Friday, November 28, 2008

Is There Such A Thing As Bad Credit Student Loans?

By Dave Davis

When I was younger, I absolutely destroyed my credit. I got two student credit cards in my first year of school and it all went downhill from there. My parents hadn't taught me about credit and honestly, my money management in general was just terrible. Since my parents couldn't help me with school, paying for it was always very difficult.

Since my credit score was in the 450 range, getting loans was also really tough. I couldn't even get a cell phone without putting down a deposit of over $400. Since I had been denied for other types of loans, I honestly believed that getting student loans was outside the realm of possibility for me.

School is now over for me and I have started correcting my credit. I actually now have a credit score over 700. Since I'm somewhat interested in going to grad school, I have been looking into student loans. The funny thing is that I now realize that I could have taken out loans all along.

The United States government created Stafford loans to help almost everyone to be able to get an education. Even if your credit is poor, the government will sign for you with the bank. They would definitely come after you if you defaulted on the loan, but the possibility opens up a lot of doors for people with poor credit.

If you think about the economics behind this program, it actually makes a lot of sense. If the government can increase your ability to earn, you will pay more taxes later in life. They may take a hit on some defaults now but will make more in the future. This is why they're willing to basically sign with you on your student loan.

Getting Stafford loans is pretty easy if you're a citizen of the United States. All you need to do is go into the financial aid office at your school to fill out a FAFSA. You will then be judged based on your need. If the school determines that you have need, you should be approved quite easily.

Stafford loans are almost always available to people as long as they haven't defaulted on a student loan in the past. Once you have a default, you are required to repay your previous loan before you can take out another.

Student loans would have helped me immensely while I was in college. I wasted tons of times trying to pay for school and in the end, it cost me a few years. Getting loans could have really sped up my process. - 15485

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