I understand that loans are unavoidable for most students, however I'm not clear about the different types. Was wondering if anyone was getting subsidized loans (Perkins I think) included in their loan package.
Loans!!!
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Rather than creating a new topic ill just pose this question here since its relevant.
Will I have any trouble getting grad plus loans with no credit score? I've emailed and called them and haven't been successful in getting a response. I've asked this question before and have been unsuccessful with the research I have been able to do myself.
I figured I'd get a better answer from someone who's experienced this... With or without issues.
The catch is that I possibly have some bad credit even though I've never had to have a credit card because of a hospital visit when I was 17 that got sent to a collection agency. They stopped calling after a while so either they just gave up or it somehow got taken care of. I've been denied every credit card I applied for because I don't have any previous credit. How am I suppose to build credit in the first place if no one will give me a card? Blah. Definitely frustrating. My brother has said he'd put my name on his card but I'm not sure how much of an effect that would have?
I'm also afraid to check my credit score with one of those online sites because I've heard doing so actually worsens it.
Any advice much appreciated.
Will I have any trouble getting grad plus loans with no credit score? I've emailed and called them and haven't been successful in getting a response. I've asked this question before and have been unsuccessful with the research I have been able to do myself.
I figured I'd get a better answer from someone who's experienced this... With or without issues.
The catch is that I possibly have some bad credit even though I've never had to have a credit card because of a hospital visit when I was 17 that got sent to a collection agency. They stopped calling after a while so either they just gave up or it somehow got taken care of. I've been denied every credit card I applied for because I don't have any previous credit. How am I suppose to build credit in the first place if no one will give me a card? Blah. Definitely frustrating. My brother has said he'd put my name on his card but I'm not sure how much of an effect that would have?
I'm also afraid to check my credit score with one of those online sites because I've heard doing so actually worsens it.
Any advice much appreciated.
Rather than creating a new topic ill just pose this question here since its relevant.
Will I have any trouble getting grad plus loans with no credit score? I've emailed and called them and haven't been successful in getting a response. I've asked this question before and have been unsuccessful with the research I have been able to do myself.
I figured I'd get a better answer from someone who's experienced this... With or without issues.
The catch is that I possibly have some bad credit even though I've never had to have a credit card because of a hospital visit when I was 17 that got sent to a collection agency. They stopped calling after a while so either they just gave up or it somehow got taken care of. I've been denied every credit card I applied for because I don't have any previous credit. How am I suppose to build credit in the first place if no one will give me a card? Blah. Definitely frustrating. My brother has said he'd put my name on his card but I'm not sure how much of an effect that would have?
I'm also afraid to check my credit score with one of those online sites because I've heard doing so actually worsens it.
Any advice much appreciated.
Grad plus loans are contingent on a credit check, so yes, you will probably have trouble getting them. You probably can't get a credit card due to your unpaid dues to the hospital.
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So basically I'll need a co-signer or my brother to put my name on his card. That way i can build some decent credit by the time financial aid applications roll around, and it'll at least be good enough to get approved although it may not be great. Sound about right to you guys?
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Grad loans are no longer subsidized. Perkins loans are VERY limited.
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Rather than creating a new topic ill just pose this question here since its relevant.
Will I have any trouble getting grad plus loans with no credit score? I've emailed and called them and haven't been successful in getting a response. I've asked this question before and have been unsuccessful with the research I have been able to do myself.
I figured I'd get a better answer from someone who's experienced this... With or without issues.
The catch is that I possibly have some bad credit even though I've never had to have a credit card because of a hospital visit when I was 17 that got sent to a collection agency. They stopped calling after a while so either they just gave up or it somehow got taken care of. I've been denied every credit card I applied for because I don't have any previous credit. How am I suppose to build credit in the first place if no one will give me a card? Blah. Definitely frustrating. My brother has said he'd put my name on his card but I'm not sure how much of an effect that would have?
I'm also afraid to check my credit score with one of those online sites because I've heard doing so actually worsens it.
Any advice much appreciated.
Zero credit is better than negative credit. You really don't know until you have tried. If you have a bank account, you're already building credit.
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Azimuthai, really? I had no idea! So do i need to have good credit to get grad plus loans specifically? Or not?
Joe
Joe
Google "secured credit card" and apply for one. Best to go with one offered by the big banks (Wells Fargo, BOA, etc), esp. if you already have an account with them. After 6 months to a year of regular payments on the secured card, you should be able to get a "regular" card.
Being an authorized user on someone else's card may help, but not by much:
http://www.experian.com/blogs/ask-e...user-accounts-can-factor-in-to-credit-scores/
Checking your score: checking your own score does NOT hurt your credit. Create an account with creditkarma.com (free) and you can check your score there for free. It will not be "the" FICO score but it will be close enough.
Rather than creating a new topic ill just pose this question here since its relevant.
Will I have any trouble getting grad plus loans with no credit score? I've emailed and called them and haven't been successful in getting a response. I've asked this question before and have been unsuccessful with the research I have been able to do myself.
I figured I'd get a better answer from someone who's experienced this... With or without issues.
The catch is that I possibly have some bad credit even though I've never had to have a credit card because of a hospital visit when I was 17 that got sent to a collection agency. They stopped calling after a while so either they just gave up or it somehow got taken care of. I've been denied every credit card I applied for because I don't have any previous credit. How am I suppose to build credit in the first place if no one will give me a card? Blah. Definitely frustrating. My brother has said he'd put my name on his card but I'm not sure how much of an effect that would have?
I'm also afraid to check my credit score with one of those online sites because I've heard doing so actually worsens it.
Any advice much appreciated.
I get a strong feeling that you have a big problem with your money management. You need to call all those collection companies and settle with them. Do it right and you can get out of it for pennies on the dollar at this point. Believe me, they have not given up on your debt. It will come back and bite you in the ass at some point in the future.
Please do not ask or have another person to cosign anything for you. It is extremely disrespectful to that person. You know why the bank wants a cosigner? Because the computer program told the banker that statistically you are not going to be able to pay the loan back. Do not disrespect your friends and family by asking them to cosign for you.
Also, do not take out credit cards for the sole reason of "building up your credit". As long as you have a zero credit rating, you will have no problem getting a student loan for a graduate program. This notion is absolutely ridiculous and horrible financial advice. After you settle your debts, your credit rating will go back to zero within a year or two of not using credit. Your checking account technically "builds" a form of credit extremely slowly, but you would still have a score of zero as long as you do not have any open credit cards along with no outstanding debts.
Borrowing money with the goal of one day borrowing even more money is beyond stupid. You would be much better off by just saving that money. The lenders view cash and assets as much more valuable than FICO scores.
The FICO score is nothing more than a measure of how well you can go into debt. It has nothing to do with how financially healthy you are. Stop worshiping that ridiculous number. That's the fastest way to become a debt slave for the rest of your life.
You can check your credit for free every year with any of the big three. It does not affect the score at all. Do not pay a third party company to check your credit.
This is me on my soapbox.
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If you had had collections on your credit report, you're in the negative. I would listen to Myosin and jblil. Get your credit report, contact the collections company and negotiate a settlement. NEVER fall into their collection strategies. They may use scare tactics, telling you that they had sent your collections to their attorney, etc. It's a load of BS. Don't let them scare you and negotiate on your terms. Also, if you could not afford the bill, why didn't you seek assistance from the state or other agencies?
jdaniels - Also bookmark and read this forum:
http://creditboards.com/forums/index.php?showforum=2
The folks there are real pros on credit-related questions and credit repair. They are also extremely helpful, just like at SDN...
http://creditboards.com/forums/index.php?showforum=2
The folks there are real pros on credit-related questions and credit repair. They are also extremely helpful, just like at SDN...
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I'll check it out, thanks!
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Myosin, please try not to judge. I'm aware I'm asking a lot just based on the information I've given you. However, I'm actually a very thrifty person who doesn't like to spend money at all. I don't feel the need to explain my situation but I'm going to anyway...
I've been on my own financially since i was 16 years old. There's very few people who can relate to that. I had an unknown illness and was uninsured at the time this visit occurred. I waited it out to try to avoid the ER, but the pain got to be unbearable and i literally thought i was going to die, so i was left with no choice. At this time i was a 17 year old who just moved to the states and was really naive about the system and how it worked. All i knew was that it was expensive. A month later a received a $5,500 hospital bill, and had zero in the bank and no chance of any help from family - "on your own" means exactly that. I was also unemployed. Without an income or any means or outside help i was left with no choice but call the hospital and tell them i couldn't pay. Well guess what, it went to collections anyway. I told them the same thing, and eventually they left it alone.
I won't be calling any collection agencies until i find out EXACTLY where my credit currently stands, if i even have any. Maybe I'll have nothing to worry about, maybe not, but there's only one way to find out.
With the cosigner issue, again you're making incorrect assumptions (which is my fault because you had little info to work with). The only people I'd ask to cosign for me are the people who know me extremely well. These people know how cautious and obsessive i am with keeping things in order and never getting behind when it comes to money. Nobody is being disrespected in any way here. Maybe things work a little differently where you're from.
The only reason i would take out a credit card as of right now is to get back to positive if i do end up being in the negative. There's no other way around it. However, eventually I'll almost certainly need a good credit score to get a house, car etc. So why not start now? I'm just here to learn and really don't appreciate people making assumptions about how i am with money. Finally, nobody is "worshiping" their credit number, this was simply a learning question for me in which i would have appreciated a constructive, yet positive response, which is definitely what i got.
This is me OFF my soapbox.
Thanks
Joe
How old are you now? I ask because medical defaults should drop off your record after seven years. Dealing with the collections people can reset the clock in some circumstances, and a settlement will leave its own negative mark on your credit for that period of time.
It may be in your best interest to wait them out.
The "big three" Myosin mentions are Experian, TransUnion, and Equifax. If you don't want to sign up for CreditKarma, you can get a free report from each of them once per year through annualcreditreport.com.
The credit score is in many ways a measure of how profitable you are for the banks. None of us know exactly how they calculate them, but the graphs on CreditKarma show that you have a higher score if you carry a balance on your cards than if you pay them off each month (avoiding interest). I think that's what was meant by "worshiping the score." It's a necessary evil to get funding for PT programs, but the pursuit of a higher score can sometimes come at a significant cost (and isn't always necessary).
Good luck to you!
It may be in your best interest to wait them out.
The "big three" Myosin mentions are Experian, TransUnion, and Equifax. If you don't want to sign up for CreditKarma, you can get a free report from each of them once per year through annualcreditreport.com.
The credit score is in many ways a measure of how profitable you are for the banks. None of us know exactly how they calculate them, but the graphs on CreditKarma show that you have a higher score if you carry a balance on your cards than if you pay them off each month (avoiding interest). I think that's what was meant by "worshiping the score." It's a necessary evil to get funding for PT programs, but the pursuit of a higher score can sometimes come at a significant cost (and isn't always necessary).
Good luck to you!
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Hi OP, I'm not sure if anyone ever answered your question. I haven't seen any PT program that offers Perkins loans, and I think they are pretty rare for PT school. I've never seen anyone on these boards mention that they got a Perkins loan. Whether or not they are offered depends on the school, though, so check with the programs you are interested in to see if they are an option.
For most PT schools, you get up to 21,500 per year in Direct unsubsidized loans, and if you need more than that, then you get Grad Plus loans (also unsubsidized). I'm not sure what the limit is for that, but if you need even more beyond that, then you need to look at private loans from banks. There are no subsidized loans for grad school.
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jblil, you are always so full of great resources! Thanks again for all your helpful posts.
You can indeed get a free credit report, once every 12 months, from each of the three credit bureaus above. By rotating between the three, you can actually get a free report every 4 months.
But that's only a report that lists all of your credit cards and loans and your payment record. The report does not give you your credit score (a numerical value). For that, go to Creditkarma and while it's not the official FICO score, it will be close enough. For ex, if you see a score of 750 in creditkarma, it's unlikely that your FICO would be 600.
Use this link to get your free credit report:
https://www.annualcreditreport.com/cra/index.jsp
(I have seen several sites that have similar names, but they either make you pay or harvest your personal info - not good!)
okra - you're welcome ;-)
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Right, but the report will tell you whether the default is still there and how long until it drops off. The actual score may be less useful. (Though CreditKarma shows the same thing, I guess. I'm more wary of them since they started trying to get me to give them access to my accounts so they can sell me stuff).
I'm sure lenders have their own standards, but (from what I've seen so far) the things that'll absolutely get you disqualified from Grad PLUS loans are serious delinquencies, defaults, etc, not necessarily a low score in and of itself.
I'm sure lenders have their own standards, but (from what I've seen so far) the things that'll absolutely get you disqualified from Grad PLUS loans are serious delinquencies, defaults, etc, not necessarily a low score in and of itself.
Right - you should look at both your credit report and your credit score once every few months. The report sometimes has errors (I found one mistake in mine) that could affect your credit. If you do find errors, you can ask for them to be corrected, or dispute them as the case may be. If you're going to apply for a mortgage or a car loan, check your credit score beforehand. Generally, the higher the score the lower the interest rate you'd be charged. That way you won't be surprised if the dealer or the bank offers you a loan at 4.99% instead of the 0.99% you saw advertised on TV.
Hi joe. I can relate to your story, I have also been on my own since I was 16. Are you employed now? If so, I would ignore myosin's advice and apply for a credit card. If you have a credit card, use it regularly and pay it off each month you will be able to establish or improve your credit history relatively quickly. As others have said, check your credit report!! If you have items in collections, call the collection agency and haggle. I did this for my husband to try and help him improve his credit score when we were refinancing our mortgage. I paid 75% of the collections bill in exchange for them REMOVING the items from his credit report. That is important- if they only change the status to 'paid', it will not help your score that much. Also, as others have mentioned, if this collection item was several years ago I would ignore it as it will be removed from your report after seven years, anyway.
Good luck
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Question... If this secured card is my only option right now, will that build my credit in the mean time? Or will I have to use it for six months before I can get a "real" credit card and only then be able to start building my credit?
I haven't been able to get my identity verified on credit karma or annual credit report for whatever reason. I plan on giving them a call after the holiday weekend and finding out what the damage is if there even is any.
OP - Before you communicate with the collection agencies (CAs), I'd urge you to read the creditboard.com forum first. You have to be very careful when dealing with CAs: only do it in writing and do not sign your name (some CAs will scan your signature and paste it on documents that you never signed), be careful not to "resuscitate" charges that would soon expire (the Statute of Limitation may depend on where you live), etc. The creditboard.com website even has samples of letters to CAs that you can use.
You have to remember that CAs do collections thousands of times a day, for years on end so they're experts at it. If you're unprepared when you go head-to-head with them, chances are they'll eat you alive.
Just saw your question... Yes, the secured credit card will build up your credit.
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all grad school loans are unsubsidized...........I had no credit score.......also no outstanding loans or debits........and received the regular grad loan (direct loan) w/o any issue. This year going into my 2nd yr I will also take the grad plus. Haven't heard anything yet, so hoping its not an issue. Good luck
Everyone is giving you great advice. What I did this year to raise my credit score was go through my credit union to get a student rewards credit card (500 limit) and also working on doing a small $1000 loan to self to pay off in 6 months w/ low interest, that is secured by my savings account. This will help my score and not cost me much in the end. Basically paying back the loan w/ the loan and a small interest. Banks are harder to work with.
Also, once you apply for a credit card you will receive a statement with your credit score along w/ the denial or acceptance........this is a quick free way of getting a score. Funny my score improve after a month of searching and applying for cards. you are allowed several checks in a 30 day period. the credit bureau allows for you to shop (credit cards, car, mtg loans) without a significant number of dings to your score.
all grad school loans are unsubsidized...........I had no credit score.......also no outstanding loans or debits........and received the regular grad loan (direct loan) w/o any issue. This year going into my 2nd yr I will also take the grad plus. Haven't heard anything yet, so hoping its not an issue. Good luck
Everyone is giving you great advice. What I did this year to raise my credit score was go through my credit union to get a student rewards credit card (500 limit) and also working on doing a small $1000 loan to self to pay off in 6 months w/ low interest, that is secured by my savings account. This will help my score and not cost me much in the end. Basically paying back the loan w/ the loan and a small interest. Banks are harder to work with.
Also, once you apply for a credit card you will receive a statement with your credit score along w/ the denial or acceptance........this is a quick free way of getting a score. Funny my score improve after a month of searching and applying for cards. you are allowed several checks in a 30 day period. the credit bureau allows for you to shop (credit cards, car, mtg loans) without a significant number of dings to your score.
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I have about $3,000 in loans that i took out for undergrad.... if i start paying those off i can build me credit then? Not something i've thought about until now, but it sounds like it would be beneficial at this point!
Also, i don't remember getting any scores from the multiple companies that denied me a card?
Joe
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I was finally able to have some success with annual credit report.... This is what i got back. What is everyone's (whoever has been in the loop with my questions) opinion on this?
It says there's "0 potentially negative" items in my report, and "one account in good standing". If anyone could provide a breakdown that'd be great.
Joe
PS In the process of getting an actual credit score from Credit Karma.
It says there's "0 potentially negative" items in my report, and "one account in good standing". If anyone could provide a breakdown that'd be great.
Joe
PS In the process of getting an actual credit score from Credit Karma.
OP, you need to start getting the answers yourself. Do not trust a bunch of complete strangers on the internet to tell you what is right and wrong and what to do:
http://www.bankrate.com/finance/credit-cards/how-to-read-a-credit-report-1.aspx
http://www.bankrate.com/finance/credit-cards/how-to-read-a-credit-report-1.aspx
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I'm just asking for an opinion, obviously i'll do my own research too. Also, nowhere in the link you provided does it explain how to interpret what i'm asking you guys.
Joe
Joe
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What you attached here is just a summary. Did you look at the actual report? From this summary page that you attached, there should be an option to "print the report" or something like that, which should open up the entire actual report. Once you open up the actual report, you can see what is on there. Please don't post your actual report on this forum, though, as it's not secure and will have your personal info on there.
Based on the fact that there are zero potentially negative items, though, it sounds like you are in a fairly good place!
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That's all i needed to hear okramango. There was a ton of personal info on the one i pasted but i cut it all out. Not quite sure why anyone would put that information on the internet. Still waiting to hear back from Credit Karma though because i had to mail them some verification documentation.
Joe
Joe
