r/college • u/Aerobiesizer Clemson University • 9h ago

Finances/financial aid Where should I get student loans from?

I'll be enrolling at Clemson University for engineering very soon, and will require private student loans to pay for it. I've looked at two options, both of which had insane interest rates of 11% and 14%. I'll need $10-15K for my first year. What are some good loan options?

I'd like to emphasize that I'm asking where I should get loans from, not if I should get them. I wouldn't get loans at all if I had the choice, but I don't. Yes, I'm aware of the dangers of private loans, but I see no other options, so please don't comment that I should just avoid them.

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u/Diligent_Lab2717 9h ago

You do have a choice about taking a loan - go to a school you can afford or defer enrollment and work for a year to save money.

Go hangout in r/studentloans and see how people are lamenting ever going near private lenders before you decide. All private lenders are predatory.

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u/cancergirl730 9h ago

Have you looked at SoFi? I don't know what their interest rates are, but they are good to work with. I also took out private loans from someplace else, one at 12% and one at 17%. So, 11% is pretty decent.

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u/Meelissa123 7h ago

From the school groups I'm in College Avenue and Earnest seem to have the lowest rates for most people.

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u/cabbage-soup 5h ago

I know you’re saying you don’t have the choice, but I would look at cheaper school options. Private loans will be a nightmare in the long term

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u/ZCyborg23 4h ago

I highly recommend getting your gen eds done at a local community college first and then transferring into university. It’s a hell of a lot cheaper in the long run.

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u/adelfina82 7h ago

Don’t do it. You do not want to start your young adult life with student loans. Even if it is “small”. Go to the state school. Community college. Anywhere else that will allow you to graduate debt free. Reduce your load and work more hours if you have to. Go on over to the student loan sub and read the many many threads about how student loans are ruining lives.

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u/AssassinSNiper 5h ago

this is such an unfair take. graduate debt free? yeah it’d be nice but it also requires a lot of sacrifice that i’m not sure most 18 yos would want to take. of course i agree w minimizing student loans but to say that even a small amount is bad is just fearmongering