Julio, to give u some numbers. Me: 814 FICO. Got 6.5% rate. If I were to pay off my loan of $75000 over the course of 15 years, I would pay 50,000 in interest on top of the 75000. If u defer payment for say, a year. Even though u don’t pay, interest is building on the 75000. After a year, when you start paying. They will take 75,000, and add the interest that has accrued on it (if you are accruing on the 75000 from day 1, the interest alone will be around 5000). So you owe 80,000 and you will then be paying interest on 80000 starting at your first payment. Follow? What ATP is doing, though, is withdrawing from the loan in increments every 6 weeks. Therefore, you are only paying interest on what ATP takes out as they take it out, not the full loan amount from day 1. 9%apr doesn’t mean in the end you are paying 9% on top of 75000. That is yearly 9%. I plan on making payments on the interest as I train so starting my payments when I’m cfi im a little ahead of the game. I’m toward the older side of the age curve and have money saved for living costs for the next few years.
Thanks for that bit of explanation, I have a clearer understanding now. I visited the morristown location last week to get so more info as well. Since I am a new permanent resident to the US i dont have a credit score/history so I am in the process of getting a job and building credit from scratch. Im not sure how high of a score i can get after 12 months but im hoping for the best. Im with my parents so luckily i dont have to pay rent just yet. I will save as much as i can and continue to working towards this goal. I have an excellent cosigner (750+) so that will help and i will try my best to reach at least 700 before applying again.
interesting…I was declined even though my credit score is 828 after 19 years in the clinical research industry. They said I needed a cosigner…I was only going for the amount of the ATP with private and the checkrides…about $65k. I didn’t want to tap into my 401k unless I absolutely had to. My wife and I have no debt. I will be contacting Sallie Mae in the morning to discuss the application, as the info it allowed me to enter was limited.
A very similar thing happened to me…I even bank with Wells Fargo. I was actually approved by Sallie Mae very quickly with no requirement for a co-signer but wanted to give Wells Fargo a chance, expecting a better rate.
After a couple of weeks of back/forth with Wells Fargo, providing them additional income information, they offered a loan with no cosign requirement, but still at a rate higher than Sallie Mae.
FWIW, this is what I was offered by Sallie Mae about an hour ago. My credit score is 821 based on a 22-year credit history so I was hoping for an interest rate closer to the 5% at the lower end of their spectrum . The loan amount was $80,000 with no co-signer. I used ATP’s calculator to get that number, though I know I won’t be using 100% of that amount to pay for training and living expenses. I filled out the Wells Fargo application to see if they could offer anything better, but it looks like their approval takes a little longer.
Wow… that’s almost as bad as a loan shark… Paying back double the initial amount. I can’t believe you could not get the lower rate. I also have a 828 credit score and a long credit history, but was denied. Need a cosigner. Are you currently employed when you applied?
Thank you for sharing this Dorian. I have same kind of credit score and history as you, would also apply without a co-signer. Those interest rates are significantly higher than I would have expected. Sobering. Good to know. Also unexpected is how very little difference there is between their variable interest rates and fixed interest rates.
I am currently employed FT. If I wasn’t, then they would have denied me without a co-signer.
I haven’t accepted the Sallie Mae loan yet and based on some googling, I speculate the Wells Fargo rates are going to be similar. It makes one wonder just what exactly the prerequisites are to get the (approximate) 5% interest rate they’re currently advertising.
I’ve got a lot of equity in my home so perhaps a HELOC may be the best route for me. I’ve got some number crunching to do this weekend.
You’re not alone with the HELOC route. I will say I contemplated it for a VERY long time if I wanted to #1 tie up my equity and the bigger #2 essentially put my home as collateral for schooling but in the end the interest only payback as minimum was too much to not take (10 years of interest only draw down plus what I can pay extra anytime I can but have that piece of mind for a rough month it can be interest only).
Plus how I justified it is if I used the HELOC for a kitchen and bath remodel the house is on the hook for a remodel vs something that can potentially improve my family’s QOL.
Hi there,
I wanna apply for the loan,
There is a question on the application:’ how long is the program?’
Shall I say 10 months or 24 months, actually do banks take end of training as the start of making payments or when we reach 1500 hours?
Another question, what would happen if I ask for more than 800 monthly stipend for expenses , does that reduce my chances of my loan being approved or not?
As Tory said you really need to call ATP admin for accurate information. As to your question about asking for a greater stipend and your chances the answer is of course. Would you feel more comfortable loaning me $10 or $50? More money=greater risk.
. The loan amount was $80,000 with no co-signer. I used ATP’s calculator to get that number, though I know I won’t be using 100% of that amount to pay for training and living expenses. I filled out the Wells Fargo application to see if they could offer anything better, but it looks like their approval takes a little longer.
I have same kind of credit score and history as you, would also apply without a co-signer. Those interest rates are significantly higher than I would have expected. Sobering. Good to know. Also unexpected is how very little difference there is between their variable interest rates and fixed interest rates.