I am in the process of trying to help my sister take out a private student loan. When I was in school I used Sallie Mae, my parents cosigned and I had a fairly decent interest rate. They no longer offer the same loan I took out and my parent credit is not as good. Where in your opinion would be the best place for her to take out a loan or at least to start looking? Thank you!

Ashley,

I’m not a big fan of private student loans.  Most have variable interest rates that may look good now but are likely to go up.  They lack the borrower protections and flexible repayment options of federal student loans.  My opinion is that private loans should only be considered if your sister has already borrowed the maximum amount allowed from the federal student loan programs.  Finaid.org provides this information on shopping for a private loan: http://www.finaid.org/loans/privatestudentloans.phtml