Government Student Loans - A General Guide

Federal student loans are more attractive than private loans because of their lower interest rates. Apart from other advantages, they offer many options to defer payment if the borrowers have trouble getting a job after completing school. A total of nine government student loans and scholarships programs are currently run by the federal government, with the state governments also running more than 600 such programs.

To apply for the federal government student loan programs, prospective loan applicant are required to fill the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), which requires details about their assets, dependency and income. It is quite a long form, and in 2010-2011 had more than 130 questions. The form is used to calculate the Expected Family Contribution (EFC) for each applicant, taking into consideration the household income of the applicant, the size of his or her family, assets and other such details. Depending on all these factors, the student may qualify. Even when they do not qualify, they can still get unsubsidized loans.

There are a number of different types of student loans. Broadly, these are Stafford Loans, Perkins Loans, Federal PLUS Loans, and the Graduate Consolidation Loans. Most of these loans require a credit check for the applicant, so if you want to take such a loan, you should keep a good credit history.

Stafford Loans

Stafford loans are the most widely used. They come in two varieties, the ones covered under Federal Family Education Loan Program (FFELP), and the ones covered under the Federal Direct Student Loan Program (FDSLP). The former are provided by private lenders, with the government guaranteeing the lenders against default by borrowers. The latter are also called Direct Loans, and are administered by what are called Direct Lending Schools. These can be subsidized as well as unsubsidized.

Stafford loans are one of the best government loans because the government pays off their interest while you attend school. Only once you have finished school do you have to start paying off the debt; and because their interest can be subsidized, their repayment is easier than for other loans. To be eligible for a Stafford loan, you must enroll in a college that participates in the Federal Family Education Loan Program. You also need to fill out the FAFSA form to get the subsidized Stafford loan.

Federal Perkins Loan

Federal Perkins Loans are available to graduate and undergraduate students who require financial aid more than others do. It is a campus-based program, in which the school acts as the lender using a pool of funds provided by the federal government. The Perkins Loan is one of the best loans a student can take - it comes with an interest rate of only 5%, with the federal government paying the interest during the period in which one is enrolled in the school, and during a 9-month grace period. Afterwards, there is a repayment period of up to 10 years.

As of 2009-2010, the Perkins program had a limit of $5,500 per year for undergraduate students, and a limit of $8,000 per year for graduates. The total lifetime limits for both were $27,500 and $60,000 respectively. Perkins loans are cancelled partially or fully for teachers who teach in designated low-income schools, and for Peace Corps volunteers. The amount of loans cancelled depends on the number of years in service as a teacher and a Peace Corps volunteer; for example, 3 years of service cancels 50% of debt.

Graduate PLUS Loan

Graduate PLUS loans offer the borrowers an unsubsidized loan for fees towards graduate and professional courses. It is guaranteed by the federal government, which means that if the borrower defaults, the government will pay the lender. Unlike Perkins, whose interest is applied only once the study period is over, the interest on Graduate PLUS starts getting applied from the time it is disbursed. Their interest rate is about 8.5%. The borrower should meet three criteria to be considered for this loan: first, they should be a US citizen, or a non-citizen with a valid Social Security number; second, they should pass a credit review; and third, they must not have defaulted on a federal education loan in the past.

Parent PLUS Loan

Parent PLUS loans are offered to the parents of the student involved. The Grad PLUS program is an offshoot of this particular program. Like the Grad PLUS loans, repayment of the Parent PLUS loans begins right after the time the loan is fully disbursed. Its interest rate is fixed at 7.9%, though many lenders will offer benefits that reduce the effective interest rate. Because it is borrowed by the parent, it is also the responsibility of the parent to repay the loan. Just like the Grad PLUS loan program, it requires that the borrower not have an adverse credit score.

Federal Consolidation Loan

Consolidation loans from the federal government allow a student-borrower to consolidate his or her Perkins, Stafford and Graduate PLUS loans into a single consolidated loan with a longer term of repayment. The longer term ensures lower monthly repayments. The interest rate for these loans is calculated by finding the weighted average of all the loans consolidated by a student, and rounding them off to 0.125%; the interest rate is ultimately capped at 8.25%.

Both the Perkins and Stafford loan programs require one to fill out the FAFSA form. With so many government student loans programs available to students to choose from, anyone without the means to pay for his or her education has no reason to stop their education due to monetary constraints.

There are many student loans to choose from.

Its difficult figuring out which government student loans you should apply for and how many student loans there actually are.

You can even learn more about getting student loans without cosigner.

Managing a Student Loan Online

Many students rely upon private student loans to pay for college. When they first enter into the process of applying for schools and funding, they may not fully understand what is involved in the process. For many students, once they have earned admission to college, paying for it is often addressed as an afterthought. Student loans are straightforward and low interest and used to attend school. Some students may need someone to co-sign the loan; although some may rely on their parents to set up everything for them. When it comes time to pay back the financial obligation, however, it is up to the student to make good on the promise of paying back the money borrowed. For many college graduates, this is unfamiliar territory.

Time
Forgetting about the existence of a student loan is common among college students. It may have been a minimum of four years since they borrowed the necessary money. With the large stack of papers or endless links to online funding from student aid offices, they may not remember applying for the loan, much less receiving it. For many, filling out paperwork or logging in to a student loan online application was just one more thing involved in the overwhelming process of choosing a future career path. While the student may forget about the loan, it does exist and can be managed while they are still in school or handled upon graduation.

Timing
Each student loan is different. Each individual should determine when they have agreed to pay back the money and should not wait for the lender to track them down after graduation. If they are unsure when the payments will begin, the information can be gained by going online and checking with the financial institution who lent them the college money. This is not available through every lender, but the more reputable and modern ones do offer this as an option.

Reliability
Students that manage their student loans responsibly will gain good credit standing. The money should be paid back according to the payment plan. Online payment plans are available, as well. The individual's student loan online payments can be linked to their bank accounts so that they never miss a payment and are always on time. This may be a new step for students who have never had payments automatically debited. If for any reason they believe that the money will not be in the account when the debit is made by the lender, the lender should be contacted right away. They may be able to make arrangements and possibly prevent additional fees due to overdraft and late payments. When bank accounts are closed, the lender should be notified and new debit arrangements made.

Why Get A Student Loan?
When going away to college is the priority and funding is secondary, students may be encouraged by their parents to secure any college money shortfall with a private student loan. Oftentimes students are denied government loans based on their parents' income or the allotted funding may have been used up on an older sibling. If they want to go to school and further their education and future earning potential, they get a student loan.

Access
For students who are somewhat disorganized, the options to check payments, pay dates, interest amounts and due dates are available. Debt consolidation for multiple loans is also available for online management. Online access makes it faster for students to manage their financial obligations through the convenience of the Internet.

The author is a freelance journalist who writes frequently on how to apply for a private student loan and the options available for student loan for those planning to enter college.

Paying for College: Three Methods

In today's nasty economy it is really easy to brush off college as too expensive or too time consuming. Tuition rates are continuing to rise and employment is continuing to fall. However, it is still a fact that those with a Bachelor's degree or higher will earn exponentially more money than those with only a high school education. This is why it is important to exhaust all possibilities when it comes to earning a degree from a good school, including taking out student loans.

Financial Aid and You

There is no reason to think that you are alone in your struggle to afford college. In fact all major universities have a Financial Aid office dedicated to finding funds to send each and every student through their school. The professionals in these offices will work out a plan with you in order to meet your needs as far as education as well as living expenses are concerned for the duration of your time at their school. Financial Aid can help you earn scholarships, pay tuition on an installment basis as well as apply for different types of loans from both the federal government and private lenders.

Scholarships

Obviously your best bet to pay for college is a scholarship which will pay part or all of your tuition fees for you with no obligation for repayment. One of the best methods of obtaining a scholarship is through a special skill such as a sport or musical instrument, though academics are of paramount importance as well. You need to maintain a high GPA and make sure to get the highest score possible on standardized tests such as the SAT and ACT in order to increase your chances for scholarship money.

Installment Plans

Another option that you may take up is to pay your tuition in installments instead of all at once at the commencement of a semester. By breaking payments up into smaller chunks you may be able to find a part time job that can cover these costs. This plan can also be used in conjunction with scholarship money if you do not get all of your tuition paid or you can take out a loan for part of your tuition and then pay the rest as you go.

Loans

Student loans are the most common method used these days to pay for college. Obtained either through the federal government in the form of Stafford loans or through private banks, the advantage of taking an educational loan is that you do not need to repay it until you complete your study - either through graduation or disenrollment. You are also given very low (often fixed) interest rates that help to keep your monthly payments low when you land that first post-graduate job.

Using the internet is a great place to start to look for student loan money and the private lenders who offer it. There are several financially-based websites that will allow you to compare rates and loan amounts among several lenders as well as discuss the repayment plans that you will use after graduation.

Never Give Up

With the abundance of information available online about loans and scholarship options, there is no excuse for not going to college. Yes, the economy is bad right now, but that is all the more reason to get that leg up on the competition. A college degree is a great first step towards making that happen.

Joycelyn Crawford is the author of this article. For more information about Bad Credit Easy Loans and Unsecured Loans please visit EasyLoanForYou.com

Student Loans Open Opportunities Beyond What Students Can Afford

Student loans have allowed many students to get an education beyond what they or their families could normally afford. Some students are reluctant to attend school on a loan that will have to be repaid, but students who take advantage of these loans come out far better financially than their peers who do not attend college. In almost every case, a student is better off financially by accepting loans and receiving a college degree to pay back the loan than the student who skips college entirely.

Loans, grants and scholarships are the most frequent financial aids available to college and graduate students. Loans must be repaid to the lending institution upon graduation or if the student drops out of school. In most cases, the loan payments do not begin until 3 to 6 months after graduation. This gives students time to get a job and begin earning a paycheck before having to pay back loans. The interest rate is usually very low, far lower than what would be available from a traditional lending institution.

Student loans are available through the United States government. They are available to almost all students who are pursuing an education from a trade school, community college, junior college or university. They are also usually available to students who are attending grad school. If the student decides to pursue grad school directly after their bachelor's degree is complete, payments may be deferred until after graduate school is complete.

The student must maintain an acceptable grade point average in order to retain eligibility for the loans. Grants and scholarships also have requirements for keeping up a good grade point average. There is also a level of ethical behavior expected of students who receive these financial aids. Cheating and other on campus violations can result in the loss of the loan, grant or scholarship in some cases. Some financial aid offerings also expect recipients to maintain a level of off campus behavior, such as avoiding illegal drugs or other criminal activities.

Student loans can be applied for at the college or university where the student wishes to attend. The financial aid office of the institution usually has all of the forms needed and can tell the student if other documentation, such as a birth certificate, drivers license or social security card is needed. The student may also need to submit tax documents of their own or their parents in order to qualify for financial aid.

Alexander Sutton knows all too well how hard it can be to get started in the professional world. But now that he's established himself he'd like to share both his successes and failures in order help others enjoy the most efficient route to success. For more information, please visit Student Loans.

Summary Of Federal Student Loans And Grants

Every American student can qualify for federal grants and loans. Filing for these online is also easy to do. The free "screen-fillable" application, meaning an application that can be filled in on screen, online for the free application for federal student aid is called: FAFSA. There are three ways to apply for the funding. Any student can find the applications at several online sites. The most comprehensive site for finding and submitting this application is found at college.gov and opportunity.gov.

Some choose to download the PDF file applications and send them in. Others request applications be sent to them by calling 1-800-4-FED-AID (1-800-433-3243) or 319-337-5665 or the hearing impaired line which is TTY 1-800-730-8913. Another FAFSA filing option is to go the online site: FASFA4caster which can be found at: fafsa.ed.gov. If you have chosen to screen-fill your application there will be no option for saving the filing in your personal computer. The forecaster site will notify you of your eligibility soon after submitting the application.

Student aid and support described at these sites include both the federally sponsored grants as well as the federally sponsored loans. Borrowing through the federal government is a wiser choice when contemplating loan repayment. The government agencies are aware of the heavy burden student loans have placed on the learning public. It is for these reasons that our government is looking for new ways to ease these burdens.

If a student wishes to review the options for repayment of existing loans, there are now multiple approaches to this as well. There are student access points of entry to the National Student Loan Data Systems (NSLDS). If students search this site using the search terms Direct Consolidation Loans, there is more information to be found that may be helpful. At this site information about individual student loan status and disbursement payments can be found. This can be done by selecting the school year of application and the semester you plan to begin. If the beginning semester is a summer school program, then ask at the admissions office of the school you are to be attending for the verification of which application to choose.

For more information and student-told stories and advice for the application process with much "high-level" information provided, including pitfalls to avoid about why to go, what to do and how to pay then try using the search words "Student Aid on the Web" or, again, simply go to opportunity.gov.

Our legislators and governing leaders know it is in the nation's best interest to make college education easily accessible to America's next wave of workers. Our country is poised to begin a support of new avenues of provision for educational opportunities as the current administration has worked to protect the PELL grants and other monies that need to be available if we are to remain a well educated work force for a changing economic climate in our world today.

To learn more, visit the best loans website, where you will find many valuable articles about loans.

Get A Student Loan With Bad Credit: A How To Guide

Having bad credit due to poorly made financial decisions earlier in life is certainly a hard cross to bear. Especially if you wish to better your lot through an education, trying to finance such activities can be nearly impossible if your credit score is low. But there is no reason to use your bad credit as an excuse not to pursue your dreams, there are many bad credit student loan options available if you know what to do and where to look.

Get Counseling

Once you have made the decision to attend a particular school, your first step should be to contact that school's Financial Aid office to discuss your options. Many schools will provide free credit counseling or refer you to someone who can counsel you specifically related expenses and money incurred for the achievement of a higher education. Oftentimes, if a student is not approved for a traditional student loan, a bad credit student loan counselor will have the resources to direct that student to the proper private lenders who can and will offer loans to students with bad credit.

Federal Student Loans

The best way to get money for college is to use the programs sponsored by the government that offer to lend a certain amount of money each year to students at a low fixed interest rate. These loans, called Stafford and Perkins loans, are available to any US college student and often do not require a credit check.

Private Student Loans

Though government-secured loans are the best choice for college, if they do not provide enough money to cover all your expenses, there are other programs such as Sallie Mae and other private banks like Wells Fargo who offer student loan options. Oftentimes each institution will have a separate loan program designed for those needing student loans and who possess bad credit. These programs will offer different rates, fees and services. Since there are so many players to consider, it is really important that you shop around and compare the packages that each one offers against the others.

Co-Signers Provide another Option

If you cannot qualify or are uncomfortable taking a private loan to pay for school by yourself, then the next option that you have is to find a co-signer for your student loan. Therefore, your parents can help you if they have good credit. Though the burden to pay the loan is yours, their credit rating will help you to get better interest rates. It is important to remember, however, that your failure to repay a student loan that has a co-signer will negatively affect that person's credit as well. It is therefore important to discuss this choice with your loan counselor and your co-signer.

Take Your Time

The final option that you have available is credit repair. That is, even though your ultimate goal is to go to college and get a degree, you may be better off if you delay that for a while in order to work on repairing your bad credit. You can do this by making all payments on loans and credit cards on time, keeping track of your monthly finances as well as working to pay down your overall debt. You will also want to review a complete credit report to make sure that all the information on there is accurate and that you are not being penalized for something that you did not do.

Joycelyn Crawford is the author of this article. For more information about Bad Credit Easy Loans and Unsecured Loans please visit EasyLoanForYou.com

Scholarships for Mothers As a Guide to Your Successful Career

You cannot ensure your rights without being educated properly. Many mothers in the USA have begun married lives before completing their college education. As a result, they fall far behind to build a better career and get higher salary. This fact restricts them from leading a better life along with their children and family. However, the US government has recently taken initiatives to improve their lots. Scholarships for moms are government-aided programs that offer ten thousand dollars to the mothers who are single, married, working, or low-wagers. Scholarships for mothers need only a single form to fill up on scholarships4moms.net and this form can lead you to fulfill your long cherished dream.

The registration forms for scholarships for mothers are found on this website and need only a few minutes to fill up. You have to fill in the form according to the instructions provided with it. These guidelines on the form are needed to be followed until you are thanked by a confirmation page. That means you have finished the process and are eligible to receive the scholarship. You will be able to view information from schools or colleges available online and can choose one of their courses through this website. Moreover, a confirmation code will be sent to your email address soon after the completion of this form. These ten thousand dollar worth scholarships for moms are needed to fill in the form carefully so that one may not be rejected from the winner list. You have to fill in the blanks compulsorily which are marked with stars. As the success rate of scholarships for mothers is unbelievably high, you cannot help being careful while in filling the form.

The objective of this scholarship is to balance your motherhood so that you can get enough time, support, and money in order to boost your career up. Scholarships can offer also additional money if you need to further your study. Registration enables you to be the next competitor of this scholarship program. Scholarships for mothers help the US mothers in further ways. You can pay the school fees of your children with the rest of the money. Moreover, this scholarship influences directly the younger generation of this country as each children depends on its mother's success to a great extent. The exact tools needed to advance your career are provided with these scholarships for moms. The government has granted a large amount of budget for this program and you will not fail to get it if you provide the information correctly in this form.

Scholarships for mothers arrange online school or college courses for you. You will not have to leave your home to study in a school or college. I know many people who have already changed the direction of their lives with the aid of this scholarship. One of my colleagues has got this scholarship and she is now attending online courses to get a higher degree. She is happy to achieve what was beyond her capacity in the previous days and she believes it will help her get better jobs. In fact, scholarships for mothers have the best option that you need right now.

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