LOANS! Stafford vs. Private

[DentalNerd]

I will be starting D-school this Fall.

Is it always better to take the unsubsidized Stafford Loan before a Private Loan?? With new Stafford interest rates at 6.8%, this is comparable to some private loans.

What about origination fees? Some private loans carry no origination fees while Stafford loans do. Has anyone worked the numbers?

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[crazy_sherm]

Even after July when Stafford move to 6.8%, it'll still be cheaper than any private loan rates available. The days of low interest rates are probably behind us for a while. As for origination fees, you just have to shop around for lenders. There are a lot that don't charge them. THE/Northstar, Citibank, AccessGroup, and Wells Fargo are a few that come to mind.

 

[ElDienteLoco]

I will be starting D-school this Fall.

Is it always better to take the unsubsidized Stafford Loan before a Private Loan?? With new Stafford interest rates at 6.8%, this is comparable to some private loans.

What about origination fees? Some private loans carry no origination fees while Stafford loans do. Has anyone worked the numbers?

Sorry Nerdito,

The golden days of student loans were definitely for last year's graduating class. They were able to consolidate all of their federal loans at like 2.7% fixed! Since in-school consolidation isn't going to be an option after July 1, hang on to those 6.8% staffords for dear life. Anything variable is going to go up in the short-term. I think my private loans (Dental Access Group) are nearly 10% variable. Sherm's right that there are lots of lenders who do away with the origination fees. All of the federal loans at our school go through SallieMae with no origination fees as well.

Best of luck.

Don't worry...you'll be able to pay it all back!