I was thinking about getting a student loan to get a laptop for my classes, any suggestions?

Question

I don't really know much about student loans, but I do know that I could really use a good laptop for my graphic design and web design studies. I figured it would be only about a $5,000 loan, nothing to bad, I just need some suggestions. My parents are saying it's not a good idea, but I figure that I would be able to pay it off no problem. Please help me!

Answer 1

Don't do it.

Summer is coming up. Get a job and save your money. Then you can buy the confuser for cash, and it will belong to you and you won't have to spend months or years paying it off after you finish school.

My wife just got her Ph.D after 7 long years of hard work. We paid as she went, in spite of lots of offers for student loans. Now the expense is finished, and we don't have to worry about making payments on time or rates of interest.

As Dave Ramsey is fond of saying, "The borrower is the slave of the lender." He is right. Don't sell yourself into bondage just for a laptop computer.

Doc Hudson, who has, and had, his share of debt

Answer 2

I looked across the net and discovered loads of scams. Nevertheless this helped for me= financial-care.info-

RE I was thinking about getting a student loan to get a laptop for my classes, any suggestions?

I don't really know much about student loans, but I do know that I could really use a good laptop for my graphic design and web design studies. I figured it would be only about a $5,000 loan, nothing to bad, I just need some suggestions. My parents are saying it's not a good idea, but I figure that I would be able to pay it off no problem. Please help me!

Answer 3

There are three broad types of student loans (from my own experiences).

Federal loans are the best rates, easiest to qualify for, and widely available. Consider: Stafford, Perkins, Parent PLUS loans. Your financial aid department can tell you more (as well as an online search), but generally these are all you would need. However, they normally go to pay tuition first, so you may never see the money directly depending on the situation. All federal loan payments are deferred while in school I believe. You have to fill out the FAFSA (google it) and may experience a long waiting period to get any money.

The second type is a private certified student loan. These cover the difference between federal aid and the school-determined cost of attendance (which may include extra money for rent, etc). They are generally still a good deal, but you might need your parents to cosign to get a better rate or qualify. Think of it like a backup for federal aid when your school costs are very high as it is treated in a similar way (goes directly to the school).

The third type is a non-certified private loan. You would probably not be able to get these without your parents, but the money does get sent directly to you. Rates currently are from about 8-15% depending on credit rating and other factors. If you do this, only borrow the $5,000 for your computer.

Other Options:
Lines of Credit, Personal Loans, Credit Cards. I don't recommend these except to have one such account for building credit history. A Line of Credit is normally better than a Credit Card in terms of rate, but a Personal Loan falls under a slightly better credit category as it is an installment account (actually, educational loans are best because they are "positive" debt on a credit report). Manage them carefully and talk to your parents about it.

Many stores will offer payment programs for computers because of their cost. You will pay a rate similar to a credit card, but it you don't already have one, it will build credit history. Try to make extra principal payments to it though over time.

BTW - You can get good laptops for under $5000 if you shop around. CPU speed is unimportant unless you are gaming or doing 3D rendering. A "school laptop" that you want to use for other things should have 1-2 GB of memory and a Pentium 4 or Dual Core CPU of any speed. Memory is more important for general responsiveness and speed.

Compare before you buy:

Computers - Costco, HP/Compaq, Dell, NewEgg (for parts/upgrades). $1200-$1500 can take you a long way if you focus on the parts that matter (memory upgrades).

Student Loans - Sallie Mae*, Wells Fargo*, most major banks. For a long list of lenders: http://www.finaid.org/loans/educationlenders.phtml

* I have experienced these personally. Sallie Mae has the best offers and service of all lenders I have dealt with. Wells Fargo is ok, but I consolidated my loans into Sallie Mae for the above reason. Stick with larger banks/organizations that you like the service of.

Disclaimer: This is free advice. Use at your own risk and use common sense. Talk to your parents because they are probably wiser than me (I am just an independent MBA student).

Answer 4

Yeah you say that now but wait till that bill come. I say work at a job, wait till they lay off because you know they will. Then they will give you free money 5000 to go to school. This is only half way a joke.

Oh yeah another reason why I say that is because if you watch that show Mike and juliet show, Theres this couple on there who is about to get put out of there house all because they had to pay off a student loan for 100,000. I don't know what they gonna do and they don't know. You probably read it by now.

purchase a laptop at tigerdirect.com for a real cost.

Answer 5

If you are only going to buy a laptop, then you could borrow just the amount needed to purchase it and return the rest to the lender before the deadline. If they give you $5000 and you only need $1500, you could always return the other $3500. When borrowing money for school, It's best to borrow only what you need.

Answer 6

i will recommend you to get a loan from Diana Lohan company its a reliable trustful loan lending company who offers loan with low interest rate without collateral contact the loan company today via email: [e-mail]

Answer 7

This is an idiotic idea. A two year old, used computer capable of doing everything you need can be purchased for less than $1,500.00. Get a part time job, dope.