Many people are afraid of the process of getting a student loan. This usually occurs because they are not really familiar with the process. However, this article can serve to clarify things and remove that sense of fear.
Make sure you understand the fine print related to your student loans. Keep a running total on the balance, know the repayment terms and be aware of your lender’s current information as well. These are three very important factors. Budgeting is only possible with this knowledge.
Stay in contact with all lenders. Make sure they always know your address, phone number and email, all of which can change often during your college experience. Do not neglect any piece of correspondence your lender sends to you, whether it comes through the mail or electronically. Follow through on it immediately. If you miss something, it may cost you.
Don’t worry if you can’t make a payment on your student loan due to a job loss or another unfortunate circumstance. Most lenders can work with you if you lose your job. However, you should know that doing this could cause your interest rates to increase.
Student Loans
To make paying for college easier, don’t forget to look at private funding. Student loans from the government are plentiful, but they come with a lot of competition. Student loans from private sources are not as popular. They are available in smaller increments and are often unclaimed because people don’t know about them. Talk to people you trust to find out which loans they use.
Focus on paying off student loans with high interest rates. If you try to pay off the ones with the lowest balances first, you may pay more interest that you have to.
Pay attention to how long the grace period is after your graduation before you student loan has to be repaid. Stafford loans provide a six month grace period. If you have Perkins loans, you will have 9 months. Grace periods for other loans vary. Know when you are expected to pay them back, and make your payments on time!
When the time comes to repay student loans, pay them off based on their interest rate. You should always focus on the higher interest rates first. Using any extra cash available can help pay off student loans faster. There is no penalty for repaying sooner than expected.
Paying off your biggest loans as soon as you can is a sound strategy towards minimizing your overall principal. The smaller your principal, the smaller the amount of interest that you have to pay. Look at the large ones and see how quickly you can pay them off. Once you pay off a large loan, use the money allotted to it to pay off the one that is the next largest. Pay off the minimums on small loans and a large amount on the big ones.
Take the maximum number of credit hours you can in your schedule to maximize the use of your loans. If you sign up for more course credits each semester you can graduate a lot quicker, which in the end will save you a lot of money. This will reduce the amount of loans you must take.
Fill out your paperwork the best that you can. Your application may be delayed or even denied if you give incorrect or incomplete information.
The simplest loans to obtain are the Stafford and Perkins. These have some of the lowest interest rates. They are a great deal, because the government covers your interest while you are still in school. The Perkins loan carries an interest rate of 5%. The Stafford loans are subsidized and offer a fixed rate that will not exceed 6.8%.
Be aware that you may need a co-signer for a private loan if your credit isn’t good. It’s imperative that you make your payments on time. If you don’t keep up with payments on time, your co-signer will be responsible, and that can be a big problem for you and them.
Particular Lenders
Your school could have an ulterior motive for recommending you pursue your loan through particular lenders. Many institutions allow selected private lenders to use the school name in their promotions. This can be very misleading. The school could benefit if you go with particular lenders. Be sure you understand all the ins and outs of a loan before accepting it.
If you want to stretch out your student loans a little farther, get a meal plan which deals in terms of meals instead of dollar amounts. This way, you won’t be paying for each individual item; everything will be included for your prepaid flat fee.
Always know your repayment options. If you anticipate financial constraints immediately following graduation, think about a loan with graduated payments. The payments will start off low and then increase over time. Since you should earn more as you advance in your career, that may be something to consider.
As the preceding article has stated, there really is no reason to be scared when it comes to student loans. With the information from this article, you have the necessary information to handle student loans. Use the advice from this article to find the right loan for you.
This is a limited-time offer. We are not able to guarantee availability if you wait!
