Student Loans Feed

Student Loans: Start w/ State & Nonprofit Loans!

Typically you will see that most college planners will say to take the Federal Loans first (since they are really the only loans just in the student's name), but then many seem to just go to their Parent Plus or bank/credit union or Citizens/Discover for (typically) expensive loans for the rest.

After the student takes the guaranteed Federal Loans, before you do anything else,

  1. Find out if your state has a student loan program:
  2. See if the state your student's school is in has a state loan program:
    • (same website as above) for example, in NJ, eligible students :"Be a New Jersey resident attending an approved school (in or out-of-state) or an out-of-state resident enrolled in an approved NJ-based school."
  3. Find non profits that offer student loans:
    • go to the Education Finance Council website, scroll down & click on "Find a Nonprofit Loan here"
    • MEFA is one example of a nonprofit student loan lender.  You do NOT need to have a Massachusetts connection to get a loan from MEFA.

After you research all the state and nonprofit loan options, then look at the banks etc.  You should be able to enter in some basic info into Credible and get a few options/rates back.

AND check to see if your state has any student loan forgiveness programs for certain degrees - check here


MEFA - nonprofit student loans from MEFA

Looking for Student Loans for College?  Make sure to take the Federal Loans first, but then be sure to check the rates of nonprofit and state-based lenders - they are often have much better rates than private banks. 

MEFA is one of these nonprofit lenders: 

https://www.mefa.org

There's no origination fee, application fee, or prepayment penalty. MEFA Loans are available to students and families across the country, so there's no need for a Massachusetts connection.

 Find other non profits that offer student loans: go to the Education Finance Council website, scroll down and click on "Find a Nonprofit Loan here"

via www.mefa.org


Find Nonprofit Student Loans for College

Looking for Student Loans for College?  Make sure to take the Federal Loans first, but then be sure to check the rates of nonprofit and state-based lenders - they are often have much better rates than private banks.  Find these lenders here - scroll down to "Find a nonprofit loan here":

https://foryounotforprofit.org/student-loans

We are a group of nonprofit and state-based organizations with an important mission - to help you plan, save, and pay for college.