Stafford loan help! Lender?

[lopkiu]

K i am new to this, during my undergrad i didn't take out any loan so I really have no idea how the loan process work. After I finally kind of figure out how I am going to pay for dental school, the stafford loan ask me to choose a lender? Which I have no idea which one is good, I went through like the first 15 on the list (the PA list)but still don't know what to do and whom to choose.
So can anyone tell/suggest me of a good lender, with good program?
And what sup with Credit Union? Are those better? Should I join them or ignore them?

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[TMP-SMX]

Go with whoever offers no origination fees. As far as I know Discover Student Loans are the only ones that are doing that. Though if your school offers Direct Federal Loans I would go that way.

 

[lopkiu]

So far i am thinking about chase, but it has 1% orig fee
but they offer a .25% interest rate reduction which is pretty good i gonna check discover now

 

[lopkiu]

quick question as i am checking discover
Subsidized = $8,500
Unsubsidized = $20,500 minus any subsidized Stafford loan amount
so the loan limit for discover unsub is only 12000?

 

[TMP-SMX]

It is $40,500 for dental, med, or vet school (unsub and sub together). So you get $8500 (sub) and $32,000 (unsub). So yes you get the maximum stafford no matter what but depending on your FAFSA EFC you get the maximum subsidized and the rest unsub vs. all unsub.

They just didn't specify the amounts for the health professions and just have the graduate school limits on the website.

 

[surfinghaole]

it seems to me that discover is the best deal around right now. everyone got rid of their borrower benefits with reduced interest rates for people that made their payments on time.

everyone is just doing the 0.25% reduction for autopayment. that is it.

discover is the only one i have seen that even waives the 1% origination fee.

 

[tapir]

Well, this is a little aggravating -- Discover looks like the only lender with origination fees less than 1.5%, but they don't work with my preferred guarantor. I'd much rather stick with AES as the guarantor, because all of my previous loans are through them, and it should make it much more convenient when it comes to repayment and repayment options. But is that worth 1.5%?

 

[McPoyle]

Keep in mind, with the interest rate reduction, that this benefit may be stripped by the time we hit repayment. With that said, I would chose a lender who can provide me with immediate benefits such as no origination fees.

 

[tapir]

Just noticed this from finaid.org re:consolidation --

[FONT=arial, helvetica] Also, if you received a fee waiver or rebate from the originating lender, you may have to repay that discount if you consolidate with another lender..

Since many grad/prof students consolidate to get extended repayment terms, I wonder whether this should impact my choice re: Discover (i.e., if the origination fee has to be repaid if I consolidate, and I think I'm likely to consolidate, should this factor into my decision?). Anyone know what Discover's policy is on this?

 

[clinicallabguy]

Since many grad/prof students consolidate to get extended repayment terms, I wonder whether this should impact my choice re: Discover (i.e., if the origination fee has to be repaid if I consolidate, and I think I'm likely to consolidate, should this factor into my decision?). Anyone know what Discover's policy is on this?

If I go to medical school out of state, will I have more trouble consolidating my undergrad stafford loans with my medical school loans after I graduate? The guarantor will have to be different, won't it? My undergrad loans are serviced by UHEAA (utah higher education assistance authority), but that won't be the case when I move out of Utah.