Wednesday, May 7, 2008

Bad Credit Student Loan

Going to college is something almost every young person dreams of. However, some individuals take a few years off to work after graduating from high school which results in them enrolling in college after they’ve already tried to tackle the world on their own. For some of these individuals they may have worked for a number of years while balancing credit cards, a mortgage or a car loan. If they’ve budgeted correctly they’ll have made out fine, but if they’ve faced some financial difficulties, they may have a poor credit score. Trying to get a bad credit student loan can be a process wrought with frustration and disappointment.

Most kids who apply for federally funded education loans do so when they are too young to have their own credit rating. The majority of children graduating from high school haven’t been in a position where they needed their own credit card or mortgage. For them, getting a student loan is a relatively painless process. The older you get and the more jaded your credit standing becomes, it becomes progressively harder. Although they may not be able to use the same funding sources, those with a less than stellar financial history can still find bad credit student loan resources.

The first place to start is with the typical loan funding for college students. You won’t know if you qualify unless you try and apply. If you are indeed turned down you’ll know it’s time to look for bad credit student loan aid elsewhere.

If you already have a mortgage or a car payment through your bank, consider applying for funding with them. They may be able to offer you bad credit student loan options including a line of credit or a personal loan. Although you’ll likely pay higher interest rates than a standard student would, you’ll have the bad credit student loan in place, and you’ll be able to attend school.

Private lenders can offer a light at the end of the tunnel for anyone who has faced credit problems in the past. They not only provide funding for mortgages and debt consolidation, but they offer help with bad credit student loan money too. With a private lender you can expect to have a higher repayment schedule than you would with other methods of funding, but if you pay it back on time, you’ll have no trouble at all.

Finally for some students there is only one place left to turn and that’s your family. Asking family members for money can be difficult for anyone but if you explain the situation they may be willing to offer you a bad credit student loan. If you do go this route make certain that you have a written, notarized agreement in place and that you keep careful track of your repayments. You want to ensure that your family member gets everything they are owed to them.