Stafford Loans and Lenders

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Hi guys,

This may be an obvious question, but i just want to make sure: What's the difference between subsidized and unsubsidized Stafford loans? One is tax free?

Also, how do you guys pick a lender for the Stafford loan. UCSD gave us 4 choices...I as thinking of picking Total Higher Education because it has 0% origination and guarantee fees and you get a 1.3% decrease in interest rate.

My other choices are:

Access Group/Health Education Solutions
Bank of America/Chase/Educaid/Washington Mutual
Medloans/Bank One

Thanks!

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[Kalel]

Subsidized: fed gov pays interest for you while you are in school (ie no interest accumulation)
Unsubsidized: interest accumulates while you are in school
I have no opinion on any of your loan companies, but I think that it is good that you have found loans with 0% origination fees. My school didn't make us aware of this, and most of my class got stuck with programs that take 3%, which is a lot when you are borrowing 100K. The guarentee decrease in interest one sounds nice, but just make sure that you read the fine print (make sure that they will let you consolidate if you choose to do so, and make sure that they don't have any hidden fees or hoops you have to jump through to get the discount).

 

[mpp]

Both T.H.E. and AccessGroup have had a pretty good reputation and offer some decent incentives. Either of those is a fine choice.

 

[2badr]

Do I have to fill out the FAFSA every year?? I want to take out a Stafford Loan for next (fall) semester. I filed last semester (for this Spring).

Since you have to have a certain amount of credits for the Stafford Loan, how do you "prove" the number of hours you will be taking if you haven't registered for Fall classes yet?? I think the earliest I can register for fall is April/May.

Do I need to have that government application (FAFSA) on file to apply for the Stafford loan as well???

I aplologize in advance if these questions have already been asked a gazillion times.

 

[sunny9505]

Yes you have to fill out a FAFSA every year. Usually when you renew it online, it is not as painful as the first time.

 

[aycshen]

Do we need to fill out the parents tax info for FAFSA? Does it affect how much money we get?

 

[DO for ophtho]

If I recall correctly, you don't HAVE to fill out your parents income portion, but its in your best interests to do so, b/c if I am remembering right, you do qualify to borrow more....not a 100% sure on this tho.

 

[Amy B]

Some school require you to fill out the parents portion. If you haven't filled out your FAFSA yet, I would strongly suggest you do so ASAP. Your schools need you to fill it out before the will award you any money.