As the cost of college has risen, the need for student loans has also increased. Make sure that you get the type of loan that fits your situation. Continue to read to learn what you should know.
Stay in contact with all lenders. When you make changes to your address or phone number, make sure you let them know. Read all mail you get from lenders. If the correspondence requests you take an action, do so as soon as you can. Missing anything in your paperwork can cost you valuable money.
Don’t fret when extenuating circumstances prevent you from making a payment. Most lenders can work with you if you lose your job. Just know that taking advantage of this option often entails a hike in your interest rates.
Don’t let setbacks throw you into a tizzy. Unemployment or a health problem can happen to you from time to time. Keep in mind that forbearance and deferment options do exist with most loans. Interest will build up, so try to pay at least the interest.
How long is your grace period between graduation and having to start paying back your loan? The period should be six months for Stafford loans. For Perkins loans, you have nine months. Other kinds of loans may have other grace periods. Be aware of exactly when you must start making payments, and be sure to make those payments on time!
Think about what payment option works for you. The majority of student loans have ten year periods for loan repayment. If you don’t think that is feasible, you should check for alternatives. For example, you might be given a longer time to pay. Keep in mind that this option comes with higher interest. You might even only have to pay a certain percentage of what you earn once you finally do start making money. It may be the case that your loan is forgiven after a certain amount of time, as well.
Pick a payment option that works bets for you. Many of these loans have 10-year repayment plans. If this isn’t going to help you out, you may be able to choose other options. For example, you could extend the amount of time you have to pay, however you will probably have a higher interest rate. You could start paying it once you have a job. The balance of some student loans is forgiven after 25 years.
Interest Rate
Look to pay off loans based on their scheduled interest rate. The loan with the largest interest rate should be your first priority. Anytime you have extra cash, apply it toward your student loans. There is no penalty for early repayment.
Pay off your biggest loan as soon as you can to reduce your total debt. If you don’t owe that much, you’ll pay less interest. Concentrate on repaying these loans before the others. Once a big loan is paid off, simply transfer those payments to the next largest ones. The quickest way to pay down these loans is to tackle the largest one first, but keep making payments to the smaller ones in order to quickly pay down the entire debt.
You can stretch your dollars further for your student loans if you make it a point to take the most credit hours as you can each semester. Full-time is considered 9 to 12 hours per semester, take a few more to finish school sooner. This helps you keep to aminimum the amount of loan money you need.
Perkins Loans
The Stafford and Perkins loans are the best options in federal loans. They are cheap and safe. They are a great deal, because the government covers your interest while you are still in school. A typical interest rate on Perkins loans is 5 percent. On the subsidized Stafford loan, it’s fixed at no higher than 6.8%.
A PLUS loan is a loan that can be secured by grad students as well as their parents. Their interest rate doesn’t exceed 8.5%. Although it is higher than Perkins and Stafford Loans, you still get a much better rate than one that is private. Therefore, this kind of loan can be useful for students who are older.
Do not simply apply for loans and let that be the end of it. Scholarships or grants can be a great way of reducing the amount of money you ultimately have to borrow. There are lots of good scholarship websites that can match you with scholarships and grants that are right for you. Start searching right away to be prepared.
To maximize your student loan money, purchases a by-meal food plan instead of a by-dollar amount food plan. That way, you won’t be overpaying for extra items in the cafeteria. You will just pay a flat fee for every meal.
Make sure you understand your repayment options. If you think you’ll struggle to afford school after graduating, try applying for graduated payments. This will allow you to make smaller payments when you start out, and then things will increase later when you are making more money.
Try finding a job you can do on campus to help augment income you receive from student loans. You will be able to offset expenses and get more money to keep.
Student Loans
The cost of education these days is through the roof. Under such circumstances, a considerable amount of debt can be accumulated in the form of student loans if you’re not careful. Thankfully, the information gleaned from this article will steer you away from the troubling aspects of the student loans.
This is a limited-time offer. We are not able to guarantee availability if you wait!
