Member-only story
Do Not Take Out A Coding Bootcamp Loan With Skills Fund
No matter what the lender’s website says, these loans are consumer loans — NOT private student loans — and there are serious implications to be aware of before accepting the terms
TL;DR: Do not take out a coding bootcamp loan with Skills Fund (aka Skills.Fund). It is not a private student loan. It is a private consumer loan. There is a big difference between private student loans and consumer loans.
It doesn’t matter what your credit report says. It doesn’t matter that Skills Fund’s own website calls it a “tuition” loan, nor that they market themselves as “a provider of student loans” [1]. It doesn’t matter that it’s serviced by a student loan servicer. It is not a student loan. It is a private consumer loan — the same type of loan you’d take out from a regular bank. You can’t refinance it. You can’t write off the interest on your taxes. It doesn’t matter that it’s used for school, nor that Skills Fund pays your school directly. It doesn’t matter that Skills Fund only works with accredited educational institutions. Skills Fund loans are NOT private student loans, and there are serious considerations that must be taken into account before agreeing to the terms of this loan. References and citations are…
