How To Get a Student Loan with Bad Credit

Sometimes the early choices we make with money come back to bite us in the ass.  Say you get a credit card at 18, and then don't pay your bills.  This can damage your credit score early on, and make it hard to get other loans later.  And while you've learned the error of your ways, this small infraction and haunt you for a long time.

So, what happens if this is you and you need to get a student loan?  Can you still get a student loan with bad credit?

Let's explore your options!

 

Need Based Federal Student Loans

The best option for student loans, whether you have good credit or bad credit, are need based Federal Student Loans.  Need based student loans are based on eligibility requirements that are calculated when you fill out the FAFSA.  The FAFSA takes a lot of information from your taxes (and your parents' taxes), and it runs it through a formula that calculates what's known as your Expected Family Contribution (or basically how much you can theoretically afford to pay for college).

Once that's calculated, you can see if you're eligible for need based student loans.  There are two types:

• Federal Perkins Loans
• Federal Direct Subsidized Loans

These loans are great for students with bad credit because your credit score isn't a factor that's used for calculating eligibility.  So even if you have bad credit, you can possibly qualify for these types of loans.

 

Non-Need Based Federal Student Loans

If you don't have a need based on the Expected Family Contribution equation, you may still be able to get Federal student loans that DON'T require a credit check.

You can get one of the following:

• Federal Direct Unsubsidized Loans
• Federal Parent PLUS Loans

These loans typically allow you to borrow higher amounts, and they also aren't based on your credit score.  So, even if you have poor credit, you could still qualify for these.  Your school's financial aid office can help with that.

 

Private Student Loans

Finally, there are private student loans.  Most borrowers should avoid these loans, unless you have a very specific reason to take them out (such as medical school).  You can read more of the reasons why in How Do Private Student Loans Work?

If you have bad credit, it can be tough to get a private student loan.  Unlike Federal student loans, private student loans DO look at your credit score.  If your credit score is low, the bank may require you to have a cosigner for your student loans.  This is another tricky issue, which we've talked about in detail in How To Cosign a Student Loan.

If you don't have someone able to cosign for you, you probably won't be able to get a private student loan if you have bad credit.

 

Know Your Credit Score

The key to all of this is to simply make sure that you know your credit score at all times.  If you need to take out a loan, you should know what you may or may not qualify for based on your score.

That's why I recommend that everyone use a free service like Credit Karma to check your credit score.  Credit Karma is truly free, and they don't require a credit card or anything to sign up.  When you do sign up, you can view your score and other tools that will help you improve your score.  You've probably seen their commercials on TV, and I use them myself.

What are your thoughts on getting a student loan with bad credit?