Does anyone have any advice for where to get a non-certified student loan? I'm definitely going to need one during this school year to replace my ancient computer and cover a couple of necessary expenses. I've looked online, but it looks like a lot of banks that used to provide non-cert loans no longer do.
Have you checked with your employer to see if they will give you a loan (or allow you to work an extra few hours per week)?
I work very part time through a staffing agency for a game company. I've checked with my actual employer and they don't offer any education assistance (the game company only offers it for employees, not interns or contractors). Also, because my job is limited to tournaments in a specific division, I don't know if I can work more with them. I have been putting my resume out for other part-time opportunities but so far haven't gotten any.
Be SUPER careful and do research first... tons of schools have law suits pending because it's illegal for them to have "preferred lenders" because they are getting a cut. The schools are supposed to have these because they've researched what's best for their students.
Griffin, Did you consider the possibility of asking your employer (the game company) if they perhaps have a computer they're getting ready to retire that's more recent than what you have that they'd sell you for cheap or give you for free? One place I knew had a large stockroom full of obsolete (by gaming standards) computers that were quite serviceable for an average person's usage. I dunno, but it might be worth a shot
That is an excellent idea! I will send off an email to tech and see what they say. The computers they typically use can run photoshop, dreamweaver, Word, Excel, IE, Firefox and tons of smaller apps at the same time. So they're pretty good. I'm in the market for a lower-end "gaming" type PC as it will last me through grad school if I plan it right. @andrewmoquin: I'm not sure about the legality, but I've noticed that schools that used to have preferred private lender lists no longer make them available to students. Mine still has a list of lenders that they put on the loan form itself, but it's based on extras like rate reductions and how fast the loan can be processed.
