Canadian private student loans in Canada were once very easy to secure, but since the federal government no longer guarantees those loans – since they offer direct Candian student loans to students in Canada – these loans are harder to and obtain. You must see things from the banks point of view – if you are young, if you have no job, if you have no property, if you have no credit history, if you have no education you may never pay them back.
Some people would call this a ‘catch-22.’ You can’t get the education to get the job to pay the loan back, unless you get the loan to pay for that education. It’s a never ending circle that can get very frustrating. This doesn’t mean that you cannot obtain a private student loan in Canada – you can. You just have to know how.
First, there are traditional private Canadian student loans in Canada. These are low interest loans in most cases, and you do not start repaying the loan until you graduate from college, or leave school. In some cases, interest is charged while you are in school, and in some cases it is not. Because the loan is not guaranteed by the federal government, the bank may require you to have a co-signer or collateral for the loan.
Another option that more banks are offering is a line of credit for Canadian students. The interest rates on this line of credit are usually the prime rate at the time that the money is used. For example, if you have a $5000 line of credit available to you as a student, and you use $400 of those funds, without using the rest of it, you will be charged the prime rate of interest on the $400, and that interest plus the $400 is what you have to repay.
Some banks will require you to pay the interest on a Canadian private student loan in Canada while you are still in school, with the principle paid off in payments after you graduate, while others will have different payment schedules. The key is that you do not pay back the other $4600 that you did not use, and you do not pay interest on that $4600 either – you never spent it, and the bank still has those funds.
With a line of credit, you must also prove that you are credit worthy and that you can repay the loan. This means that you will most likely need a co-signer, and in many cases, the parents of the student open the line of credit through the bank for their son/daughter, since they are better credit established.
Before you seek out private student loans in Canada, it is essential that you get as much aid through the federal government and the government of your providence or territory first. These Canadian student loans cost less money in the long run, and of course there are many sources of financing that never have to be repaid, such as Canadian grants, bursaries, and scholarships.
If you want a bright future, you need a great education. Such an education can be very expensive, and you should tap into the funds that are available to help pay for your education. This includes Canada grants, federal student loans, bursaries, and possibly even Canadian private student loans.
For more information about Canadian private student loans in Canada, visit your bank, and other banks in your area. Remember that you may not necessarily get the best deal at the bank that you currently do business with for your student loans, and you can use a different financial institution for this purpose.