Need to borrow some money? Give a try to Zopa

Zopa was launched at the end of 2005 by the young management team who had helped to found the internet bank Egg. With the credit crunch investors are putting money in Zopa, and borrowers offered expensive rates, or turned away by the banks are getting approved for loans. In 2011 so far Zopa are funding over a £1 million to loan applications each week, at market leading rates.
Zopa has now got over 500,000 members, and has funded over £100 million of borrowing applications, with £48 million loaned in the last 12 months alone.

Student Loans: Federal Programs Vs Private Loans

According to a study, those students who have done their college schooling are more relaxed & satisfied compared to those who do not have college degrees. In spite of the fact that plenty of students must settle their education debts with debt consolidation loans later, a college degree has become a necessity for the students. Moreover, it is a gateway to the professional life & it is widely known that without higher schooling, the scholars are less likely to get nice jobs in future. Although strange that it may sound, a study reveals that college students live longer than their high school counterparts! The federal government has plenty of loan offers. Let us at first review the offers that are available at the federal level:


� Parent And loans: This loan is different than the other loans which are offered by the government. Under this section, the parents are provided with the loans in lieu of the scholars. The application method is similar to that of a traditional bank loan; the loans are approved on the basis of the credit score. These loans can be utilized for the tutoring fees & other expenses such as books & supplies.

� Unsubsidized Stafford loans: These loans are provided to all students irrespective of their financial needs. Unlike the subsidized section, the interest on this loan option remains as unpaid until the scholars are out of college & repay the same.

� Subsidized Stafford loans: These loans are provided to the scholars on the basis of their financial priorities. Under this section, the scholars who belong to low income groups are thought about before others. The government is responsible for paying the interest on the loans until the scholars are out of college.

However, the eligibility of private loans will be contingent on the credit scores in all of cases. On the other hand, the terms of the government loans are much better than the private ones; that is why the private loan options ought to be taken in to account only when the other options are exhausted. While the rates of interest on the federal loans stay fixed, for the private loans it will keep varying; but with private loans will have such offers as a deferred repayment which a federal loan does not have.

However, it is unheard of, except for isolated cases, that the government student loans are not sufficient to cover the immense costs of college education. This is the exact reason for the scholars to also look for private loans in order to fund their studies. The private loans can actually act as a bond between the high costs of the college schooling & the limited amount that the government loans offer. Although the private loans are costlier than the government loans, they have flexible repayment offers which are convenient for the scholars.

Therefore, the students & their parents resort to private loan options only when the federal offers are not to cover the costs. While the rules of the federal loans are far more relaxed, the private loans can help the scholars by providing 100% coverage for their college schooling.