A Student Loan for a Prudent Student

Brandi W. needed a modest loan to help cover expenses during her senior year in administration of justice and forensic chemistry at Southern Illinois University. Brandi took school loans for her education in the past, but she wanted something she could start paying on right away to keep her post-school debt to a minimum.

Unusually prudent about her finances, Brandi has one credit card with a limit of $500 which she will not allow her credit card company to raise. "I've just heard too many horror stories about people getting into scary credit card debt, so that was just not an option for me to help cover my college expenses."

Not only was Brandi not interested in racking up credit card debt to finish college, she was also not interested in borrowing one penny more than she really needed. "Most private loans I looked into had a minimum of $1,500, but I didn't need that much."

Student Loan Online Buzz

When Brandi kept stumbling upon buzz about Prosper on some of her favorite community sites online, she figured she ought to give it a try. She was immediately attracted to the idea that she could borrow a modest amount and that she could make additional payments without penalties. She followed the Prosper guidelines for creating a profile and a listing and soon posted her first listing for $1,200. "But I almost immediately withdrew it because I really only needed $1,000."

Brandi ran her $1,000 loan listing at a pretty high interest rate—27%, which she chose because she felt she could still make her payments at that rate. Within five business days, Brandi's loan was fully funded and bid down to 14.35% (Borrower APR of 16.52%).

What's Next for Brandi?

Even though her friends think she's "pretty dark", Brandi is considering going on into mortuary science after her senior year at Southern Illinois. In keeping with her prudent character, Brandi hopes to complete a one-year program back home in Chicago which will "cost much less and get me into the work force faster".