How to Navigate Private Loans

My name is Destra Capers. I'm the Director of Outreach at South Carolina Student Loan. Here are some tips when navigating private loans. If you can get a prequalification or pre-approval for that private loan before you actually know that you need it, that is really helpful.

We have a tool on our website that can do that for you. So if you visit our website, you can actually check your rate on our site. 

Check Your Rate

You will want to actually look at your financial aid award letter to see what is available to you, and does it actually cover all of your expenses for your college experience.

Now remember, that's just for your first year. So you're gonna want to complete your FAFSA every year and reevaluate on an annual basis if you have a gap between what was given to you and what is owed. That is when you'll look for a private loan. 

Every private lender has a different range of interest rates, and it's going to be based on your credit score. So as a student, if you don't have credit established yet, then you will need a co-signer to help you get the best rate possible.

So know what your interest rate is and know that there's competition out there. 

At South Carolina Student Loan, we pride ourselves on being competitive with low interest rates for our borrowers. If you have a gap between your free aid, your scholarships, your grants for federal or state, and institutional money as wel—your direct loan in the student's name—then you will look at private loans.

Usually South Carolina Student Loan has very competitive rates and we can usually beat out the rates for the Parent Plus loan. So we would recommend that you come check us out!