So who did everyone end up going with for their loans?

[Antigua81]

You can go to www.annualcreditreport.com and get free credit scores from all three credit bureaus.  The date when you can do this depends on the state in which you reside.  I think the freecreditreport.com site is run by experian.

depending on your state, you can order a free one from each company once a year.  I think the site is www.freecreditreport.com.  I just looked it up and it looks like it is just experian on the homepage.  Anyone else know about this?  I know for certain that I got mine from two of the three a few months ago using this service, but when I look at the website now it looks a little different.

You can get a free credit report, yes, but you still have to pay for the scores...

The way this works is as follows:

There are 3 credit bureaus--Trans Union, Experian and Equifax. You get one free report from each of them each year (once every 365 days). You can order all three at once, or space them out, depending on your purposes.

Getting all 3 gives a better financial picture of right now; spreading them out and ordering 1 every 4 months helps you to protect against identity theft for free (because you'd see the changes you didn't authorize).

As such, I'd advise paying for all three right now because you want YOUR SCORES. The free ones do not come with scores, and therefore are of limited help. If you pay for it at Myfico, you can get these nifty simulators that help you see how certain actions would affect your credit report and stuff--in addition to getting the scores.

The way I see it, that's the better way to go in this instance. Save the free ones for looking for identity theft...

[BAFF213]

sweet - im supposed to wait until sept to get my free report?

You can go to www.annualcreditreport.com and get free credit scores from all three credit bureaus.  The date when you can do this depends on the state in which you reside.  I think the freecreditreport.com site is run by experian.

depending on your state, you can order a free one from each company once a year.  I think the site is www.freecreditreport.com.  I just looked it up and it looks like it is just experian on the homepage.  Anyone else know about this?  I know for certain that I got mine from two of the three a few months ago using this service, but when I look at the website now it looks a little different.

You can get a free credit report, yes, but you still have to pay for the scores...

The way this works is as follows:

There are 3 credit bureaus--Trans Union, Experian and Equifax. You get one free report from each of them each year (once every 365 days). You can order all three at once, or space them out, depending on your purposes.

Getting all 3 gives a better financial picture of right now; spreading them out and ordering 1 every 4 months helps you to protect against identity theft for free (because you'd see the changes you didn't authorize).

As such, I'd advise paying for all three right now because you want YOUR SCORES. The free ones do not come with scores, and therefore are of limited help. If you pay for it at Myfico, you can get these nifty simulators that help you see how certain actions would affect your credit report and stuff--in addition to getting the scores.

The way I see it, that's the better way to go in this instance. Save the free ones for looking for identity theft...

[ElizaB]

Access group does and requested that I have a cosigner.  I don't know what the downside could be with having a great cosigner.  The downside is only for the cosigner.

Access group only allows you to have a co-signer if your credit wasn't good enough for the LIBOR + 3.75 rate and if you need help to qualify for the LIBOR + 6.75 rate.  I was approved on my own for the the 3.75 rate and I tried to convince them to let me use a cosigner so maybe I could get the LIBOR + 2.55 rate.  They would not let me do it.  They said only those not approved on their own could have a cosigner.

They do, however, require references so they can track you down if you fail to pay.

[rm5400]

Access group does and requested that I have a cosigner.  I don't know what the downside could be with having a great cosigner.  The downside is only for the cosigner.

Access group only allows you to have a co-signer if your credit wasn't good enough for the LIBOR + 3.75 rate and if you need help to qualify for the LIBOR + 6.75 rate.  I was approved on my own for the the 3.75 rate and I tried to convince them to let me use a cosigner so maybe I could get the LIBOR + 2.55 rate.  They would not let me do it.  They said only those not approved on their own could have a cosigner.

They do, however, require references so they can track you down if you fail to pay.

Unless you get the 2.55% rate, it sounds like THE is a better deal because you get the 1% rebate as opposed to .5% after 48months at access (on private loans).  assuming that the rebate doesn't change much

[AgentRHE]

Unless you get the 2.55% rate, it sounds like THE is a better deal because you get the 1% rebate as opposed to .5% after 48months at access (on private loans).  assuming that the rebate doesn't change much

I got 2.75% at Access Group, and went with THE for the staffords.  I would have considered THE for the private loans, but the 15 year pay-off period worried me.  I don't plan on taking more than 15 years, but should I suck up the place and end up as a public defender making $32,000 a year... the wiggle room will be nice.

[lyrarain]

tag

[Abevigoda]

I went with the Access for the full Stafford Loans and didn't apply for any private loans.  Can I apply for the private loans during the school year if I need them?  Do I need to use Access since because that is who I used for Stafford?

[lyrarain]

As far as I can tell you can use different lenders for Stafford and private. I think when you can receive money depends on disbursement dates set by your schoo's fin aid office, so if you apply late for private loans you will probably have to wait till the next disbursement date. Check with your office!

[Abevigoda]

Thanks, I will check with the office.

[MoneyHungryGollum]

Does anybody know of a lender that leans towards TransUnion over Equifax and Experian - and further does it vary by geographic location???