Student Loans - Need lender feedbacks!

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I am starting the accelerated BSN program at Samuel Merritt next month. Finding a lender for both stafford & private loans is such a difficult task. I dont want to just blindly pick one without getting any feedback from its "users".

I am considering getting a loan from the following:

1. Total Higher education

2. Student Capital Corporation

3. Citibank

4. Wellsfargo

Anyone out there have any good or bad comments on this lenders??

I have tried consumer reports.org, consumer affairs.com but I do not find any good data. Please let me know which one has better deals & great customer service.

Thanks!!!!

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did anyone respond to you? I start this fall myself.

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I went with www.Teri.org but can't really give positive or negative feedback since I've just been approved.

Good luck in your search!

Peace,

Cathie

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No, I did not get any reply.

I ended up with THE. What I did is I made 1 call to each lender on my list & evaluated their customer service. T.H.E.had the most knowledgeable customer reps. Also the phone wait time was shorter compared to others.I know this may not be a good measure to compare lenders but I did not have much time left... I went with 1st impressions. Another plus is its non-profit (if that means anything..). It also had the lowest interest during that quarter. ALthough interest from all lenders do fluctuate, it had the lowest at that specific time which is good enough for me.

I havent had problems with them to date. Most of my classmates used them too.

GOOD LUCK!

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Onyok,

I'm waiting to hear from Sameul Merritt's Sacto program for January. And if I get in, it's loans, loans, and more loans. I'm surprised to hear that the people at Finacial Aid aren't steering you in the best direction. I thought they were supposed to set you up with lenders?

Also, is it easy to get subsidized loans, so interest doesn't accrue during the school term?

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www.salliemae.com

I have used for 2 years and all of my family and friends use this lender. They offer private loans on top of federal loans. Deferred payment, good rates, great customer service.

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The financial aid department did help. They provided a list of preferred lenders which is where I based my primary options on. You still have to decide which one to pick. Also, I believe they are not supposed to "sell" any particular lender to students for obvious reasons. There has been some news lately about some school getting into trouble for receiving "incentives" for "recommending" a lender. That is why SMC is very careful about "recommending" a lender.

Yes, it is easy to get subsidized stafford loan although the dollar amount is limited since we already have a Bachelors and is not considered an undergrad nor as a graduate student (for ABSN program). I still ended up getting additional private loans.

Hope this info helps! And good luck!!

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I have worked with http://www.educationone.com and http://www.salliemae.com and have been happy with both.

Good luck!

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On future loans you want to choose one based on what they are charging for origination, their consolidation policy (if one exists), and if they offer any discounts on the rate after so many months of on-time payments (which most of them do now, and it's very uncompetitive if they are not).

Federal Loans offered through lenders are required to charge the same interest rate, but what fees they charge to GIVE you the loan, is up to them.

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All my student loans have always been with Sallie Mae. I was always satisfied and never had a problem with them.

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