Who Can Be My Student Loan Cosigner

March 4th, 2013 by Bryanna Davis

International students who are looking to get a student loan to help pay for college will probably find themselves searching for a student loan cosigner. But finding a cosigner for your student loan can sometimes be a difficult process. Let’s break down who can be a cosigner for your student loan.

If you plan to attend college in the United States, your student loan cosigner will have to either be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident having lived in the US for the past two years, depending on the requirements of the loaning institution. How can you find this type of person if you don’t live in the United States in the first place? Try reaching out to your extended family to see if anyone has the required citizenship status. If you still can’t locate the right match, turn to trusted friends and ask if they know anyone who can help you. It can be daunting to ask someone a little less familiar to you for such a big favor as cosigning a loan, but if you’re having trouble finding the right person it may be a step you have to take.

The other major requirement of a cosigner for your student loan is that they have solid credit themselves. Since the main purpose of a student loan cosigner is to back up the loan’s repayment if the student cannot, having an established and strong credit history is an absolute must for your cosigner. This means a current stable source of income, low amount of other debt, and very few to no bad marks on credit history.

So enough with all the limitations – let’s look at the good news. Who CAN be your student loan cosigner? Well, as long as they fit the above criteria, pretty much anyone who is willing. Your cosigner doesn’t necessarily have to be a family member or even a close friend, doesn’t have to have any previous affiliation with the lender or your prospective college, and so on. So just make sure the cosigner for your student loan meets certain citizenship and credit history requirements, and you’ll be on your way to getting your loan approved!

Other Interesting Posts:

International Student Loans Available

Do you need a cosigner for international student loans?

Posted in International Student Loans, Study in the USA

10 Comments

Awoju Obubeleye says:

March 4, 2013 at 9:09 am

Can you apply for international students loan if you are studying outside the United States?

Reply
- Bryanna Lindblom says:
  
  March 4, 2013 at 3:41 pm
  
  Hi Awoju,
  
  It will depend on your citizenship. If you are a US citizen, then yes, you are able to apply for an international student loan if you will studying at an eligible school. If you are not a US citizen, unfortunately you will not be able to apply since our loan program is for international students studying in the US and for US citizens studying abroad. However, if you are not a US citizen, you can always check out what scholarships are available.
  
  Reply
Knowledge says:

March 4, 2013 at 12:51 pm

I need it.

Reply
- Bryanna Lindblom says:
  
  March 4, 2013 at 3:37 pm
  
  Hi Knowledge,
  
  If you need an international student loan, you can begin the process by using the loan comparison tool here. There, you will see what lenders are available to you.
  
  Best of luck to you!
  
  Reply
Hugo Lloyd says:

March 10, 2013 at 3:12 pm

I have a potential cosigner lined up, who is a US citizen, but they haven’t lived in the US for the last two years, will this mean that they are not eligible?

Reply
- Bryanna Lindblom says:
  
  March 14, 2013 at 3:19 pm
  
  Hi Hugo,
  
  That is great that you have a co-signer, unfortunately they need to have lived inside the US for the past two years as well. You can find more information on international student loans here.
  
  Good luck.
  
  Reply
Joyce Nyakato says:

March 19, 2013 at 6:14 pm

I need to know, how is this loan paid back? then, is the money sent directly to the University? what is the most amount of money that you disburse?

Reply
- Bryanna Lindblom says:
  
  March 21, 2013 at 1:29 pm
  
  Hi Joyce,
  
  Thank you for your question. We offer loans from multiple lenders- the repayment details will depend on the lender that you select. You can find lenders that are available to you here, then review the terms and conditions of the lender that you select for more on this.
  
  I hope you find the loan that you need.
  
  Reply
Ade says:

April 4, 2013 at 9:35 am

I am seriously seeking a co-signer as an international student for Master of Laws at NYU. Potential co-signers I have spoken to so far seem not to be disposed to doing that. What assistance do u think is still open for me please?

Reply
- Bryanna Lindblom says:
  
  April 9, 2013 at 3:55 pm
  
  Hi Ade,
  
  Unfortunately you will need a US co-signer to receive an international student loan. If you are unable to find one that will meet the necessary criteria you may want to look into scholarships that you are eligible to apply for. You can find more on international scholarships here.
  
  Reply