What You Should Know About Student Loans

What You Should Know About Student Loans

by Mike Selvon

If college were not so expensive, then many people would not need student loans to help them pay for expenditures. A student loan can help you pay for the things you must have, which scholarships and Federal grants do not cover.

Parents who have saved for your college education often have not saved enough to help cover every expense. Tuition, books, room and board quickly eat through savings and there is often nothing left over for the necessities, such as food and gas.

A college loan can be the way to help pay for college but there are several types of student loans available. The three main types are: Federally guaranteed loans, parent loans and private loans from a credit card company or bank.

Each has certain rules and repayment schedules, so it is important to thoroughly research the differences. You certainly do not want to have to worry about repaying the loan while you are attending school, if you can possibly avoid it.

If you are a student and need to take out an education loan, then you will want to make sure that your loan does not require repayment, as long as you are enrolled in school. Loans such as the Stafford Loan are guaranteed through the Federal government and have a set interest rate. The loan note becomes due within six months of graduation or leaving school full-time.

In order to file for these loans, you must fill out a Federal Application for Student Assistance. If you are independent from your parents and do not rely on them for support, make sure and notify the university or college before filling out the paperwork.

Once the paperwork is filled out and submitted it can take several weeks for the information to be processed. An education loan takes time to administer, so it is important to get your paperwork finished and submitted months before classes begin. The consequences of waiting too long to fill out the paperwork and submit it, could mean not having the funds available to pay for your tuition and books when the semester starts.

Most students worry about money while they are in school. In a perfect world, every student would be able to attend school and never have to worry about where the money is coming from that pays for their education. Unfortunately, this is not a perfect world and most students must take out student loans to cover their expenses. If you can get by without using a student loan that is great, but if you cannot, then you must know all of the facts before signing on the dotted line.