CAmba11 wrote:
I thought I would share my very recent (this month) experience in financing my MBA:
1) I received 20.5K in Stafford Loans
2) I received the difference in Grad Plus Loans
3) I was approved for the same difference in private loans through Citizens Bank and Wells Fargo
My decision:
- IMO, it is a no-brainer to take on any UN-subsidized Stafford Loans: You can't beat no interest for 2.5 years and 6.8 % fixed rate isn't half bad. I will get $8,500 from the Federal loans for this academic year.
- I had some scholarship which reduced the amount a little
- Private Loans: I used the same link that was posted earlier to go through the private loan options before deciding on Citizens Bank since they cut off another 0.5% if you deposit payments from a Citizens Bank account. I have excellent credit and was approved for a good interest rate, but not the best (5.25% plus Libor). Fortunately, I had a cosigner who was willing to sign the loan with me. Upon re-applying, I was approved for a 3% + Libor interest rate. This means that, with the depositing from a CB acount, I will be paying interest at 2.5% plus Libor. I am lucky to have a cosigner but I know that my own credit made my interest rate strong as well and made my decision to go with a private loan all the more easy. If your school qualifies for the CB TruFit Student Loan, I would recommend it. If not, the other one I considered was Citi Bank's and it seemed to be a good option. However, I have to point out that it is possible for a cosigner to decrease your interest rate by 2+% (someone above said this is not likely)
Good luck in your financing ventures!
Thanks, this helps! I noticed on the TruFit loan they specifically say the disbursements are sent directly to the school, the Citi site didn't specify. How does this work since the total cost of attendance the school provides you with includes more than just tuition? If disbursements are made directly to the school, does this mean you cannot use funds from this loan to cover living expenses, books etc that must be paid independent of the school?