If you are an international student interested in studying abroad in the United States, sometimes the most difficult aspect is figuring out how to pay for your education.
- Some students will seek out international student loan options to help fund their further studies.
- While not many, there are some lenders who will lend to international students.
- However, there are certain criteria that depend on several factors in order to receive a loan option from a lender.
- Depending upon the lender, they may require the international student to have a cosigner.
In the case of many students, especially international students, they do not have any credit history. Because of this, many lenders will require that an international student need a cosigner in order to receive a loan optionto study abroad in the United States.
A cosigner is a person, often a family or a close friend, who guarantees to the lender that if the borrower, i.e. the international student, cannot adequately pay back the loan option, the cosigner is legally responsible to fulfill the debt.
- If the international student pays back the loan option, then the cosigner is not obligated to pay anything back.
- However, in the unfortunate event the student is unable to do so, the cosigner would assume the debt and be obligated to pay back the loan option.
If you are an international student planning on studying abroad in the United States, many lenders will require you to have a cosigner if you wish to take a loan option.
- This is because most students, especially international students, do not have much of an income and very little credit history, if at all.
- Therefore, a cosigner is needed to lower the risk of giving out the loan option.
- Having a cosigner may allow an international student to have more education loan options than without one.
- Additionally, having a cosigner can sometimes lead to a lower interest rate.
For international students, finding a cosigner can prove to be pretty difficult. For an international student seeking a loan option from a lender that requires a U.S. cosigner, that cosigner must be either a permanent United States resident or a United States citizen. For some, this can prove to be difficult especially if your planned education is going to be your first time in the United States and you do not have any family or connections in the United States. One option an international student may have is contacting the alumni associations of a prospective school that they are planning to attend to see if they have someone willing to cosign. Below are some general qualities to look for in a cosigner:
- Stable income: this is important because it will prove to the lender that they have a solid credit history, a stable job, and a consistent income. Some lenders may even go beyond this and look for stableness in other areas, such as home address and place of employment;
- Payment history: this has a lot to do with credit scores. A solid credit score shows the lender that the cosigner has been able to pay back debts in a timely manner.
- Payment ability: most importantly, your cosigner has to be able to cover the expense of the loan option. In order to evaluate this quality, lenders tend to look at your cosigner’s total income along with their total debts.
These are just a few qualities to look for in a cosigner and by no means an exhaustive list. Your cosigner will be taking on the full responsibility in paying back your loan option, so it is important to do your due diligence and make sure you are comfortable with your choice of cosigner.
As you look for a cosigner, please be mindful that it is not an easy decision to make for the potential cosigner. There may be potential risks involved, and it is not a decision to be taken lightly. For information for potential cosigners, please check out this informative article from LendedU, titled How to Decide If You Should Cosign on a Student Loan Refinance.
Thankfully, for those international students who do not have someone in the United States who can serve as their cosigner, there are international student loan options out there that do not require a cosigner.
Again, this list is not exhaustive and is meant to help you get your search for an education loan option started. If you need help searching for international student education loan option companies, Nomad Credit may be able to help.
If you have any questions about scholarships or other options for finding funding to study in the U.S. please visit us at www.nomadcredit.com. We’d be happy to help you search and compare options for education loan options or study loan options, too. Please send us an email at help@nomadcredit.com if you have any questions! We are happy to help.
