Private Student Loans

haugen16 · #1 (**permalink**) 08-26-2007, 08:58 PM

Hello.

I have private student loans that I would love to get rid of. They're at 18% interest rate and are unable to consolidate with any other loans. What the heck now?! I personally cannot afford the payments and its driving me mad just thinking about them.

Help!

humandraydel · #2 (**permalink**) 08-27-2007, 07:03 AM

There isn't really much you can do about them except pay them off, unfortunately. They are just about impossible to get discharged even in bankruptcy.

Hot dog · #3 (**permalink**) 08-27-2007, 09:55 AM

That is a high interest rate!! Maybe you can transfer to a fixed 4% cc or something that seems way high for a school loan

disneysteve · #4 (**permalink**) 08-27-2007, 10:16 AM

I'd look for any other source of lower interest borrowing like home equity, credit cards, etc. 18% is ridiculous.

rebeccae55 · #5 (**permalink**) 08-27-2007, 05:38 PM

How much do you owe?

Do you get credit card offers? Try to move as much as you can to credit card or other type of loan.

Also, how many hours do you work in a week? Dedicating the income from a second job would be a big help.

humandraydel · #6 (**permalink**) 08-27-2007, 07:05 PM

Although it's usually not a good idea, would it be possible to get a loan at say 7% interest from a family member? Always a touchy situation, but it could work out well for both of you.

disneysteve · #7 (**permalink**) 08-27-2007, 08:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by humandraydel

Although it's usually not a good idea, would it be possible to get a loan at say 7% interest from a family member? Always a touchy situation, but it could work out well for both of you.

Another option would be to borrow on prosper.com. I'm sure you could borrow for far less than 18%.

neguy11 · #8 (**permalink**) 09-01-2007, 09:21 AM

Nelnet (where I work) offers a Private Consolidation Loan, for private student loans. The minimum balance requirement is $5000. The interest rate is 8.25-13% based on your credit. There a number of requirements so not everyone qualifies but it's worth a try. The number is 866.426.6765 and you can call 24/7.

loanstar · #9 (**permalink**) 09-03-2007, 11:45 AM

18% is way too high. depending on your credit rating, you can try and get another loan and use it to pay off that one or get a credit card with a lower interest rate.

PAZach · #10 (**permalink**) 09-04-2007, 09:23 AM

Wow 18% is terrible. I thought mine were bad at 8.75 and 9.75. Once I pay off my credit cards I'm going to do a balance transfer for 5.9 fixed. I was also looking into refinancing my house and using home equity.