The college I am going to does not have a school code and I can't fill out the FAFSA. What are the best loans?

Question

Well, it's a new college. The name is Georgia Gwinnett College and they have their own grant you can apply for until they get everything worked out with the government, but I was denied that because I made too much money last year

Answer 1

Don't go to any school that does not have a school code and eligible to receive funding through the Department of Education.

Find a better school.

Answer 2

Do yourself a favor and look at other schools that are members of the federal government's financial aid system. Given the fact that there are thousands of colleges, universities and vocational education programs that are part of the system, you should be concerned about why your school is not qualified.

By choosing a non-eligible school, you are passing up the opportunity to be awarded a substantial amount of free grant money from the federal government (the amount could be as high as $4700 a year or more), and you are passing up the opportunity to participate in the best educational loan program that you can find anywhere.

If you limit yourself to non-governmental (private) loans, you will most likely need to find a cosigner before you will be able to borrow, because most private educational lenders require a significant (positive)credit history and a decent income to qualify. Take a few minutes to read this area of the Answers service, and you'll see how many people are complaining about the difficulty of qualifying for a private educational loan.

If you absolutely MUST borrow privately, start out by comparing the lending rates of the major lenders - the big banks that everyone has heard of. You can do this at the bankrate.com website - I'll attach a link to that, below.

Before you sign any loan agreement (even if it is with a big well-known bank), make sure you understand exactly what terms you are agreeing to. You need to know, upfront, when your payments will start, how much you'll pay every month, how long you will have to pay, and what the final total of your payments are going to be. Educational loans, with their long repayment periods, can accrue a LOT of interest, and many students are shocked when they realize just how much they will need to pay back. Don't be one of those borrowers.

Edit: Ouch. That's a problem. I looked at the Gwinnett website, and, just like you described, they are still in the process of gaining accreditation, so they can not participate in the federal aid program at this time. I also saw how they're offering the equivalent of a Pell Grant to exceptionally needy students - if your family isn't exceptionally needy, I can certainly see how you failed to qualify.

You're going to have to make your own decision about this one. You're really not going to find readily available financial aid to attend this school - and it's always a risk to go to a school that is going through the accreditation process. I'm sure they'll wind up accredited in the end, but it may take longer than they hope it will take - and that'll slow down the process of getting qualified for the federal aid program.

Because of your financial circumstances, this may be a risk and an expense that you can't "afford".

Looks like a great school though!