Getting a student loan when you have bad credit can be hard, but it isn’t impossible. There are ways to get a loan even if your credit score is too low to qualify for any other type of loan.
Start by talking to the people at the financial aid at your school. Many federal loans can be obtained without any type of credit check. Unfortunately, it has become a lot more difficult to qualify for federal financial aid over the past several years. Less money is being offered, and there are a lot more students competing for it. This means that many students are not getting enough federal loans to meet all of their educational expenses. If you cannot get a federal student loan, you will have to qualify for one on the private market.
Most private student loan companies check credit score, but there are still ways to get a private student loan. Start by applying for a student loan with a lender who is willing to work with students who have bad credit. Before applying, determine the lowest amount of money that you need to take care of your educational expenses. In general, you have a much higher chance of being approved for a loan of a small amount than a big one.
It’s important to remember that banks have a lot less risk when they offer a person a student loan than they would if they offered a person any other type of loan. This is because it is next to impossible to discharge a student loan during a bankruptcy. A lender is also allowed to garnish wages and even Social Security checks in order to get the loan repaid. This allows many banks to have a lot more flexibility with student loans than they would otherwise have with other loans. For this reason, many students with bad credit discover that they can get a student loan when they don’t qualify for any other type of credit.
Do not be surprised, however, if the bank requires you to find a co-signer for your loan. This simply provides the bank with an additional guarantee that the loan will be repaid.