Wednesday, April 14, 2010

Consolidate Your Student Loans in 3 Easy Ways

Do you want to consolidate all your student loans fast? Are you sick and tired of the high interest rates? Don't you wish you could just put them together all in one payment? You're not alone as most college students that are graduating are faced with massive amounts of student loans. So many of them are faced with this issue of how they are going to repay it upon graduating and the interest rate on top of that. This can be so overwhelming especially if you don't get a job right away after graduation. Here's some ways I find is helpful for the struggling graduates like me.
1. Find A Company That Will Consolidate All Your Loans
This is very important to do right away because you don't want so many bills piling up on top of your other bills that you don't know which one to pay first. You have to realize that you need help to budget your money wisely so you won't end up paying more for interest.
2. Compare All The Offers To Make a Wise Decision
There will be so many offers to consolidate so pick which one works for you. Some might offer you a long time to pay it back but the interest might be high so judge it accordingly and don't rush to the first one to offer you to consolidate.
3. Have A Budget On How much You Can Pay Monthly
After you have done all your research with your offers it is time to budget your money and see how much you can afford. Pick the best one who can offer you the best deal according to your budget. Always read all the fine lines before signing anything. So if you are looking to consolidate student loans fast these are the necessary steps to be financially free sooner.

Saturday, April 10, 2010

Alternatives to a Student Loan !!!

Before you look at borrowing money in the shape of a student loan, have a look at what is available in the shape of savings or other non-loan areas first.

Do you intend to take one or two classes or to do full time learning? Are you going on to receive a scholarship? Is the institution that you are going to accredited?

How much will you need for each semester? Make a list of how much you will need for books and equipment? How much do you need for food and clothing, and are you living on campus or commuting to and from campus?
You must take all these into account before you can complete the process.

Visit the financial aid office of the institution that you will be attending. Once you get your acceptance letter, this can be done before you apply for any loan or grant.

You could also decide to fill out a (FAFSA) financial application for student aid form. Once your acceptance has been confirmed, the financial aid office of your selected educational institution will help you fill this out and also post it to the relevant address.

When you are waiting for the results to come back from your (FAFSA) financial application for student aid form, you could then, with the help of the financial aid office, check the scholarships or grant options available to you.
Your (FAFSA) will also generate a (SAR) Student aid report, and this can be used with any scholarships or grants to calculate how much money you may need to borrow to pay for your educational credits.
You can choose to work when you are learning to offset any repayment amounts. If you do this then the lenders may use the payment of these monies to determine any further borrowing for any other semesters.

Wednesday, April 7, 2010

How to Find the Best Student Loan Around!!

A college education will almost always come with heavy financial burden. But behind this fact, it is good to know that there's financial help available, which can be utilized in order to stay on track - through student loans.
This type of financial aid is designed for the purpose of assisting aspiring students financially in their college education. Just like any loan, a these loans also follow the same principle of interest rates and payment obligations, and this is the reason why it is important to find the best one around in order to get the best deal of all, thus, the burden brought about due to the repayment obligations will be minimized.
Finding the best student loan will lead to favorable payment terms and lower interest rate so the repayment process will be easy in the future.
In searching for the best possible help, it is important to know the kinds of offers that are being made in the financial aid industry and to know what kind of help will fit in one's needs and situation.
Generally, there are three types of student loans:
- Federal, provided by the government
- Federal, provided by financial institutions
- and private
Firstly, federal aid is provided by the government. They have a fixed interest rate and one that is definitely lower than other lenders' but nevertheless, application is hard due to the strict requirements that are imposed.
On the other hand, federal help provided by financial institutions like banks and other financial lenders have the same fixed interest rate as this is also regulated by the government.
It only differs from the regular federal loan in terms of the benefits provided by the lender. Oftentimes, lenders offer discount and cut rates on the federal student financial help programs opted when a certain condition has been met like punctual payment process.
However, these benefits are usually not enjoyed by borrowers since punctual payment terms are very hard to maintain and some are also not aware of the mentioned benefits.
Last, but not least, are the loans provided by financial institutions without the interference of the government. This means that the interest rate for private student loans is not fixed and may change any time. The interest rate is also higher than regular student loans but application is easy and the amount of money provided is relatively higher than other student loans.
Upon determining the best offer available appropriate for one's needs, it is important that students must first assess their preferences in a lot of the student loan details, because most offers differ in the terms and conditions imposed - especially in the requirements.
Oftentimes, federal student loans have the most complicated requirements and if you have difficulty in meeting these requirements, then the loan may not be appropriate for you. Aside from assessing the requirements, it is also recommended to compare different loans in order to know the best deal around.
Various lenders have different offers for their borrowers and it is good to take advantage of these offers. Remember that college education is a very important investment in a student's life, so don't forget to maximize all the available resources around in order to adequately finance your child

Saturday, April 3, 2010

Tips For Deciding on Student Loans


Not all student loans are suitable for any degree or professional course. The loans are designed to suit the requirements of particular courses. They are either trust funds, scholarships, or government granted loans to aid a student in pursuing further education. In US, there are 3 basic types of loans given to students:

1. Federal Stafford Loans - They are further divided into subsidized, unsubsidized, and additional unsubsidized Stafford loans.
2. Federal Perkins Loans
3. Federal Plus Loans
Selection for these student loans depends on several factors. You need to ask the information desk for proper guidelines. Non acceptance from these facilities leaves door open for credits from private lenders, albeit at higher interest rates and stricter return policies! Here are some guidelines to choose one.
1. If the loans are in the form of scholarships or awards, students need to apply for them independently, sit for tests and interviews.
2. How much will the student loan cover? Some loans cover just the basic tuition fees. Therefore, other expenses are to be paid by the student. For financially backward families, these become a difficulty.
3. Aim for those loans that cover basic expenses like college fees, tuition, book costs, boarding, and others. Many universities have the option for students to work for few hours daily to earn the daily expense money. If the basic expenses are taken care of by the loan, then the student has not much burden.
4. What is the loan repayment plan? This has to be the most important consideration. While private moneylenders expect students to begin repayment as soon as they finish the course, federal or government student loans give time of approximately 6 months to start the repayment plan.
5. What is the interest rate? Take loans that guarantee less amount of interest. Even better if you get unsubsidized federal loan as the government pays interest on your behalf while you study.

Why Consolidate Student Loans?

It is very often that students are encountered with the need to avail of loans in order to meet their expenses. Sometimes, the loans might be taken from sources more than one. In the case of multiple loans,
the burden of monthly payment might be huge. And being a student, unless born with a silver spoon in one's mouth, it is natural that the financial backup is not that strong. It is here that the idea of student loan consolidation assumes significance. Not only would your monthly payment be reduced to a substantial level, but also you can save up some amount in the end.
These loan consolidation programmes can extend the tenure of payment to a long period up to thirty years. This is besides the lowering of the monthly instalments that you have to remit in the bank. The process of consolidation of student loans is relatively similar to mortgage refinancing. The consolidation of loans is applicable to most federal loans. Some of the federal loans the names of which deserves mention include FFELP, Perkins, Health Professional Student Loans, FISL, HEAL Guaranteed Student Loans, NSL and Direct Loans.
The weighted average of the rates of interest of the individual loans in the consolidation package when approximated to the nearest one eighth of a percent as well as capped at 8.25 percentages will give the rate of interest of the loan after consolidation. The consolidation process is so structured that the rate of interest will step up only in small amounts. It is however to be noted that the weighted average will not in any case transform the basic cost of the loan. Another point to be noted is that the new rate of interest will be somewhere in between the different rates of interest. Do not fall into the trap of those who claim that the rate of interest will b lower than the present ones. There are no costs involved in the process of
consolidation.