Getting a Bad Credit Student Loan
Are you concerned that bad credit will prevent you from going to college? Finding student loans with excellent interest rates is easier with a sterling credit rating, but bad credit student loan aid is possible.
Going to college should not be inhibited by bad credit. True,
finding a student loan with reasonable interest rates is a lot easier with a good credit history, but getting a bad credit student loan is well within the realm of possibility. Having no credit history is tantamount to having a bad credit history.For instance, assuming that most students will be graduated from high school and proceed directly to college, The Stafford loan is the most popular loan from the U.S. Department of Education. It assumes that an applicant, having followed that immediate course, will have no credit rating whatsoever, so it is not even a factor. A Perkins Loan, allocated for the neediest of students, makes the same assumption.In fact, these loans could be called bad credit student loans. About the only reason bad credit might interfere with the landing of either of these loans is if the student has already defaulted on a previously awarded federally guaranteed student loan.Parents with good credit can help a student with bad creditIf, in spite of your age, you have already managed to wrangle a poor credit history, or if you have no credit history at all, your parents can help you land a bad credit student loan if their credit history is reasonable. PLUS loans target this situation and may be the way to go for financing a higher education. U.S. Department of Education loans (as with the Stafford loans and Perkins Loans) make the assumption that parents will cover at least some of the education costs for their child or children. PLUS loans are intended to help the parents cover that cost.Alternatives to federally guaranteed school funding do existFor students with poor credit or no credit history at all, federally guaranteed school funding is a good choice. Indeed, their qualifications are not as tight as loans offered by banks and other financial institutions. They are especially constructed in terms of those qualifications to make education more accessible to the regular student.But, if a student with poor credit is turned down for one of the federally guaranteed student loans, private lenders may be willing to step up to the plates. Students who are seeking education in the fields of law or medicine, or other disciplines with high-earning potential, will have a better chance of landing a bad credit student loan from the private sector of the financial markets.Combining resources may be the ticket to higher educationSo many opportunities exist for funding a higher educations, not only loans, but also scholarships, grants, work-study programs, among them. The cost of a higher education can be stitched together from many sources. If part of that funding happens to come from a high-interest bad credit student loan, look on the bright side. Most loans are deferred until studies end, at that time you could find a way to consolidate your student debt. If you have improved your credit rating by then, your interest rates and repayment terms could very well be reduced to more affordable levels.Bad credit student loans may just be worth the costWith a college education, Department of Education statistics show that your potential earnings over a life time far exceed those of a high school graduate in many cases. The cost of a bad credit student loan could well be offset by those earnings. And, as your credit scores improve, refinancing is always a way around the extra cost. Do not let a lack of funding squelch your desire for a higher education.