PERSONAL FINANCE FAQS

Almost all students and parents of students are eligible for some form of financial aid. The amount of financial aid you can receive depends on factors like your grade level in school and your dependency status. When you apply for federal student aid with the Free Application For Federal Student Aid (or FASFA), the information you report is used in a formula established by the U.S. Congress. The formula calculates your Expected Family Contribution (EFC), which is the amount that you and your family are expected to contribute toward your education. Based on this information, your school determines the amount of aid and the loan type(s) you're eligible to receive. Go to Five Steps to Financial Aid for more information.

Federal loans typically come with the most favorable terms and interest rates. After you’ve taken full advantage of federal loans, private loans can close the gap between school expenses and federal loans. We encourage all students and their parents to first look at federal loans like the  Federal Stafford Loan  or the  Federal PLUS Loan for Parents  before applying for a private loan. Graduate and professional students are encouraged to first consider the Federal Stafford Loan and the Federal PLUS Loan for Graduate Students.

Yes. Wachovia offers the Federal Stafford Loan to undergraduate students and graduates. We also offer the Federal PLUS Loan for Parents of undergraduate students, and the Federal PLUS Loan for Graduate Students.

Yes. The interest rates for federal education loans remain the same no matter which lender you choose. However, some lenders offer interest rate reductions.

This will depend on the type of loan. If you are a student applying for a Federal Stafford Loan, Wachovia will not check your credit. If you are a parent applying for a Federal PLUS Loan for Parents, there will be a credit review. A credit check is also required when a student applies for the Federal PLUS Loan for Graduate Students.

You can save your loan application at any time by following the “Save” application button at the bottom of the page. When you are ready to continue filling out your application, go to Access Accounts. Simply click on the "Borrower Login" link under "Access Accounts" found on our home page. If you haven’t already done so, you'll be prompted to create a User ID and Password and then to click on the "Log In" button.

Once you've signed on, a list of the loan(s) for which you've applied for will appear.