Best loan option for Canadian students

[Bruce]

Hey Folks... Hate to differ with some you BUT... My son, starting in Sept/06, walked into our local RBC branch, presented his "letter of acceptance" from SABA, completed the application and was approved for a line of credit for $150k within 24 hours. He has no credit history and approx. $60.00 in his savings account. No assets, no collateral, no security and no co-signer. They also provided him with a VISA card with a $15k. limit. As a parent who has been successfully self-employed for over 35 years I find this rather scary....A 23 year old kid with absolutely no credit history, no security or co-signer can walk into a major banking insitution and basically walk out 30 minutes later with $165,000.00 in credit under his own volition. Don't get me wrong, I think this great. Ownership of your education is paramount. So for those of you out there looking for a means to finance your education be persistent and aggressive. Good Luck... and by the way no questions were asked concerning his parents' incomes, property holdings, assets or liabilities.

[Bruce]

As an addendum to the above post, if you are in a similar situation and plan on applying for TERI (CanHelp) financial assistance in conjunction with your LOC (line of credit), be careful on how you complete the TERI loan app.. They (credit bureau ) will inquire as to how you plan on paying any monthly interest charges accrued on your LOC or Credit Card. I would "suggest" that this should noted on your application ( i.e rich uncle, Family or whatever) where you list your assets and liabilities... ONLY A SUGGESTION... Good Luck...

[Siddman]

Originally Posted by Bruce

Hey Folks... Hate to differ with some you BUT... My son, starting in Sept/06, walked into our local RBC branch, presented his "letter of acceptance" from SABA, completed the application and was approved for a line of credit for $150k within 24 hours. He has no credit history and approx. $60.00 in his savings account. No assets, no collateral, no security and no co-signer. They also provided him with a VISA card with a $15k. limit. As a parent who has been successfully self-employed for over 35 years I find this rather scary....A 23 year old kid with absolutely no credit history, no security or co-signer can walk into a major banking insitution and basically walk out 30 minutes later with $165,000.00 in credit under his own volition. Don't get me wrong, I think this great. Ownership of your education is paramount. So for those of you out there looking for a means to finance your education be persistent and aggressive. Good Luck... and by the way no questions were asked concerning his parents' incomes, property holdings, assets or liabilities.

You are absolutely right, i myself got appoved fast within 24hr, but there is a catch, and that is you have to know someone in the bank or the financial loan officer you see get impressed of you, for me its just luck, i didn't had co-signer, i only had lke 800 bucks in my account but the lady i saw at the RBC bank was impressed that i got into a medical school and said, its easy to get a loan if you have the right documentation like school approval papers. Its not tough to get RBC loans, i got approved for 120000, and she even told me if you get OSAP dont let the bank know because they will cut that amount of OSAP off your credit limit. SO there are ways you can get things done, but you have to be smart and confident.

Hope this helps,


Siddman

[Bruce]

Way to Go Sid... Bottom line for my son was he didn't know anyone in the bank...lol... The guy he spoke with wasn't much older than himself... A B.COM fresh out of university. Regardless of what the "financial officer" may say all decisions come out of Toronto anyway...it certainty doesn't hurt to imply a little confidence, aggression, dress appropriately and if you are male (or some females).... ("shave, wear deodorant, lose the hat & for g*d's sake, comb your hair)" for the interview. (Remember this is a parent posting!!!) Good Luck....

[TO*MD]

Congrats to both of you...Bruce, I wish I would have known your loan officer...lol...I had clean credit..and savings..maybe they didn't like me cause I work for another bank..who knows..joking aside..I know security often comes into play..and that RBC has changed some policy..but from the posts I see it seems really inconsistent..thank god it all worked out in the end...and it usually does when you are moving in the right direction. In fairness, I had a wonderful rep at the branch..but she seemed to work on the recommendations of the office 'downtown'..makes you wonder.

[vfoors]

I was just wondering,

As I already have 150K LOC from RBC, should I still look at getting loans from either Canada Student loans or Can help? I have yet to look at their terms or interest rates. Basically, I was wondering which loans are the best to go with overall, not counting the amount available (I realize Canada student loans gives only relatively small amounts)?

Thanks

[islandhopper]

Originally Posted by vfoors

I was just wondering,

As I already have 150K LOC from RBC, should I still look at getting loans from either Canada Student loans or Can help? I have yet to look at their terms or interest rates. Basically, I was wondering which loans are the best to go with overall, not counting the amount available (I realize Canada student loans gives only relatively small amounts)?

Thanks

Canadian student loan of course. You don't need to pay interest while you're in school.

[vfoors]

Thanks,

Makes sense

[sabaspouse2006]

Hello vfoors,

Also, the Teri (or CanHelp) loan information is available here at the school on Saba. If you did choose to apply, it is relatively easy to do once you are already on island. I agree to apply for Canadian student loans before you come here, for the same reason as Island stated - interest free while in school - but for any further loans, you can wait until you get here and reassess your needs. It doesn't take long to have the Teri money in hand/in your bank account.

R/

[vfoors]

Sounds like a good plan