What Kinds of Online Degrees Can You Get?

Good news for students: Wells Fargo is reducing the amount of interest it will be charging for school loans. If you have been thinking about starting or going back to college or getting your online degree, this is important news for you.  

To be sure, it is only a slight drop -- about .50 percent -- but over the lifetime of a student loan, it can really add up to a great savings. Take a closer look at that number to make sure you understand it: That is not a fifty-percent drop: It is a one-half of one percent reduction. The previous college loan interest rate at Wells Fargo was 7.75 percent. It is at this time 7.24 percent. 

This new rate is only offered to qualified borrowers. That means that you can only get it if you have very good credit. If not, the rate may be closer to 14 percent. If you don't have excellent credit, consider taking out a federal student loan, which has a much lower interest rate of 6.8 percent no matter what your credit score is. 

Private student loans from banks are widely recommended to be used as a last resort, only after grants, scholarships and federal loans have been exhausted. That's because federal student loans come with greater protections for borrowers who can't make payments because of unemployment, economic hardship or other unforeseen circumstances. Federal student loans are also eligible for programs that lower monthly payments and forgive debt after 10 or 25 years of repayment. - Associated Press, reported in Yahoo! News

It seems that is the way to go. 

There are situations in which lower interest rate are possible with Wells Fargo. There are reduced rates for: 

1) student parents 

2) student loan consolidations 

3) students attending community college 

4) students attending career college 

5) existing Wells Fargo customers taking out a new loan 

6) setting up automatic loan payments 

Quite often, a young student will need a cosigner, which is most often the parents, another relative, or a guardian. In this situation, it will be the cosigner's credit history that is most important in getting the loan and establishing the interest rate. 

Always shop around and become familiar with your options. You will not only need to check student loan interest rates, but see what, if any, the options are for deferring the loan, making alternative payment arrangements, and how soon you have to start paying the debt back - is it right away or after you finish school.