Funding University Review

Funding University specializes in offering student loans for those without cosigners. If you don't qualify for other private student loans on your own, Funding U is worth your consideration.

The post Funding University Review appeared first on LendEDU.

Funding University is a private student loan company focused on offering student loans without a cosigner to career driven undergrads.

Unlike most private student loan lenders, Funding U doesn’t allow for cosigners, and because of that, has unique eligibility criteria. Funding U is a good option for students without cosigners who wouldn’t qualify for a traditional private student loan on their own.

Funding U covers 30 states accounting for 90% of the U.S. population. Students who aren’t eligible will be added to Funding U’s waitlist and will be notified as soon as loans become available in their state.

Funding U Student Loans Overview

The biggest selling point of Funding University’s student loans is that they don’t require a cosigner like most others.

Since most undergraduate students do not have a credit history or the income required to qualify for traditional private student loans on their own, this is a very unique and attractive benefit.

Not only does this help students but it also could benefit parents too. By cosigning on their children’s student loans, parents will also be responsible for repayment if their children can’t repay them. If both the student and the parent don’t make payments on the loans, both of their credit will be negatively affected.

Finally, since student loans are included in the cosigner’s debt-to-income ratio, it could also impact parents’ ability to borrow money for other things like for a mortgage or an auto loan.

Eligibility Requirements

Rather than looking at your credit score or income, Funding University determines your eligibility and how much you can borrow by looking at things that show whether you are on track towards your professional and academic goals or not.

Some of these may include class hours completed, graduation date, academic record, major, employment or internship experience, and any other academic or extracurricular activities that show that you are on track towards your professional and academic goals.

You will also have to be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident that is at least 18 years old attending a Title IV-eligible four year college. For-profit schools are not eligible.

If you prequalify for a loan with Funding U, they will do a credit check just to make sure that you don’t have any delinquencies on other loans.

Application Process

To apply for a loan from Funding University, you will have to fill out some preliminary information online such as your GPA, SAT/ACT score, monthly income, and major in order to see if you prequalify.

This is different from most student loan applications which often require you to submit a significant amount of financial information, including your credit score.

You can see if you may be eligible for a Funding U student loan with our free application here.

Prequalified students move on next to the loan application which takes 5-10 minutes. You need three items to complete your loan application:

1. Academic Transcript
2. Financial Aid Award Letter
3. Résumé

Most students who are pre-approved for a loan will have a 10 minute phone consultation with one of Funding University’s loan advisers prior to loan closing. Because they’re focussed on making sure that their terms are transparent and that their borrowers understand their loans, they talk borrowers through the prospected loan terms and interest rate and explain next steps.

Funding U requires $20 payments to be made each month while students are in school. The lender wants students to establish good monthly payment habits, keep their loan balance down, and build up their credit history.

Full repayment starts six months after graduation (November for most students). Funding U works directly with students after graduation to help them transition into repayment on both their Funding U and other federal and private student loans.

One difference with Funding University loans is that they require borrowers to provide an update each semester on their academic, employment, and career prospects.

Interest Rates & Loan Amounts

The loans offered by Funding University are competitive. You can borrow between $3,000-$10,000 per academic year and all loans come with a fixed interest rate. All borrowers can receive a 0.50% rate discount for signing up for autopay, as well.

Here are Funding U’s rates for the 2019/20 school year:

Senior: 7.99% – 11.99% fixed interest rate and $10,000 loan maximum per school year

Junior: 7.99% – 11.99% fixed interest rate and $10,000 loan maximum per school year

Sophomore: 7.99% – 11.99% fixed interest rate and $11,000 loan maximum per school year

Freshman: 7.99% – 11.99% fixed interest rate and $10,000 loan maximum per school year

Is Funding U Your Best Option?

While there are a lot of benefits to getting a student loan without a cosigner, if you get it a traditional private student loan that is cosigned by your parents, you’ll likely qualify for a lower interest rate. This will make make repayment more manageable and will save you money longterm.

Bottom Line

Ultimately, whether Funding University is the right option for you depends on your financial situation, your career prospects, your parents’ financial situation, and their willingness to cosign student loans for you.

Because many parents can’t or won’t cosign student loans for their kids, Funding University provides an opportunity for students to access funds that they wouldn’t otherwise have at reasonable interest rates.​

3.96 Funding University

The post Funding University Review appeared first on LendEDU.