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!
