Private Student Loans Without Cosigner

Private student loans without cosigners as well as those requiring cosigners are made available by banks, credit unions and private lenders, like Sallie Mae, Nellie Mae and Student Lending Corporation, who provide both private and federally backed and guaranteed student loans. Private student loans can be considered by students who have maxed out their Perkins and Stafford loans and have tried applying for federal student grants, viz. Federal Pell Grant, Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (FSEOG), Academic Competitiveness Grant (ACG) and the National Science and Mathematics Access to Retain Talent Grant. Unlike private student loans, the borrower's creditworthiness is not a pre-condition for availing federal student loans.

Eligibility Criteria for Availing Private Student Loans

The following is the eligibility criteria for availing private student loans:

• The student must be of legal age for entering into any kind of contract, viz. 18 years in all states except Alabama and Nebraska, where the legal age is 19, and Mississippi and Puerto Rico where the legal age is 21.
• The student should be attending an eligible institution which is the same as saying that, the college must be accredited to some recognized university in the US.
• The borrower should be a citizen or a permanent resident or else, he/she should have a cosigner who is a US citizen or a permanent resident.
• The borrower should have proof of address.
• Satisfactory credit history is mandatory for the borrower (or cosigner).
• Verifiable employment history is desirable.
• Good future earning prospects on completion of education is also desirable since repayment is contingent on the same.

Private Student Loans: No Cosigner Needed

Getting someone to cosign for private student loans is difficult since a cosigner will be held liable if the student defaults on the loan. One must note that a great deal of emphasis is laid on the credit history and the credit rating of the borrower. In fact, on applying for a private student loan, the lender requests credit information about the borrower from one of the three major credit bureaus. However, disbursers may be willing to consider an applicant for the so called no cosigner private student loans if the latter has an established credit history and superior credit scores. Read more on college student loans for bad credit borrowers.

International students cannot apply for a private student loan unless they have a cosigner who is either a US citizen or a permanent resident. In other words, as far as international students are concerned, there is no such thing as private student loans without cosigners.

Read more on:

• Grants for College Students
• Student Loans Without a Cosigner

Consequences of Availing Private Student Loans Without Cosigner

Regardless of a satisfactory credit score or an established credit history, getting someone to cosign student loans has the effect of reducing the interest rate on the loans procured by the borrower. This is because the cosigner is effectively the co-borrower and the lender can always hope to recover dues by contacting the co-borrower. Read more on loans for students without a cosigner.

On being categorized as a cosigner, the co-borrower's debt to income ratio increases thus making it difficult for him/her to avail loans at a favorable rate of interest. If the primary borrower defaults, the cosigner will be expected to make good the loan obligations. If the cosigner does not make the required payments, his /her credit history will get negatively impacted. Thus, by availing loans without a cosigner a student spares the potential cosigner unnecessary grief and undertakes complete responsibility for his/her finances.

Despite the availability of private student loans without cosigners, it may be advisable to have a credit worthy cosigner in case one is denied student loans due to unsatisfactory credit history. Cosigners should acquaint themselves with the repercussions and the pitfalls of cosigning before they agree to assume legal obligation for the debts of the primary borrower.