Contrary to what you might think, you do not have to have great credit in order to get the funding you need to go to school.
First, fill out the paperwork for FAFSA. FAFSA is the Free Application for Federal Student Aid. The application makes people cringe because it seems so long and complicated, but what is an hour or two of your day compared with not having the money to go to college?
When you submit a FAFSA, you are applying for the Federal Stafford Loan. This loan is given to those who have a small income and it has a low interest rate. No credit check is involved with getting it. In order to receive it you have to be able to prove citizenship and financial need and you can’t have a former Stafford Loan in default.
Another loan that does not require good credit is the Perkins loan. Apply for this as soon as possible because they are given out as people apply and the funding will eventually run out. These loans are funded by the government and the college you are attending.
More often than not, the money received from these loans will not pay for everything you need so you should be prepared to apply for a private student loan. These DO require a credit check so if you have bad credit, you must have a cosigner in order to be approved.
When you ask someone to be a cosigner for you, you are asking to use their good credit as a means of getting a loan. The person you ask must have a decent credit score, otherwise you are wasting your time. This is the score the loan company will use to give you a loan and if it is not good, they won’t loan you the money.
A cosigner takes a risk when they agree to cosign for you. If you do not pay on time or you default on the loan, they will be held accountable for payment. This will also reflect in their credit report. When someone trusts you enough to cosign for you, it is your responsibility to not betray their trust. Make your payments on time every month remembering that someone besides the loan company is counting on you doing so.