Have you decided to go back to school? Congratulations! Now, you need to find a way to pay for it. But it can be tough to get a loan as a student without a cosigner—especially if you have poor credit or no job.

Luckily, several options don’t require your parents’ help. This article will explore the various ways to get no cosigner student loans:

Apply for federal student loans

If you’re a student and aren’t able to get a cosigner for your loan, consider applying for federal student loans. Federal student loans are easier to obtain than private ones because the government provides them, and they have lower interest rates. As per Ascent experts, “Student borrowers must have more than two (2) years of credit history with a minimum credit score.”

Even better, more flexible repayment options are available with federal student loans.

Get a part-time job or join the military to cover part of your expenses

Your college campus is a great place to find part-time jobs if you’re a student. The more jobs you have, the more money you can save. Whether you’re looking for summer employment or full-time work after school ends, you can look for “jobs near me” on Google, and it gives you plenty of options.

Look for companies with “opening in [your town]” on their signboards and apply there first! If that doesn’t pan out, try applying through another website instead—that’ll show them what kind of employee they’d be getting before anyone even shows up at headquarters.

Look for non-traditional lenders

The first thing you should do is search for lenders who offer loans without a cosigner. This will give you a good idea of what types of loans are available and how much they cost.

Next, look for lenders who offer loans with a cosigner.

These are typically more expensive than those without, but if your credit history is less than stellar, this may be your only option.

Finally, consider looking at other non-traditional options such as cosigners or co-borrowers (and sometimes both).

Look into private student loans

Private student loans don’t have the same perks as federal student loans, but they can be a way to finance your education without a cosigner.

  • The government does not guarantee private student loans, so they don’t qualify for federal financial aid.
  • Federal student loans tend to have lower interest rates than private student loans and offer more flexible repayment options such as deferment or forbearance.

Although it may seem like a no-brainer to take out federal student loans over private ones, this isn’t always the case. If you need emergency funding at school but don’t want to end up paying insane interest rates on your loan later down the road.

Hopefully, this article has helped you understand the options available to students who want to pursue higher education and don’t have a cosigner. Keep in mind that there are many other ways to get loans without a cosigner, such as through private lenders or online companies.

Suppose none of these options work for you. In that case, it might be time to look into alternative financing methods.