Stafford loans with citibank and/or Nelli mae?

[meanderson]

One of my financial aid applications it says much of it will come in the form of the stafford federal loan program. I understand this program and the unsub/sub max part of it, but then they ask me to check the lender of my choice for the stafford loan program(Citibank or Nellie Mae)? Is there a difference between the two since these are stafford loans and I wouldn't have to borrow over 38.5k any year at this school?

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[gaf]

One of my financial aid applications it says much of it will come in the form of the stafford federal loan program. I understand this program and the unsub/sub max part of it, but then they ask me to check the lender of my choice for the stafford loan program(Citibank or Nellie Mae)? Is there a difference between the two since these are stafford loans and I wouldn't have to borrow over 38.5k any year at this school?

I've seen a similar form, in my case for unsub'd Stafford loans. Check out each lender's terms. Some have origination fees, some disount your interest if you pay on time. I believe the lender has a fair degree of flexibility in the terms while still being a "Stafford" loan.

 

[southerndoc]

Did you check the terms? Citibank is a private company, whereas Sallie Mae is an incorporated division of the government. (It's a weird relationship. It's affiliated with the federal government, but the federal government doesn't back their loans.)

 

[nascentdoc]

Did you check the terms? Citibank is a private company, whereas Sallie Mae is an incorporated division of the government. (It's a weird relationship. It's affiliated with the federal government, but the federal government doesn't back their loans.)

How is it significant if the lender is affiliated with the federal government or not? I'm trying to select a lender as well and I think T.H.E offers a good deal. I have no idea whether it's affiliated with the gov.

 

[mpp]

T.H.E. is not, and it really doesn't matter. Take the lender with the best UPFRONT terms. The backended terms tend to be useless since most students consolidate their loans and never reap the benefits.

 

[meanderson]

T.H.E. is not, and it really doesn't matter. Take the lender with the best UPFRONT terms. The backended terms tend to be useless since most students consolidate their loans and never reap the benefits.

So for a student who plans to borrrow abou 100k-110k in total stafford loans over 4 years and pay them back at a normal(or even an accelrated rate, what is the most program that makes the most sense to go with abd would be the most common choice?

 

[tlew12778]

I don't think there is a common choice. Most schools will ask which you prefer of two choices given bc they are the preferred lenders of the school (which might or might not mean it may be easier to work with lenders while in school and for your exit interview).

I think that you can chose ANY lender while you are in school bc the govt will be paying your interest on your sub. loans. Afterwards you'll want to consolidate and lock in your interest rate anyway so it won't matter who your lender is while you're still in school.

I always went with the non-private lenders. But I admit I did not do any research on private vs. non. When I needed to find a lender for my consolidation loans, Sallie Mae had a better interest rate than either Citibank or the Dept of Ed. The only benefit that Citibank offered me was an extra 1% discount bc I am already an account holder there (so they could transfer the funds out automatically every month). But SM made me the same offer so it didn't matter in the end.

 

[critterbug]

My school financial aid dept. told me that citibank offers no origination fees. Does anyone recommend them?

 

[EarlyEditionDude]

Citibank is good. They have no upfront fees like many of the other lenders. But what you should do is apply to other lenders and then compare each one.