poor credit plus no cosigner

[huilian]

I'm planning to attend law school next year but I'm really worried about how I'm going to finance it.  My credit is awful, but I recently paid off a bunch of old credit card debt so now all that's left is my student loans, which I pay on time.  So I figure my score must be improving, but probably not enough for me to get a private loan without a cosigner.  The trouble is, nobody in my family is creditworthy and there's nobody else I would feel comfortable asking to cosign on a massive loan.

I've already taken my lsats and I'm feeling confident about getting in to a good law school, but if I have to choose between my state university and say, Columbia, I don't want to have to make the decision based on cost. I've been working for a while and have money saved up, but not enough for 3 years in NYC.  And from what I've seen on the Law School Numbers website, it looks like grants are few and far between.  So, what are my options?

[greengrl]

I'm planning to attend law school next year but I'm really worried about how I'm going to finance it.  My credit is awful, but I recently paid off a bunch of old credit card debt so now all that's left is my student loans, which I pay on time.  So I figure my score must be improving, but probably not enough for me to get a private loan without a cosigner.  The trouble is, nobody in my family is creditworthy and there's nobody else I would feel comfortable asking to cosign on a massive loan.

I've already taken my lsats and I'm feeling confident about getting in to a good law school, but if I have to choose between my state university and say, Columbia, I don't want to have to make the decision based on cost. I've been working for a while and have money saved up, but not enough for 3 years in NYC.  And from what I've seen on the Law School Numbers website, it looks like grants are few and far between.  So, what are my options?

Barring scholarship money from your school you will probably join the rest of us in the wild world of Grad Plus loans--these have much different credit requirements. Specifically, I believe you are eligible as long as you have not defaulted on anything/declared bankruptcy in the last five years and/or are not more than 90 days delinquent on any current debt. There is a thread dedicated to these so find it and make sure those are the limits but basically you just can't have AWFUL credit. They are government backed loans with fixed interest rates. Now, there is debate as to what is going to happen to them over the next year but nonetheless the schools you apply to will have the information to get you up and running.

However, also keep in mind that debt is debt and even though you might be able to get an additional loan to go to a really expensive school, consider your current credit score as well as your other school debt. Don't be fooled by posters on this board that are convinced that 250k of debt is nothing once you're a big bad lawyer--because it is and it will own you for a very long time. Plus, be sure to really review your own personal spending patterns to figure out how you acquired so much credit card debt and ended up with such rough credit. If you have spending or budgeting issues get them together NOW before taking on even more debt.

I don't mean to sound all miss-know-it-all b/c I'm far from it but I've watched too many people succumb to massive debt and compromise their standard of living just to make interest payments.

just my .02

[Mr. Burnz]

If you do go to Columbia, as the previous poster mentioned, (someone correct me if I'm wrong) the GRADPlus loans supposedly have "minimal credit requirements". 

Of course, f you think you can get into Columbia, you could probably also get a good scholarship at a school lower down in the T14.  So the choice here isn't really between "a state school and Columbia".  You can try and find some middle ground maybe in a Georgetown or something...

Good luck!
-Mr. Burnz

[huilian]

Thanks for the info guys...btw, the "columbia vs. state" comparison was totally theoretical, I doubt I'll be competitive enough to get into Columbia.  (Congrats to you, Demingh!)