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Im going to law school next semester and the only thing that worries me is not being able to get a GradPlus loan because of a credit check...I dont know what my credit score is, i just graduated from college so I've never worked full time, however, Ive paid off about 4 grand in student loans already from college, and every month for 3 yrs my credit cards are paid off w/o ever receiving a finance charge......Has anybody personally or know someone that has been turned down for a GradPlus Loan?

Serious answers please

2007-03-26 19:03:44 · 2 answers · asked by dormat_029 2 in Education & Reference Financial Aid

2 answers

The credit check for Federal Grad PLUS loans is quite mild relative to most alternative loans (and even Parent PLUS loans, in my opinion). Most Grad PLUS lenders are simply looking to see that you have no bankruptcies, student loan defaults, or liens in your history. They often don't look at your employment history or debt-to-income ratio. The school for which I work has about 350 graduate students attending. Of those who have applied for a Grad PLUS loan, I don't know of any that have been denied. If you ARE denied for a PLUS loan, you can (a) contact the lender to see if they have a "second look" program or (b) apply with a PLUS lender that allows applicants to apply with an "endorser" (which is sort of like a co-signer). Off the top of my head, I know that Sallie Mae and Citibank have "second look" programs and that EdAmerica allows for endorsers. There are undoubtedly others with these options.

Finally, these days, there is no good reason not to know if your credit is good. Everyone in the US is entitled to a free credit report a year from each of the three major credit reporting agencies. I highly recommend looking yours up. Even if you don't think you have bad credit, you should look at your report anyway -- you might be surprised what you find. (The last time I checked my credit, I discovered that my sister's SSN, which differs from mine by 1 digit, had been incorrectly listed on my report as if it was mine. As a result, all of HER debt and payment history was reflected in MY score. Not good.) To get your credit report, you can go to www.annualcreditreport.com or, if you wish, you can contact TransUnion, Experian, or Equifax directly.

2007-03-27 05:58:42 · answer #1 · answered by FinAidGrrl 5 · 0 0

The GradPLUS loan typically has high approval rates - it's a little more lenient in terms of credit because it's guaranteed by the government - so is less risk to the lender.

If you go through Sallie Mae, and *if* you are declined for credit reasons, Sallie Mae has something called "PLUS Success" which is a free counseling service that can help you resolve credit issues so you qualify for the loan.

Good luck!
http://www.salliemae.com/get_student_loan/find_student_loan/grad/grad_student_loans/grad_plus/

2007-03-27 02:17:57 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0 0

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