What are my loan options for college if I'm right about to start Winter quarter and have bad cr

I messed up badly. I estimated that I would graduate last quarter so all my loans and everything expired last quarter. It turns out I had to take one more final quarter of school and now I applied for a loan but was declined.

I have pretty bad credit, but I already have an amazing job ready for me in March and will be making 70k a year so I'll be able to pay everything back right away, but if I don't graduate I am screwed.

I can use my parents as a cosigner but for some reason that was declined even though my parents' credit is just fine (they own 3 houses and are both retired).

Is there any way I could get a $4,000 loan for one measly quarter from a bank or somewhere just for this last quarter?

What are my loan options for college if I'm right about to start Winter quarter and have bad credit?

If possible you should always try to take out federal loans first. The two that are available to anyone are the Stafford loan (student) and the PLUS loan (parent.) These loans have low fixed interest rates. In general private loans have higher, variable rates (some as high as credit card rates!) and many less consumer protections.

I am assuming you have already used the $5,500 Stafford loan you would have had available to you this year if you filed a FAFSA application. (If you have not, this is the place for you to start. Your poor credit should not be an issue in getting a Stafford loan.) Your parents can apply for a PLUS loan independently of you. This is a loan that does involve a credit check but the requirements are much more lax than retail loans. If for some reason they are declined for the PLUS loan, you will be eligible for additional Stafford funds which should enable you to pay for your last quarter.

The Stafford loan has a maximum interest rate of 6.8% and the PLUS loan has a maximum rate of 8.5%; but if you attend a college that is part of the Federal Family Education Loan program (FFELP), you can shop around for a lender that will offer a discount - some lower the interest rate by as much as 2% -2.5%. (Ask the financial aid office if they are a %26quot;Direct%26quot; or %26quot;FFELP%26quot; school and be sure you have filed a 2007-08 FAFSA application at www.fafsa.ed.gov.)

Just make sure you or your parents apply for the acutal Stafford or PLUS loan (the government guaranteed loans) with whichever lender you choose. Many families end up with expensive %26quot;alternative%26quot; loans when they think they are applying for the government ones.