Student Loans for South Dakota Students
Compare Lenders for Best Deals
South Dakota’s primary state-sanctioned not-for-profit student loan guarantor is the Educational Assistance Corporation (EAC). EAC corrals gobs of financial aid information including critical college planning advice, financial aid calculators and easy ways to apply for federal student loans, scholarships and grants.
The Educational Assistance Corporation offers straight up student loan advice with no frills, but plenty of emphasis on proper planning. EAC provides complete explanations for each of the federal loans, as well as details reviewing who may qualify and how they should be used, just in case you did not already know. You’ll find generic interest rates for all, maximum loan amounts and repayment terms in easy to understand language.
How EAC Works
EAC urges students to shop for lenders carefully for both the Federal Family Education Loan Program (FFELP) as well as for alternative loans. South Dakota borrowers may choose a lender that partners with EAC, explore interest rates and benefits, and apply by filling out the FAFSA.
Applying for Loans
Of course applying for your Stafford Loan constitutes filling out the FAFSA, but other loans such as any alternative loans you may apply for include a credit check. If you are not able to supply the necessary credit credentials, i.e., enough credit or good credit, you can apply through a lender using a co-borrower. Typically most of the large student loan providers make it part of their “borrower benefits” to be a little more lenient in the credit department and even roll together the combined credit records for both you and your co-borrower in order to get you the best interest rate ever.
When you make on-time payments over a consistent span of time, you may receive a couple of points off your interest rate, and a bit more for setting up automatic payments, which saves your lender money.
Consolidation Loans through EAC
Some lenders include the Federal Consolidation Loan among the federal loans, others have suspended use due to increased fees attached to making consolidation loans. If you decide loan consolidation would be useful for managing your student loan debt, then shop for a lender that offers it. With the federal consolidation program you end up with one monthly payment, in an amount likely half what you were paying. The hitch is that your term of repayment is typically quite extended in order to spread out the amount of the loan, but you take fewer chances with defaulting on your loans and possibly ruining your credit.
