If you’ve seen the costs of college, you may be surprised at how expensive it is. There are not many people that have this kind of money. A student loan is a great way to help finance the cost of a college education.
Verify the length of the grace specified in the loan. The grace period is the period between when you graduate and when you have to start paying back your loans. Being aware of this will help you get a jump start on payments, which will help you avoid penalties.
Make sure you understand the fine print related to your student loans. You need to know how much you owe, your repayment status and which institutions are holding your loans. All these details are involved in both repayment options as well as forgiveness potentials. Budgeting is only possible with this knowledge.
Maintain contact with your lender. When you make changes to your address or phone number, make sure you let them know. Anytime you receive a phone call, email or paper letter from your lender, pay attention to it as soon as it is received. Make sure you take action whenever it is needed. If you miss something, it may cost you.
If you were laid off or are hit with a financial emergency, don’t worry about your inability to make a payment on your student loan. Many times a lender will allow the payments to be pushed back if you make them aware of the issue in your life. However, you should know that doing this could cause your interest rates to increase.
Don’t panic if you cannot make your payments on your student loans. You will most likely run into an unexpected problem such as unemployment or hospital bills. There are options like forbearance and deferments for most loans. The interest will grow if you do this though.
It is important to know how much time after graduation you have before your first loan payment is due. Stafford loans typically allow six months. Perkins loans offer a nine-month grace period. Other student loans’ grace periods vary. Know when you will have to pay them back and pay them on time.
Student Loans
Go with the payment plan that best suits your needs. A lot of student loans give you ten years to repay. If this isn’t possible, then look around for additional options. For instance, you might secure a longer repayment term, but you will end up paying more in interest. You could start paying it once you have a job. Sometimes student loans are forgiven after 25 years.
The thought of paying on student loans can be daunting. That can be reduced with loan rewards programs. For instance, check out SmarterBucks and LoanLink, both of which are offered by Upromise. This can help you get money back to apply against your loan.
Increase your credit hours if possible. Sure a full time status might mean 12 credits, but if you can take 15 or 18 you’ll graduate all the quicker. This lets you minimize the loan amounts you have to accrue.
Make sure to understand everything about student loans before signing anything. If something is unclear, get clarification before you sign anything. This is a good way for you to get scammed.
Interest Rate
Perkins and Stafford are some of the best federal student loans. Many students decide to go with one or both of them. This is a good deal because while you are in school your interest will be paid by the government. The interest rate on a Perkins loan is 5 percent. The subsidized Stafford loan has an interest rate that does not exceed 6.8%.
While student loans can help make college affordable for a number of people, they must be repaid. Some people take out a loan but don’t consider how they are going to pay it back. The tips in this article can help you earn a college degree without having to declare bankruptcy.
This is a limited-time offer. We are not able to guarantee availability if you wait!
