Private Loan Programs

Before considering a private loan, students and/or parents should have
exhausted their federal loan eligibility. Visit Studentaid.ed.gov for
details regarding federal loan types and limits. IU South Bend does not
recommend any lender(s) however Credible or INvestED have simple, transparent marketplaces that allows borrowers to receive and compare personalized offers from vetted lenders in minutes. Furthermore, checking your personalized offers will not affect your credit score. 

The most helpful student loan comparison sites should satisfy the following
minimum standards: 

• Present consumers with actual interest rates and fees, not just the
  best advertised rates or average interest rates. This will ensure that
  consumers are making comparisons based on relevant information. 
• Include a critical mass of lenders sufficient to ensure that the
  borrower has a reasonable chance of obtaining a rate that is close to the
  best rate the borrower could find on his or her own. 
• Minimize the impact on the prospective borrower's credit score. Each
  credit inquiry for student loans results in up to a 5-point hit to the
  borrower's credit score. More than three or four such inquiries are likely
  to shift the borrower from one credit tier to the next, increasing their
  costs. 
• The presentation of information must be based solely on the
  prospective borrower's best interests. In particular, the initial sorting of
  results must be based on the total cost of the loan, including interest
  rates and fees, not paid placement or other criteria. 
• The lender listings must provide sufficient information about the
  loans to permit the prospective borrower to make an informed decision. 
• The sites must provide clear disclosures regarding any potential or
  actual biases. In particular, the comparison tools should disclose whether
  the lenders provide any payment for inclusion in the loan comparison tool
  and whether the payments influence the ranking of the loan product
  comparisons. 
• The comparison site should provide sufficient contact information
  for the lender, such as telephone numbers and web links, to permit the
  prospective borrower to apply for the loan. 
• Prospective borrowers should not be charged any fees for using the
  comparison site. 
• Loan comparison sites should recommend, in a clear and conspicuous
  fashion, that prospective borrowers should borrow federal first before
  relying on any private student loans. 

A Word of Caution to Private Loan Borrowers

IU South Bend cautions students that "loan debt can accumulate quickly and result in a lifetime burden of high payments and credit denials for automobile purchases, credit cards and home mortgages. To avoid these problems, read and understand the terms and conditions of all loans." To assist you with understanding the implications of your decisions, IU South Bend has partnered with CashCourse to provide students with free financial resources. You may go to IU South Bend's CashCourse website by clicking the button below.