Planning how to pay college fees or finance your car can be crucial. Additionally, getting it through while still under 18 can be difficult. However, early planning always pays off. Can a 17-year-old get a loan? When you are still 17 and thinking about taking a loan, this might strike your mind.
Thus, you can plan your budgeting way earlier than others. There’s a hiccup over a 17-year-old getting a loan in the United States. An individual in the USA must be at least 18 years old to apply for a loan. Anybody under 18 is considered a minor in the US, so the respective person can’t sign off a loan contract.
Then, how can a 17-year-old get a loan for a car? A minor can apply for a loan only if there’s an adult co-signer on behalf of that applicant. Let’s discover more about how under-18 individuals can get a loan in the United States.
Can You Get a Loan at 17 or Under 18?
In short, you can’t get a loan on your loan if you are 17 or under 18. The bare minimum age for taking a loan out is 18. However, co-signing can help you get a loan while still in your 17s. Can a 17-year-old get a loan with a co-signer?
Yes, it’s possible, but it’s very limited. Most lenders don’t offer such financial services to 17-year-olds. Still, you can look for such lenders who provide loans at co-signing. However, co-signing refers to the event where an adult signs the loan contract.
The adult signer will also be responsible for paying off the loan if the minor borrower can’t repay it. This reduces the risk for the lender, and the borrower can afford the loan.
Co-signing can get you low-interest rates, low instalments, high principal, and similar benefits. An alternative to this co-signing option is to get a guarantor. However, a 17-year-old can’t get a loan by arranging a guarantor. This is because people get a guarantor when they have a poor credit score.
How Can One Get a Loan at the Age of 17?
Sanctioning a loan contract might be a bit difficult for any 17-year-old. However, the following steps might help you with how to get a loan at 17. Here are a few tricks that you can opt for:
Spot Lenders that Offer Minor Loan
Only a handful of lenders offer personal and auto loans to minors. You can search for them online. Additionally, you can look for vendors ready to give out loans with a co-signing contract.
Numerous banks and credit unions can help if you have a guardian or parent to co-sign for the loan contract.
Offer Deposit Against Your Loan
To be honest, convincing lenders for a minor loan is tough. Co-signing along with a parent or guardian is not always sufficient. Instead, you can offer a big deposit against your loan application. Indeed, this hack can work, and you might get away with the required loan.
Submit a Recommendation Letter
Loans for under 18-year-olds require a recommendation letter from a supervisor. So, check out if you can arrange a recommendation letter from an employee or supervisor to approve your loan request. This applies to those applicants who are pursuing jobs.
Include a Credit-Worthy Co-Signer
Ensure that you add a family member or a friend who has a high credit score as a co-signer. Only co-signing your loan contract by a credit-worthy co-signer can increase the chances of getting your loan approved.
On the other hand, you have to keep a few things in your mind. Missing your repayments or instalments will harm the co-signer’s credit score later.
How Can You Select the Best Loan for You?
Discovering a competitive loan takes a little bit of research. You might come across multiple lenders providing minor loans. However, you need to compare them to get the best deal out of available loans. How to get a loan at 17 with no credit?
Here’s how you can land the best minor loan by checking the following metrics:
Loan Amount
The higher and lower limits of the loan amount differ from one lender to another. Hence, you should always inspect what other lenders offer. After all, checking the loan amount will assist you when repaying the loan.
Interest Rate
Apart from the loan amount, the interest rate can also vary from one type of loan to another. Lenders can demand different interest rates too. Therefore, spot the differences between different lenders and their interest rates. Thus, you can get the most flexible minor loan.
Fees
Loans aren’t free from fees. However, you must find a lender with minimal fees on your drawn loan. A few common fees regarding loans are monthly fees, early repayment fees, establishment fees, etc., so check out how you can avoid fees. Thus, you have to pay less.
Additional Features
Lenders often provide extra facilities along with a loan. Hence, compare different lenders and their facilities to reap the highest benefit, such as extended warranty for your loan, extra repayments, etc.
Best Loans for 17-Year-Olds
What loans are the best for 17-year-olds? We got 2 best options if you are looking for hassle-free student loans, such as:
Federal Student Loans
If you are under 18, you are eligible to apply for Federal Student Loans. Based on which college or school you are in, the institute might include loans offered by the Federal Government. However, the criteria for Federal Student loans are:
- The student must have U.S. citizenship.
- The student should have enrolled in a qualifying degree program.
- Additionally, the student has been enrolled in the program for over half of the course duration.
- The student must have satisfactory academic accomplishments.
Similarly, Federal Student Loans don’t demand a minimum age requirement. Still, male applicants must be between 18 and 25 with the selective Service while applying for Federal Student Loans. If you are a male under-18 student, you will require a co-signer to get the loan.
Private Student Loans
As you already know, you can apply for private student or minor loans from banks, credit unions, and other financial institutions. Depending on your age and co-signer crest history, you can get an interest rate between 3 and 13 per cent.
Efficient Alternatives to Loans
How do I get a loan at 17? As you have noticed, getting a lump sum as a loan at only 17 can be hectic. That’s why we have mentioned a handful of alternatives you can pursue. These alternatives can help you save more and pay your college fees accordingly.
Here are a few things you can consider as alternatives to applying for a minor loan:
Take Advantage of Your Talents
Surely, you have skills or talents and can make money from them. You can sign up on freelancing platforms and make your side gigs into a solid bank balance. Apart from freelancing, you can invest in stocks or shares, cryptocurrencies, etc., if you have skills.
Remember, dealing with shares and cryptocurrencies requires a deep knowledge of finance and other related fields.
Pursue Affiliate Marketing
Affiliate marketing lets you earn money by advertising online products you don’t own. If a buyer purchases through the link you shared, you will get a commission from the price.
Affiliate marketing might need to sound more promising to you right now. However, under-18 students have proven that affiliate marketing can help build a good bank balance, especially when you own an excellent internet presence. You can try affiliate marketing from Amazon and see how it goes.
Part-Time Jobs
Though online loans for 17-year-olds have become available, part-time jobs are the best hustle to keep your financial problems away. Additionally, a part-time job helps you stay disciplined. You can get a stable income for your academics, vehicles, and more.
Final Words….
How to get a loan when you are 17? It’s possible if you arrange a co-signer. However, you can apply for scholarships to save on future academic expenses. In addition, you can consider community colleges for non-major courses to save some money. On the other hand, you can’t get a car loan when you are under the age of 18.
