Q&A: I need help finding a company that still offerst student loans.?

Question by Ana: I need help finding a company that still offerst student loans.?
Financial aid didn’t cover my whole tuition and books.
I need help finding a comapany that still offers student loans.
Any suggestions?

Best answer:

Answer by NotAnyoneYouKnow
The news on this front might be improving. Don’t take this as a personal recommendation (one way or the other) about Sallie Mae, but here’s an excerpt from an article that just appeared in the Washington Post this past week:

“Sallie Mae Raises $ 1.5 Billion for Private Loans

Reston-based Sallie Mae has secured $ 1.5 billion worth of financing from investment bank Goldman Sachs for a batch of private student loans, a sign that credit for the frozen student loan markets may be beginning to thaw.

The deal is the first transaction to provide funding for the private student loan market since September 2007, other than a relatively small securitization of $ 124 million, which was sold by the private lender MyRichUncle on July 10, 2008, according to Mark Kantrowitz, the publisher of FinAid.org.

“That’s significant, as a first sign of a thawing of the capital markets,” Kantrowitz said.”

On the other hand – if you’re looking for a list of lenders that are no longer making student loans – you can find that list here:

http://www.nasfaa.org/publications/2008/rsuspensions030408.html

You’ll find a few well-known names there, lenders like Bank of America, Comerica, GMAC, My Rich Uncle, Next Student, and the now-departed Wachovia and Washington Mutual.

Your best bet is to check with the financial aid office at your school – that’s part of what the financial aid officers are paid to keep track of (who’s still making loans available to their students). Another important option is to contact whichever banking institution you (or your parents) have had a long-term relationship with – especially if that institution is a credit union or a regional bank. Some lenders have limited the availability of educational loans strictly to loyal customers, and they’re no longer advertising these products to the general public.

All of that being said, you’re in a for struggle, as you already know. Educational loans are high-risk loan products, and these are exactly the types of loans that nearly every bank is trying to avoid.

Good luck to you.

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