If you’re planning to attend college but you don’t know where to turn for funding because you don’t have good credit (or you have no credit), fear not. You do have some options available to you even so. Let’s take a look at them.
Get a Cosigner
The first and most obvious choice if you want to get a loan and can’t do it on your own is, of course, to get a cosigner. You may have thought of this option already, but just in case you haven’t, this is something you should check into. When you get a student loan with a cosigner, the bank or other lender uses that person’s credit history and score to determine interest rate, terms, etc. In fact, this may be an option if you can get a loan but have less than stellar credit (or no credit), because your interest rate and terms will be much more favorable with this option than they’re likely to be if you got one on your own.
Apply for Federal Student Loans
Federally based loans like the Stafford and Perkins loans are available to students, and they require no credit check. This is almost certainly something you should do if you’re a traditional student.
The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (the FAFSA)
You can get loans if you fill out this application, and you’ll have to if you expect to receive any federally based assistance. This application is also important to you because your state may use its information to determine eligibility for any state based aid as well. You’ll need your parents’ income tax returns to help determine eligibility, and you will also need your own income tax returns if you worked.
Get the Stafford and Perkins Loans
The Perkins and Stafford loans are available through the federal government for eligible students.
The Stafford loan is classified as “unsubsidized” or “subsidized” depending on who is paying the interest on it while you’re in school. If you qualify for a subsidized Stafford, you’ll have no cosigner, no credit, and low income. If you qualify for the subsidized Stafford, you need to demonstrate the appropriate financial need.
The Perkins loan is also available to students who are determined to be in financial need. The interest rate for this is at 5%, with a longer payback period than with the Stafford loan.
Nontraditional Student Tips
Nontraditional students have even more options available to them than do traditional students, most especially via scholarships and grants available to you.
Private Student Loans
This is a final option and may or may not be available to you depending on credit history. Often traditional lenders such as these will give you a student loan with no or poor credit history, but you will have to pay higher interest rates and may have less favorable terms, too. This is still something you should check out, though, if you can’t get funding any other way, or if you need more funding than the other options can provide.
