Alternative Loans - here's what I've found

[ArkyCCRN]

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!

[ArkyCCRN]

i'm not sure about the Libor Index vs the Prime Rate. But I decided to go with Sallie Mae. I initially thought I was going to go with Wells Fargo because I have pretty good credit and thought I could get a descent interest rate. Although there are no origination or disbursement fees my interest rate was not low. When I applied for Sallie Mae I got a good rate and origination fee. Although they do charge a fee to give you the loan over all I decided it's better to lose something you never really had at the front end instead of paying a high interest rate over the life of the loan. If you think about a high rate over 15 to 20 years.. every % you can save can make a big difference. Plus, with Sallie Mae, you're able to get a larger loan in the beginning.. so HOPEFULLY I'll be able to live off what I got NOW and not have to worry about getting a co-signer later. Hope that helps!

[RosesrReder, BSN, MSN, RN]

I have all my student loans with Sallie Mae. They have very reasonable interest rates and you don't have to begin repayment until 6 months after you graduate. I got a letter from them the other day that their rates will be going up, so make sure you check that out as well.

Good Luck :)

[WestCoastRN]

Here is some information regarding LIBOR index and prime rate.

LIBOR index is called London Interbank Offer Rate and the rate is set in London exchange market. It is considered the international interest rate on US Dollars. It is a floating (variable) interest rate in one, three or six months. I think for those student loans which are tied to LIBOR index, it uses 1 month rate, at least it is true in Bank of America. The 1 month LIBOR rate is 3.35% as of today. BoA graduate loan interest rate = 1 month LIBOR + margin of 4.65% to 7.25%. Assuming best credit, the borrowing interest rate is 3.35+4.65 = 8%.

Prime rate is the interest rate a bank grants to the most creditworthy customers. It is normally 3% higher than the target fed fund rate set by Mr. Greenspan. Right now the primary rate is 6.25% and fed fund is 3.25%.

I think federal Stafford loan is always the best choice, but it has a maximum one year loan amount of $18.5K. The interest rate was 1.25% + 1.7% = 2.95% 10 days ago, but now it is 3.25% + 1.7% = 4.95%. Alternative loans can be used only when Stafford loan is exhausted.

[chansonsrna]

Sorry in advance for my long post.

Well here is my situation. I obviously won't be working and wife makes enough to pay for the house where we live. However, I will be getting an apt 3 hours away for the didactic portion of my front loaded program. Tuition is expensive where I am going and Stafford loans will almost cover it. Enter alternative loans which my school decided to be a need based total of appx 20k/yr giving me a total of appx 18k to live off of and cover expenses not included in tuition. My wife and I decided to look for additional loans that are credit based so we are taking out 25k from bank one (through Chase) which is dispersed to us, and allows deferrment. I highly recommend those interested shop around before unemployment hits, you will find very few financial institutions will grant education loans outside of what schools determine as financial need. Needless to say this has really relieved a lot of trepidation my wife and I have had over our future budget. I looked at sallie mae for GRADUATE students, and funds were dispersed to school based on financial need determined by school. This would have lumped it into the need based alternative loans which I am already going to recieve making me ineligible.

I strongly feel that though these are large numbers, we plan to not dip into the 25k if necessary, adding peace of mind that should large unexpected expenses arise we can take care of them. My wife and I feel anesthesia school will be stressful enough without needing to worry about money. I hope my experience helps relieve a fellow/future student/spouse worried about the financial impact of school.

[ArkyCCRN]

That was something stressed to me many, many times from our financial advisor to get your loan BEFORE you quit work.. in order to prove you have an income... because if you aren't working... then you have to get a co-signer.

Now.. the sallie mae loan that is disbursed to the borrower is the Sallie Mae TUITION ANSWER LOAN. (just in case anyone was wondering). All these different companies offer SO MANY DIFFERENT LOAN TYPES that it's hard to know if we're looking at the right one.

[EmeraldNYL, BSN, RN]

Okay, I think I found a private loan-- $30,000 and they send the money directly to me. It's from NextStudent http://www.teri.org. However, the fees seem kinda high to me. The origination fee is 6.5% and the interest is 7.78% (LIBOR Index plus I think 4.5%). Is this out of line for a private student loan? I know the BankOne loan had pretty high interest too. I'm shocked at how much interest rates have gone up-- heck, my car loan is only 4.5%!!! Any thoughts?

[WVUturtle514]

I went through Sallie May and Wachovia for my personal loans and got a great interest rate and the amount I requested for both of them. HOWEVER, I was under the assumption that these companies would cut the check directly to me.....a rude awakening for me when I spent a month waiting for a check to arrive and then found out that they will only cut the check to the student in certain cases, depending on your school's financial aid office. So I was stuck needing money to sign a lease, move to a different state and so forth and found out that I would not be receiving my money until my school (Georgetown) cut me a check from what was left over after my tuition and fees were paid. So I had to go out and get ANOTHER loan through Wells Fargo to cover me until my real loan money will get dispersed to me on August 23rd. My advice: When you talk to the loan company, MAKE SURE that they are a company that will send the money directly to you and not to the school. It will save you a big headache in the long run. Good luck!!

Tracie :)

[Fox]

Bump

[BigDave]

I did get a $40k loan check delivered to my mailbox from Sallie Mae. Make sure you are doing the "tuition Answer" loan.

[Fox]

BigDave,

How long did it take before you received your check?

I did get a $40k loan check delivered to my mailbox from Sallie Mae. Make sure you are doing the "tuition Answer" loan.

[JessieLily]

So it is possible to fund CRNA education entirely by loans? (Even if it may not be advisable...???)

[BigDave]

BigDave,

How long did it take before you received your check?

I had approval in April, but they would not mail it prior to 30 days before the semester started. But since the semester starts 22 Aug and they mailed it 30 June, it must be 30 days before the month the semester starts??