5 Tips for Selecting the Best Private Student Loan Lender to Help Pay for College [Guest Post]

With so many tutoring jobs emerging in Singapore, many people are hiring a home tutor in Singapore to prepare for tricky entrance exams to get admission into the top colleges. And once you get into the college of your choice, worries of arranging finances for college start creeping in. Here’s telling you the 5 most essential tips on selecting the best private student loan lender to help you pay your for college.

When considering a private student loan, make sure you carry out a comprehensive research on all private student loan options available to you and compare each one of them. Look out for some exclusive offers along with the rates and terms, such that you keep all options open and select the one that is best for you.

Credits: http://www.simpletuition.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/student-loans-needed-300x200.jpg

1.     Look For The Total Number Of Lenders 

If you think the very first lender you searched for is offering good rates, do not sign up until you compare student loan rates with several other lenders.  Majority of the loans are available to Singaporean/PR students in the age group 21–62 years. 

Some banks in Singapore (OCBC, for example) even offer loans (against the tuition fee) to international students as long as they have a co-signer. Most lenders require that your cosigner or sponsor has a minimum income of $30,000 per annum. 

2. Look For The Most Favorable Terms 

Private loan lenders offer fixed and variable rates. Fixed rates are generally above 5%. Banks such as POSB, for example, have 5.88% fixed interest rate on student loans. Some cooperatives and other institutions may even offer student loans at attractive 2.9% (flat) interest rates. The variable rates are generally lower and are tied to a fluctuating key index. But, variable interest rates on student loans can also jump up in future. Repayment duration can range anywhere between 5 -10 years or more. When selecting a variable interest loan, it is important to consider the loan term because fixed interest rates are suited for long durations. 

3. Look For Credible Lender 

Make sure the private loan lender you select has been in the market for quite some time and is more likely to stay for years to come. In case your lender closes up, your loan would be sold to some other company which you may not like much. So, instead of just looking at flexible loan tenure and not-so-strict paperwork, pay attention to the kind of financial institution you’re dealing with. In Singapore, some of the most credible lenders include: 

• TCC Credit Cooperative 

• SINDA Study Awards 

• HSBC 

• Citibank Ready Credit Line 

• Maybank Education Loan 

• CDAC Education Loan (best for the Chinese Students) 

• POSB Study Loans 

4. Only Look For Education-Specific Loans 

There are private lenders who only deal with generic lending and do not have true educational lending programs. Carefully look out for lenders who offer a program that is specifically designed for lending loans to students. 

5. Look For Positive User Experience 

Make sure you check every single detail about your lender. Is their web-site user friendly? Do they offer a courteous customer service? Make sure you check out their profile and company history thoroughly. Do not jump the gun right after you notice a stupendous student loan offer from an online lender. 

The above guest post is contributed by Lim Chuwei from http://www.championtutor.com/