Alternative Loans - here's what I've found

xkred27 · Dec 2, 2007

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.
Here's a definition from ed.gov http://www.ed.gov/offices/OSFAP/fsacoach/glossary/coa.html
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.

The definition of COA is in relation to Federal Student Loans. I am inquiring about private/alternative loans, they use the phrase cost of education. When I talked to Chase the seemed to pull that amount (1,500-30k) from a list or something. Is that usually the case? When you apply for these, do you simply ask for what you need or will they determine that for you?

ready4crna? · Dec 2, 2007

The definition of COA is in relation to Federal Student Loans. I am inquiring about private/alternative loans, they use the phrase cost of education. When I talked to Chase the seemed to pull that amount (1,500-30k) from a list or something. Is that usually the case? When you apply for these, do you simply ask for what you need or will they determine that for you?

Usually for anesthesia school COA=COE. But-"Private student loans may be used to pay for the EFC, the family's portion of college costs. While some lenders may offer private student loans in excess of the cost of attendance, any amount exceeding the difference between cost of attendance and financial aid is considered a resource."- http://www.finaid.org/loans/privateloan.phtml

bullcityrn · Dec 4, 2007

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

The exact same thing happened to me...I finally closed my application with them in May 2007 after sending the 4th fax with the same information that they kept insisting I never sent. In August 2007, I got a letter from them saying that my application had been declined because I never sent them the requested information (!). In Mid-October, I got a call from them about completing the application for my pre-approved loan. They are a racket as far as I'm concerned.

I ended up getting my loans through Next Student and Astute. From start to finish, it took less than 2 weeks to get my checks.

bullcityrn · Dec 4, 2007

.....

BamaCRNA2B · Dec 10, 2007

Federal stafford subsidized and unsubsidized loans are covering all of my tuition and the majority of my cost of living for this year. The problem is that the school maximum does not allow for quite as much money as I need for cost of living expenses. Would it be best to apply for a private loan where the check is sent directly to me? There would be no way for the school to know about the private loan if the check were sent directly to me, correct? Also, would it be wise to apply for more money than I will need this year and to possibly to cover me for the rest of my time in school while I still have a job? The amount that I would borrow through private loans to get me through is reasonable. Any advice would be appreciated. I would like to make sure that I am doing the right thing before I sign the private loan that I have been pre-approved for.

ready4crna? · Dec 10, 2007

You may want to discreetly inquire at the financial aid office at your school. Many reputable private lenders require some form of attendance verification from the school you attend and that can affect any future loans you may need. (In other words- there is usually no such thing as "extra" money that the school will not be in some way aware of.) The lending rules are set up to limit school loans (of any type)as much as possible.

You may be able to get your COA adjusted by the financial aid office to include more of your living expenses. For example-my school would not include the cost of a vehicle at all (payments, etc.) but would consider major repair work for the said vehicle as an emergent adjustment to COA. So the loophole is that I can get a major adjustment to my unsub upper limit if bessie goes belly up, but I can't get an adjustment to maintain her. The other thing you need to consider is that the budgets that are set are based in information from your PD. If s/he has enough students that are unable to live off the current budget, you would be amazed at what the financial aid office can come up with.

The last thing you may need to consider is working during the breaks. You may be able to make up the difference in budget this way rather than taking out more loans.

Good luck

r4c

BamaCRNA2B · Dec 11, 2007

For stafford subsidized and unsubdized loans, is the maximum amount that can be loaned $20,500 combined for an entire year? Then you have to take out private loans to make up the difference in what is actually needed?

ready4crna? · Dec 11, 2007

Yes, but I think I became confused when you said private loans.(:rolleyes:D'oh) The lender who services the federal portion can usually handle the rest of the money up to the COA, and I guess technically it is a private loan. (In my case wachovia education is handling all my loans and I get a deal on the non-stafford because of it.)

When I hear/read private loans that go above and bypass the COA (not stafford maximums) I think of the predatory guys that advertise on TV and such. One of my classmates did not qualify for any public loan or financial aid and took out 40,000 from a lender that is charging usury rates (we're talking credit card interest.)

If you borrow up to the COA from a reputable lender, you should have no worries. This usually will require notification/involvement of the school and will end you up with a better interest rate than if you go outside the school (at least in my case and alot of my classmates it did.)

Sorry for the confusion-I just don't want anybody to get in over thier heads because they think the paycheck at the end will be big enough to pay the loans/new big house/car/etc. in no time.

Not always the case if you consider a reasonable expectation for a payment is approx 800-1000/month on 100,000 debt. And the new tax bracket for the big paycheck can eat you alive if not planned for correctly.

xkred27 · Dec 12, 2007

For stafford subsidized and unsubdized loans, is the maximum amount that can be loaned $20,500 combined for an entire year? Then you have to take out private loans to make up the difference in what is actually needed?

Yes I believe that is correct, the rest comes in the form of a Grad Plus loan:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grad_PLUS

For my program I believe they set the COA @ about 57k for the first year and 47k for the second. So you get about 20k through stafford loans and the rest through Grad Plus Loans.

If you need money above that then you have to go with private/alternative loans. I have contacted both Chase and Wells Fargo to see what they have. These are credit score driven loans that are not certified by the school, check is sent directly to you. They looked up on a database that they had in their system to see if my school participated and it does. You may want to call and find out for yourself the details and if your program participates.

californianurse · Jan 17, 2008

Nelnet also does loans and are Prime - 1% for qualified students. They have different criteria for graduates going into medical professions and know that we cannot work during school. Also, like most lending agencies, while in repayment if you are on time, the interest rate decreases. I consolidated my student loans from undergrad with them, and have been very happy so far. Also, like most other lenders, they will defer loan repayment (including undergrad loans accrued) until 6 months after graduation. Fill out FAFSA first, get all of the Perkins and Stafford loans possible, then tap into the private loans.

The Perkins loans have the lowest APR, the Stafford are decent and fixed (I think 8.5% or something), and the private loans are variable each month.

Also, sometimes having a co-signer may help to either decrease the initial APR and may also give you more money, even if you already have good credit.

Here is a quote from their site about the Private Loans for Health and Medical Students:

" You can use this loan to pay for education expenses including tuition, books, living expenses, computer equipment, tuition balances from prior academic periods, and residency costs. You should use this private loan to supplement funding after you have exhausted all other sources of financial aid (scholarships, Federal Stafford Loan, Parent PLUS Loan, Graduate PLUS Loan)."

Here's the website:

http://www.nelnet.com/private_loans.aspx?id=1004&path=bsp.fye.fal.med.priv

And their number:

866.866.7372

They are easily accessible over the phone and I've never had to wait long to speak with a live person who is highly knowledgeable.

Also, I visited graduate student housing at one of the CRNA schools last week, and a first year student told me it really wasn't very difficult for her to get loans. She got a grant of $3,500, funding via FAFSA and a private loan from Chase.

But, I encourage you to check out Nelnet, because their rates are pretty competitive.

Hope some of this helps!

SmessenBSN · Mar 17, 2008

I've been accepted to CRNA school and now I'm trying to figure out the money situation. Does anyone know where I can find a list of anesthesia groups/hospitals that provide stipends or pay tuition if you work for them after graduation? I've tried googling but I'm not having any luck. I'm not looking for a particular location (just somewhere in North Carolina) so I can't really search a specific group or hospital. Thanks!

badgernurse · Apr 8, 2008

OK. I don't know if I'm getting dizzy with all this or what but it seems as though the rules have changed in light of all the banking problems today. What I have found with the private loans is that most of them now need to be certified by the school. Specifically, I am talking about Sallie Mae Tuition Answer, BOA education maximizer, etc. Could someone with recent experience with this please chime in here?