 1.5%-6%; fees and interest depends upon credit
Wachovia - Educaid Select Loan (???)
- 5,000 - 45,000/year; no origination fees; Prime+0%; unsure if it's an outside the cost of education loan. If anyone has info about this one please add on!
There's one more loan company that I found that offers these types of loans - I'll add that at a later time - but pretty similiar to Sallie Mae I believe.
I figured I would take all my research and save some people some time. If anyone has any additional information, wants to correct me or add to what I've found PLEASE DO! I want to make the best informed decision before I owe someone this much $$$ and I'm sure others do as well. I hope this helps!
Specializes in SICU; Just accepted to CRNA school!.
Quick ?, I've never taken out loans for anything and I've read every post and do not see an answer: Many of you are saying 'I got approved for $XXXX PER year from whichever bank.' My question is, say you apply a few months before you quit work and are approved for 30k. When you start the 2nd year of school, will you recieve another 30k? If not, are you applying for as much money in the beginning as you can to last you the 2-2.5 yrs of school...or are you reapplying for more money at the start of the 2nd year? (this is in regards to private loans...I know that you need to re-file a fafsa each year)
Okay, here's the question... I've done all the fed loan stuff, HELOC, but in case I need it I am still looking for a private. Here's the prob, I have great credit, but my debt to income ratio stinks (no credit cards, but a fat mtg on a house I can't sell yet) So, I was approved by WF but @ a high rate. So I am looking for a loan that is credit based only, NOT debt to income based. FYI...cosigner not an option. Any input appreciated, thx
I am in the process of doing the Wells Fargo loan for school and they say they send a letter to the school telling them how much the loan is for. It is not for certification or anything. Does anyone know if this effects your federal loans? Should I wait until I get my federal loans squared away? Thanks for any input!!
Hello everyone! I thought I'd update here, now that I have my $$ for school. First of all, I HIGHLY recommend Chase for your federal and private loans. The first thing I did in my search for the dollars was fill out my FAFSA and take all the loans that the government offered me, which totalled for the year @ $40,000. This includes subsidized, unsub, and federal PLUS loan. Next, I took a loan from an area hospital for $15000 over the course of the program, which is a $555.55 check per month, for the entire program.
Lastly, (and this is what everyone wants to know about) was the quest for the private (the money to live on) loan. After searching through this forum, I decided that if I took an Educated Borrower loan for $60000, I wouldn't need to take anymore loans for the rest of the program. So, in late June, I applied for the loan. To make a loooong story short, it's now August 30 and I still haven't received a &^%$ answer. Soooo frustrating!!! Multiple problems: after a few weeks, I was told : "we never received your application" What? GRRRR! I gave them more time, but as I said, never received a response. The second issue with them was I received a letter from their lender saying that I "requested more that the loan limit". What? The limit is $60000, that's what I requested. Upon calling customer service, they told me to "ignore that letter". Hmm. Ok. At this time, August 9th, I decided I couldn't wait around anymore. I applied for the Chase private loan (which my school had a set limit on how much I could get: 27,590, which is what i asked for) I received the check a few days ago. Their customer service was awesome and told me when the license I sent was too blurry, and gave me options to get my check fast (get a UPS account and next day air, otherwise it would take 5-7 days after the check is mailed).
So, here is the complaint I sent to Educated Borrower after I closed my application:
To Whom it May Concern:
I just wanted to let someone know about my terrible experience with the Educated Borrower. I began the loan process the end of June 2007. After multiple calls regarding this account, and the assurance that all was well, I received information in July that my application had never been received. After re-sending my application, and more calls to ensure nothing else was needed from me, I have still not received an answer regarding my loan status. During this time, I applied for another private loan on August 9th through Chase. I received the check August 20th. I just wanted to let someone know why I have cancelled my loan application with the Educated Borrower. Word of mouth is a powerful thing, and unfortunately, I will not be able to recommend your product to anyone I know.
The loan process was streamlined and customer service was always helpful with the other lender I chose. Many times, when I would call Educated Borrower, it was a different story. The CSRs would tell me something different on a daily basis, and the only time I felt like anything was being done was when I spoke with a supervisor. This is not to say the CSRs weren't doing their jobs; in fact, I believe they were doing them as well as they could. Many of them were very apologetic to my situation, and could tell I was frustrated about the process. It must be a hard job to sit and listen to all the people calling day in and day out about their loans. Every CSR was polite and attempted to be helpful. However, after 2 months of waiting for an answer (and multiple "requests" to the processor, supervisors, etc) I STILL do not have an answer. This is not acceptable, and is the reason I will never recommend your product.
--Nurse Kern
So, sorry this is so long, but I just wanted to warn everyone. I wouldn't want anyone else to go through this frustration if you don't have to! For now my loan total is @ about 82,500. I will probably take out all the federal again next year. If needed, Chase told me I could also renew my private loan, even though I won't be working.
I'm reading thru all of this and need to know, which one of these loans would be good for my husband. Our credit is not so great, but we are working on it. So to put it bluntly, who will do loans other than Stafford for him without good credit??
I need some help! I must admit, I'm know very little when it comes to financial issues. I am interviewing for anesthesia school starting next fall. I am currently a travel nurse so my only permanent residence is my parent's house (I do not own my own house). I am currently paying off a car loan. I am single, so I will pretty much need loans for absolutely everything while I am in school ... tuition, books, living, etc.
I have been reading over these boards and some things are over my head. Can anyone recommend a website or some place to find simple easy to understand information about different loans and how to get started?
Here's a tip: (confirmed by others in this thread too)
Don't use EDUCATED BORROWER!!
I originally applied for my loan in late July as I wanted to use my current income as an RN to qualify for more $$. Well, I finally had to close my application with them in October!!! :angryfire I never got a dime from them. I have excellent credit, no car payment, and no credit card debt. I know that was not the problem.
They gave the run-around at every turn. They always an excuse for delays. Frequently, they tried to direct their problems back on me...you never faxed us this or that (which I did multiple times), the copy of your license/pay stubs/signature is not clear...we need a utility bill now for proof of address...etc. This went on for months!! I counted up how many separate faxes I sent them...22!
Finally, I closed my app with them. Take it from me and the others who have tried to use Educated Borrower, they are not worth your time. Look elsewhere for money.
p.s. Wells Fargo time of app to time of check received = 11 days
Hey just want to thank everyone for this useful thread, I have learned a lot about loans through it.
Anyway one of the things that has been confusing about alternative loans is what criteria they use to determine how much you get. For example the Wells Fargo site says $1,000 - $25,000 "based on cost of education". Who determines cost of education? Is it a preset amount?
I called Chase the other day and it seems as if they looked up how much my program allows which was 1,000-25,000. Will that amount be universal among Salliemae, Wells Fargo, etc? Has anyone had any luck getting more that one of these at a time? Also how does it work out the following year when you apply minus the employment?
Hey just want to thank everyone for this useful thread, I have learned a lot about loans through it.
Anyway one of the things that has been confusing about alternative loans is what criteria they use to determine how much you get. For example the Wells Fargo site says $1,000 - $25,000 "based on cost of education". Who determines cost of education? Is it a preset amount?
I called Chase the other day and it seems as if they looked up how much my program allows which was 1,000-25,000. Will that amount be universal among Salliemae, Wells Fargo, etc? Has anyone had any luck getting more that one of these at a time? Also how does it work out the following year when you apply minus the employment?
Thanks
Cost of Education is calculated by your schools financial aid office. It basically includes the cost of tuition, fees, estimated living expenses, books, etc. You can talk to your financial aid counselor to find out what they have determined to be your cost of attendance.
For federal student aid purposes, a student's total cost of attending a postsecondary institution for a specified period of time, as established by law. The COA includes tuition and fees; room and board (or an allowance for housing and food); an allowance for books, supplies, transportation, loan fees, and dependent care (if applicable); disability related expenses, a one-time allowable cost of obtaining the first professional credential in a program requiring professional licensure or certification, and some miscellaneous expenses as well.
jen123321
51 Posts
Quick ?, I've never taken out loans for anything and I've read every post and do not see an answer: Many of you are saying 'I got approved for $XXXX PER year from whichever bank.' My question is, say you apply a few months before you quit work and are approved for 30k. When you start the 2nd year of school, will you recieve another 30k? If not, are you applying for as much money in the beginning as you can to last you the 2-2.5 yrs of school...or are you reapplying for more money at the start of the 2nd year? (this is in regards to private loans...I know that you need to re-file a fafsa each year)