Private Student Lending Law

With all the attention that accompanied the new health care law, largely overlooked were the education provisions within it. Officially known as the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010, this new student lending law signed by President Obama on March 30, 2010 will result in significant changes for the vast majority of college students, who pay for their courses through government-backed loans and grants. While politicians quibble over the long-term consequences of the legislation, millions of college students simply want to know what impact this new law will have on their college money and on current lending practices. To put these reforms in perspective for these students, here are highlights of the new law along with information …show more content…
Private student loans, as well as certain federal student loans, take your credit record and financial situation into account when considering your case. There are certain federal loans which do not require good credit or a cosigner. Take the Stafford loans into account first, and see if you qualify for a subsidized Stafford loan based on economic need. Private loans and federal PLUS loans require a cosigner if you don't meet credit requirements. Try to get by on federal loans and apply for federal aid. If you can't make it with these two resources, start looking for private student loans. These are harder to get with no credit or bad credit, but you can't set aside the possibility if you need them to get an education. The easiest way to get a student loan which requires a higher credit rating than your own is to find a cosigner with good credit. Having a cosigner with good credit can make up for having bad credit when applying for a private loan or a federal PLUS loan. The drawback of this, for the cosigner, is that if you don't pay back the loan they will find themselves in debt. You can still get private loans with no credit or bad credit, if your education will cost more than your federal loans, using these methods: Call private lenders and start looking for a student loan despite your bad credit. Lending specialists are available by phone and some lenders also communicate by chat or email. Although you may find some lenders automatically reject you, set them aside and compare the offers and prerequisites of the remaining lenders. They will compete for your business, even with low credit scores, because they may be willing to take the risk of doing business with you. When you get an offer, try to get other lenders to beat it, and always take detailed notes of all the offers given. You may be able to