How to Get a Student Loan Without a Cosigner

In 2014, getting a student loan with a cosigner is extremely easy, but if you have bad credit, and can’t get a cosigner, then you may be in for a rough ride.

Lenders generally aren’t interested in offering money to people with bad credit, or no credit, because statistics have shown them that this is far riskier than lending to people with great credit scores.

Accordingly, many young people (potential students), and people of any age with credit problems, have a great deal of trouble locking down student loans without a cosigner, but we do have good news.

It’s 2014! The stock market is near all time-highs, lenders are lending, and there’s hope on the horizon!

Federal Student Loans Without Cosigner

The fastest, easiest, and by far best way to get school loans without a cosigner in 2014 is to borrow your college money from the Federal Government.

Most Federally-funded student loans do not require credit checks of any sort, making them the most accessible, affordable and reliable way to get a student loan with bad credit.

Federal student loans don’t require cosigners, and Stafford loans (for example) don’t require providing a credit history, or even any proof of income.

Another major benefit to Federally-funded college loans is that they are eligible for the best student loan relief programs, including a variety of comprehensive student loan forgiveness programs, loan deferments, loan forbearances and borrower-friendly repayment plans.

The downside to borrowing from the Federal Government is that you can only borrow so much money each semester, meaning that you may not be able to raise enough money to attend that fancy private school.

Private Student Loans Without Cosigner

If you can’t raise enough money via Federal student loans, then it’s time to look into your private lending options, though you might not like what you find.

Not only are privately-funded student loans typically more expensive than Federally-funded loans, but they’re also going to require humiliating credit checks, piles of paperwork, higher interest rates, borrowing fees and less borrower-friendly repayment plans.

That’s not to say that you shouldn’t borrow from a private lender, but it does mean that you need to be extremely selective, and extremely cautious about who you choose to borrow from, and what loan terms you agree to.

Since you’ve likely got bad credit, or no credit, and can’t line up a cosigner, private lenders know that they’ve got you by the short hairs, and they probably won’t offer you good interest rates, cheap loans or an easy repayment schedule without a fight.

What Should I Do?

First, make sure that you apply for Federal student loans, and only even bother attempting to borrow Privately without a cosigner if you can’t raise enough Federal funds.

Next, if you do need to apply for Private funding, but can’t secure a cosigner and have poor credit, then only apply to two or three places, because applying too often will end up hurting your credit score even further.

Finally, make sure that you’re prepared to explain why you need the money, what you plan on doing with it, how much you’re expecting to earn once you’ve graduated, and how you plan on paying it back.

Yes, private lenders won’t want to give you money if you have terrible credit, no income, and no cosigner, but yes, some of them are understanding, some of them will take a chance, and some of them will give funds to people with no credit as long as they believe that those people can and will pay them back.

Leverage Valuable Collateral

So you’ve got credit problems, and no cosigner, but you’ve got equity in a home, your car, or some valuable family jewelry?

Sometimes, you can use that stuff as collateral to secure a personal loan, including a personal student loan, making you eligible to borrow money without a cosigner.

It doesn’t always work, and will probably only be an option with certain lenders and certain types of loans (typically those lenders who offer money to people with poor credit, and loans with high interest rates), but it is one of the easiest ways to raise money quickly.

Be careful when using collateral though, because defaulting on your loan, or sometimes even just being late on payments, can end up getting your stuff confiscated.

Be prepared to pay a lot of money in interest as well, because collateral loans are typically the most expensive ways to borrow money, but don’t be afraid to take one out if you’re sure that you’ll be able to pay it back quickly.

You probably won’t be able to pay for the entire cost of college with collateral loans, and you really shouldn’t take them out at all if you can avoid doing so, but if you’ve absolutely got to get that money, and you definitely can’t line up a cosigner, then this might be your option.

Build Up Your Credit Score

Credit scores aren’t easy to increase quickly, but over a longer period of time, you can certainly improve your credit score to make lenders more likely to offer you funding under favorable loan terms and low interest rates.

It’s not quick, and it’s not all that easy, but if you can take out a credit card that you use for daily expenses, and which you pay off on time each month, then that will help.

Other things that help include paying bills on time, taking out small loans that you pay back in time, and using store credit cards (like those from Home Depot, Kohls, Target, etc.) responsibly.

Things like buying a car, or a house, will also help, and in a big way, but since you’re already in need of money for college, those may not be realistic options for you at this time.

If you’ve got a bankruptcy, defaulted loans, or late payments on your credit history, then you’ll need to do everything you can to tidy those things up (though the bankruptcy is likely to sink you from being able to borrow at favorable rates until it is cleared from your credit record).

Keep in mind, the higher your credit score rises, the easier it will be to get that college loan without a cosigner, so don’t give up!

Tap Into Crowdfunding

There are a variety of online crowdfunding companies offering no cosigner student loans, and you just might be able to tap into one of them for funds!

This is a growing market, and a relatively new thing, so you’ll have to be extremely careful to make sure that you’re not getting screwed, but legitimate crowdfunding definitely works, and could help you pay for college.

Companies like Upstart, Piglt, CommonBond, GoFundMe, Instagrad and Vittana are all offering some incredible services to those who qualify for their programs.

Honestly though, make sure that you’re extremely careful here, because again, this is a new space, a new type of funding, and a massive magnet market for scammers and thieves.

Find Scholarships & Grants

When people start researching their student loan options, oftentimes they completely forget about all the available scholarships and grants on offer.

There are literally hundreds of millions of dollars floating around out there, just waiting to be snatched up by someone like you, who needs help paying for school!

Whether you’re a man, woman, black, white, asian, hispanic, tall, short, fat, skinny, into music, film, camping, photography, painting or anything else, it’s likely that there’s a scholarship or grant program specifically for people like you!

All you’ve got to do is stop by Google and search “scholarships for xyz” to uncover a treasure trove of opportunities.

Are you a young student? An older student? A single mom, or single dad? I guarantee that there are scholarships and grants specifically targeted to you, so get out there and start applying for that free money!

Get a Cosigner

Obviously, you don’t think this is a possibility, or you wouldn’t be reading this page, but did you know that cosigners can be literally anyone?

You can use a friend, family member, boss, employee, or random person you found on the street, or over the Internet, to cosigner for your student loan.

As long as they’ve got good credit, that’s all the banks care about!

They won’t ask what your relationship is, they honestly don’t care, they just need a warm body with a decent credit score, or they can’t lend.

It may seem impossible, but start asking around, and you might be surprised to find out that there are people who can and will be willing to step up the plate for you.

Did It Work?

Stop back to let us know what you found out when you took our advice.

Did you secure a loan without a cosigner, or did you end up having to rely on crowdsourcing, scholarships and grants to pay for school?

Were you able to lock down some scholarships and grants?

We want to know, so stop back and leave your story in the comments section below.

Thanks for reading, and if this page helped, please be sure to share it with your friends on Facebook, Twitter or Google+!

By: Tim Marshall

Tim's experience struggling with crushing student loan debt led him to create the website Forget Student Loan Debt in 2011, where he offers advice, tips and tricks for paying off student loans as quickly and affordably as possible.