Getting The Best No Credit Check Student Loans

Far too many college students nowadays run into trouble right from the start when it comes to finding the money needed for college because they have already managed to run up a bad credit history. Luckily however there are a number of loan and aid packages available that look mainly at financial need and ignore your credit record. Therefore, this is where you should start your search for funding.

One of the oldest sources of funding and one which is mainly available on the basis of financial need is the Pell grant. Provided the student and his family are classed as a low-income family a Pell grant is all but automatic and a grant is made based upon the submission of an application and supporting documentation.

A student will be required to provide proof of the cost of his intended course (inclusive of tuition fees and other qualifying costs) and must also provide details of the family’s income from which an Expected Family Contribution (EFC) number will be calculated. On this basis a decision will be made and the grant made or refused.

As the name suggests, a Pell grant is a gift and not a loan and as such it does not need to be repaid. Pell grants are currently for a maximum of $4,731 a year (depending on an assessment of financial need) and, though this will not normally cover the total cost of attending college, it should go a long way towards helping. Nonetheless, the majority of students will need to seek loan funding in addition to a Pell grant and the best form of loan funding in this case are Stafford loans.

There are two types of Stafford loan and the first is a subsidized Stafford loan on which the federal government covers interest loan payments as long as you are in full-time study and for a period of up to six months following graduation. The second type of Stafford loan is an unsubsidized Stafford loan on which you are responsible for making all interest payments.

You need to consider unsubsidized Stafford loans with great care because, although you are responsible for making interest payments, you will not be required to do so as long as you are studying full-time and for a period of up to six months following graduation. This said, during this period of time interest will be charged to any loan and will merely be added to the outstanding amount of the loan. This means that during a normal three or four year college course your loan debt can grow substantially.

Naturally, the majority of students would prefer to have an unsubsidized Stafford loan but loans are granted according to the money available and also against need so that only a few students qualify for subsidized loans. The good news however is that almost all students qualify for an unsubsidized loan and, despite the shortcomings, they nonetheless represent one of the very best forms of college loan funding available today.

Naturally, there are other forms of loan funding available and you need to look around to see just what is on offer and what best meets your needs. For students who come from low-income families however both Pell grants and Stafford loans are almost certainly the best choice.