Any Loans that are better than Stafford?

[gator1210]

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Does anyone know of any loans that give more money, have a better repayment rate, incentives for certain people or anything else OTHER than Federal Stafford.

I have been looking, and the only ones that I can find are Citibank(around 7% based on FDR), and some other major credit card companies. They offer incentives to their customers. But still they arent better than Stafford (T-bill rate + 1.7%). Health Professions Loans (5% repayment) are cheaper if the T-bill rate + 1.7% exceeds 5%. But Health Professions Loans are for the needy.


Anyone have any others? Sallie mae etc.... stuff like that. Post repayment rates too please

 

[superchris147]

Does anyone know of any loans that give more money, have a better repayment rate, incentives for certain people or anything else OTHER than Federal Stafford.

I have been looking, and the only ones that I can find are Citibank(around 7% based on FDR), and some other major credit card companies. They offer incentives to their customers. But still they arent better than Stafford (T-bill rate + 1.7%). Health Professions Loans (5% repayment) are cheaper if the T-bill rate + 1.7% exceeds 5%. But Health Professions Loans are for the needy.


Anyone have any others? Sallie mae etc.... stuff like that. Post repayment rates too please

Mr. Perkins gives good loans as well but you can't get a lot of money from him, but those are government based just like mr. stafford so they should automatically come with your package

 

[cowsgomoo]

Mr. Perkins gives good loans as well but you can't get a lot of money from him, but those are government based just like mr. stafford so they should automatically come with your package

I thought Perkins loans were need based too??

 

[ItsGavinC]

You can't beat Stafford loans. There is no way that Sallie Mae loans (the disperser of my Stafford loans) has any loans that are a better deal than Stafford.

When you're done with school you can consolidate and get some good incentives (like .25 less of timely payments and another .25 less for direct debit payments).

I consolidated my D1 and D2 Stafford loans at 2.78%, which is ridiculous, especially when you consider that I have a savings account that yields 3.45%!

 

[I'mFillingFine]

and isn't there the Health Professional Loans? As well as Perkins? Can't we do all three at the same time to maximize gov't loans before moving to private ones?

 

[Sprgrover]

I thought Perkins loans were need based too??

They are.

 

[cowsgomoo]

They are.

So that means they are not guaranteed like the Stafford loans right? Can I expect to get them since my EFC was a zero? I know it’s not a lot but every little bit helps to keep private loans to a minimum.

 

[Toothinator]

When you consolidate loans do you have to start paying them back? I ask because I have about 20k in undergrad loans from Citi and they keep raising the interest rate on me 😡

 

[coolraz]

Actually, because of our ******ed friends in congress, stafford loan will go up to a fixed 6.5% in July this year. You might be able to consolidate it later or something to get a lower rate, but that's unlikley cus interest rates are on the rise in general. Anyway, I think there's a decent chance to find private loans around 6.5% but their interest is variable so stafford is still probably the best.

 

[superchris147]

I thought Perkins loans were need based too??

Yeah but as a graduate student your evaluation of your financial scenario has nothing to do with how much money your parents make. So if you are coming out of undergrad then you should qualify for them, whereas if you are from another career and have a lot more money. At least that's my understanding but then again i don't have the strongest grasp on this subject

 

[coolraz]

Yeah but as a graduate student your evaluation of your financial scenario has nothing to do with how much money your parents make. So if you are coming out of undergrad then you should qualify for them, whereas if you are from another career and have a lot more money. At least that's my understanding but then again i don't have the strongest grasp on this subject

You're not quite right. For stafford loans your parents dont matter. However, for additional moneys (dental school need based aid, Health Professions and Perkins) you actually need to put parental information in FAFSA and they look at it to determine whether you get those loans or not. The idea is that if you've got rich parents, they're gonna contribute somehow somewhere and you shouldnt be taking up the money from the kids with poor parents who cant give a cent. Also, specific policies depend on the denta's school FA office.

 

[TeethVader]

The best ones: Perkins and HPSL (Health Profession Student Loan, provided by your academic institution). However, HPSL is deemed for low-income students; how does it work? If your dad or mom happens to be very well-off forget it...you will probably not qualify for HPSL since this loan requires parent's income taxes.

 

[superchris147]

You're not quite right. For stafford loans your parents dont matter. However, for additional moneys (dental school need based aid, Health Professions and Perkins) you actually need to put parental information in FAFSA and they look at it to determine whether you get those loans or not. The idea is that if you've got rich parents, they're gonna contribute somehow somewhere and you shouldnt be taking up the money from the kids with poor parents who cant give a cent. Also, specific policies depend on the denta's school FA office.

naw i'm pretty sure i'm right because i have a perkins loans and my financial aid estimate i got from michigan said that my parents should be paying for everything. so perkins loans are not based on parental income unless i accidentaly cheated the system