Personal loan to pay off education loan back home

I had taken an education loan from National Bank back in India which is coming to 12.5% apr. Looking at how low the ruppee is I am thinking of taking a personal loan from US bank and paying off my education loan.

I read this [article](http://tinyurl.com/ph6sd3c), which gives similar solution. What interest rate can I expect for credit score of 717 and loan upto $20k? Also, I have been in US for only 19 months so I don't have a lot of credit history.

You probably won’t be approved for a loan amount that huge unless you have a co-signer who has flawless credit history.

I believe, it depends on the bank and how long have you been in US. In fact, I got my personal loan for about 9% and my score was hovering around the same. It could be around 11%. You are better off going to a credit union that is local in your area, they offer competitive rates when compared with other major national private banks. Other options is to take free Balance Trasnfer, if you have credit cards and they offer one…but the catch is you would pay 3 to 4 % of transacation fee, considering that for about one year, it is less rate…

Also, to add, firstly I got it approved for 15K and then they added 10K after couple of months as I requested…

My wife works at Wells Fargo and it is true that 2 years of history is automatically required by the system for an application to proceed. However, she tells me that numerous engineers on a work visa have been able to get credit cards and personal loans from a group called www.dcu.org - they are excellent, trustworthy and most accountholders of Indian origin seem very happy with the service. In the meantime, please remember not to close any existing accounts or open new ones until you have connected with DCU

All the best



Dr. Sandeep Shankar, Academic Advisor (India and Middle East), Colorado Heights University, Denver, CO 80223, USA. www.chu.edu

Thanks Sandeep. DCU looks like a good financial institution but it seems to exist only in NH and MA. I m in CA, does that make any difference? These 19 months I have been banking with Wells Fargo but they seem to only take risk if there is a co-signor.

Where you are should not make a difference as I know DCU account holders in Nevada, Colorado, Wyoming and Montana. For all other banks, you are still 5 months away from their means test. As I said, their system blocks process when they answer ‘No’ to the question ‘Does applicant have 24 months of documented financial history?’