School Loans Vs College Student Credit
An important thing to understand about a private school loan is who is actually involved in the process. It is not a federally funded loan that would have the same governing as those offered from the FAFSA results. Private student loans are based on one's credit profile and credit score, not unlike a student credit card.
First of all, there are private lenders. These can be anything from a local bank to the major consumer banks that operate nationally. These are the institutions that will likely be doing the initial offering of a loan, and determining the first set of benefits associated with the securing of the funding. These companies will be the first people you deal with, but are not likely to keep your loan. Generally they will sell your loan to another kind of company called a “loan holder,” or in case of a credit card company a credit card holder.
A loan holder, the second entity involved in private student loans, will often pay the initial private lender a lump sum payment to take over the responsibility of the loan collection. This will usually not have any affect on the terms you agreed to with the original company – provided that was part of your original agreement. You will then be paying back the loan to a different entity than you first borrowed from.
The third kind of company that can be involved in the process is a loan servicer. In most cases, private loans extended for higher education will be serviced by one of the national companies that service the federally backed loans. The loan servicer’s responsibility is to communicate to the borrower what amount is owed, and collect a monthly payment to forward to the lender. They will keep records about the entire history of the loan, and be able to answer questions about all agreements made with the original loan company. They generally are not able to negotiate changes to the loan terms, nor can they approve any kind of extension or deferment.
These separate companies are all geared towards the best interests of the student. Unfortunately, the confusion of the borrower about who to communicate with can be overwhelming. This is often a big contributor to late and missed payments. Be sure you keep yourself informed as to the status of your personal loans and debts. This will allow you to keep on top of your finances, and be able to ask the correct company for answers o any questions.
To learn more about student loans and student credit cards visit www.StudentCreditCards.com
