Can I still get a student loan?

[marlinspike]

I have never needed a loan (very lucky I know) so I really have no idea how this works. 1 - I doubt I have much credit, last I checked I was prime - high in the prime range but still prime, and I recently opened a new credit card and recently got a balance increase on another card. 2 - I don't really have anything in the way of collateral and having just got out of college only summer work 2 - can I even tell the bank it's a student loan since my schooling is all paid for? 3 - Since I don't need a whole lot - 10k would do me well, heck 4k would do me, can I just get that much, or does it have to be a minimum portion of my tuition or something along those lines?
Thanks

[just dot]

I don't understand what you need a student loan for...is it for law school tuition?  If so, you just apply for them through your school's financial aid department; they aren't credit based.  They will be used to pay your tuition at the school and if there is any left over the school will cut you a check.  BUT if you are already graduated and just want some money for summer, no, you can't get a student loan for that.  It is supposed to be for tuition and expenses related to school (books, transportation, etc), not just general expenses.  Maybe I misunderstood what you were asking.

[queencruella]

You aren't very clear on how your schooling is all paid for- are you getting a scholarship covering the full cost of attendance? If not, then you should be eligible for student loans to cover anything your scholarships don't cover. It seems like you need to go pay a visit to your school's financial aid site to get a better on how it all works.

[marlinspike]

Well that's the thing, I don't need the loan for school per se (though I guess if you include moving expenses I do - I will start my 1L in a couple of weeks). My school is paid for in part by my fellowship in part by my dad (dad will pay for schooling, but nothing else). I budget pretty decently if everything goes according to plan (and it always has), but I recently had a BIG unexpected expense come up, and I rather not let it ride at credit card rates.

I'm fine with private loans...just something to beat this credit card rate.

[queencruella]

You're eligible for loans to cover anything your school's financial aid package doesn't cover.

[marlinspike]

You're eligible for loans to cover anything your school's financial aid package doesn't cover.

Ok, so it's immaterial that my dad pays the remaining tuition, I can still get loans for up to that amount? Can I request less to reduce my loan burden? Whom should I approach for loans if I want the least fuss, banks or government? Sorry, I realize these are "do a search" questions, but life is too hectic to do research right now.

[Intuition]

for Fed loans you can decide exactly how much to take of your allotted loan amount. you are not forced to take the max. i've never dealt with banks for student loans but the Fed loans have thus far been fairly headache-free for me.

[queencruella]

You're eligible for loans to cover anything your school's financial aid package doesn't cover.

Ok, so it's immaterial that my dad pays the remaining tuition, I can still get loans for up to that amount? Can I request less to reduce my loan burden? Whom should I approach for loans if I want the least fuss, banks or government? Sorry, I realize these are "do a search" questions, but life is too hectic to do research right now.

You need to go to your school's financial aid page and it will tell you what to do. I can't give you more information than that because some schools lend directly and others have preferred lenders that are your only choices. You want to get the Stafford because it's a low, fixed rate of 6.8% and if you just get the $8,500 subsidized, your school will cover the interest while you're in school.  You can always get less than that too- you can pick as much as you want and lower it at any time until it's disbursed to the school.

[marlinspike]

Any way to get loans outside of the school? Deadline for working with the school passed a few days ago (darn you large, unexpected, expenses that come up 1 day before an overseas trip!).

[queencruella]

Any way to get loans outside of the school? Deadline for working with the school passed a few days ago (darn you large, unexpected, expenses that come up 1 day before an overseas trip!).

My school allows you to apply at anytime, but they won't necessarily guarantee approval by the beginning of the school year. Your best bet is to email your school's financial aid department.