Educating Students About Loans
One of the myriad of consequences for families affected by the economic downturn in the last few years is the lack of money to help pay for college. As a result, many incoming college freshmen turn to student loans to help cover the cost of tuition, boarding, and other expenses.
For the majority of these borrowers, paying for their education will be their first major purchase, and their first major exposure to the lending and payback process. The average student who utilizes student loans will borrow an average of over $20,000 to pay for their educational expenses, according to a recent report by The Project on Student Debt. While taking out student loans is a necessity for many students, how educated are these young people about the responsibility they are taking on? For example, how many students know the APR rate for the loans they apply for, or take the time to calculate what their payment amounts will be when they graduate and enter the repayment period? Read the rest of this entry »
February is College Financial Aid Awareness Month
Get out your balloons, hang your streamers and don your party hats! It’s time to celebrate, because February is Financial Aid Awareness Month!
What’s that? You don’t usually celebrate Financial Aid Awareness Month?! Well you should. For many college students, financial aid (and hard work in high school) is what makes dreams of higher education a reality. Read the rest of this entry »
Federal Loans for College
Alright folks, it’s more student loan talk today. Don’t be intimidated, whether it’s a DVD, a sweater, lunch money, or a library book, we’ve all borrowed something, ergo* we have all had loans. The main catch of a loan is that you have to return what you borrow, and unlike a library book, which you return all in one piece, with student loans you return what you borrow bit by bit. But because student loan lenders allow you to return what you borrow at a slow pace, they charge you interest.
Instead of borrowing a private or personal loan directly from a bank, many students (myself included) choose to borrow from the federal government, which typically offers loans with lower interest rates.
There are four kinds of federal loans: Read the rest of this entry »
College Financial Aid 101
First aid, Band-aid®, Hearing aid, Kool-Aid® … Financial Aid
Typically, “aid” gives some form of help, and financial aid is no different. (Fair enough, Kool- Aid® isn’t the most helpful beverage out there but it is good and makes me smile.)
Financial Aid is a pretty big topic which we will discuss in more detail in the future, but for starters, let’s get the basics down. Financial Aid is a broad term (think Vampire genre) that encompasses a few varieties (think Twilight, True Blood, Vampire Dairies). And the first step towards any type of financial aid is filling out the FAFSA, the Free Application for Federal Student Aid. Read the rest of this entry »
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