Going to college and need financial help?
Already at college and need some additional
funds to see you through until the end of
your studies? If so, then this section of
Approvals.com will be for you, even if you
have bad credit.
This guide
below
will give
you
important
information
you should
know before
applying...
Student
loans & who
is eligible.
Information
about
parental
loans.
Loan limits
& Obama's
forgiveness.
The best
places to
get student
loans fast.
For New Student Loans:
Simple
Tuition-
Save money and get a great
deal by comparing
loan offers side by
side. Bad Credit OK
College
tuition and fee costs are getting more expensive by the year. Not
only for tuition, but also for room and board, books, supplies, transportation and other related costs. The vast majority of people will need financial help to cover this - but what are the options available?
Many
students take advantage of the federal student loan
programs to pay for college.
Title IV student
financial aid includes the Federal Pell Grant
Program, the Stafford Loan and the Federal Perkins
Loan Program, which is awarded to students with the
most financial need. You'll need to check
eligibility at the
Federal Student Aid Website
and should also ask your college for their
FAFSA deadline.
Parents of students can also take out federal loans,
known as 'Parental Loans for Undergraduate Students'
or "PLUS" loans and we'll talk more about
those in a second.
Then
there are are also private student loans. These
obviously cost a little more in interest charges
(like any personal loan), but the application
process is generally faster. If you need money fast,
it could be an option but should only be used after
you have exhausted all your federal loan benefits.
(We'll recommend some services further down the
page).
Parental Loans for Undergraduate Students
Parental Loans for Undergraduate Students or "PLUS" loans are available to low income families to help them pay for their child's education. The parent/borrower usually has to have good credit to qualify for the loan and there are also a number of different criteria that need to be met in order to be eligible.
At the time of writing interest rates are around 7% (which compared to most credit cards (for example) is pretty low) and after receiving the money, the first payment is due 60 days after disbursement. Payment can be deferred until the student is no longer enrolled half time or graduates. You can read more about 'PLUS' loans here.
Understanding Loan Limits
The government annual loan limits are determined
each academic year. Amounts depend on whether you
are freshman, junior, sophomore or senior, your
financial needs and whether or not you are a
dependent or independent student. The chart below
gives you an idea on how much you can expect to
receive.
You can take all or any portion of the amount by accepting or disapproving the amounts when you school notifies you of your financial aid award. You cannot borrow more than the cost of tuition costs including room and board. Funds are disbursed usually by the second week of the school semester. Check with your college to find out the disbursement date.
Obama Student Loan forgiveness Program...
The Obama student loan forgiveness program gives
economic relief to students who choose an income based repayment plan.
In short, and at the current time of writing, people
who make their monthly payment for 20 years after
leaving college, could have their remaining balance
forgiven.
People
who go into public service; teaching, medical,
military service etc could have their loans forgiven
after just 10 years.
Students
who have Federal Stafford, Grad Plus and Perkins
Loans are allowed to take advantage of the income
based repayment forgiveness plan so it would be a
good idea to check your eligibility with your school or your lender
and you can find out more information
here. Also, we have
more information about qualifying for
student loan debt forgiveness.
In Conclusion...
Student
loans and grants are great ways to pay for college education
and are a necessity for most.
Do
remember though, that when applying for any loan it
is important that you understand their terms and
conditions and are aware of your
responsibilities and repayment options. (Try using
our
student loan payment
calculator as well) Bear this in
mind when choosing a provider, whether that be
governmental or private.
If you
are not eligible for grants or federal help, but
still need money, we have reviewed some additional
services below that may be able to help you get a
student loan.
Simple
Tuition
-
Best
for
new
student
loans
CuStudent
Loans
-
Best
for
student
loan
consolidation
Read
the
reviews
below...
Simple Tuition
Save money and get a
great student loan
deal by comparing
loan offers side by
side.
Who are Simple Tuition?
Simple Tuition is an independent company
whose main goal is to make higher
education more affordable for students
and their families. Their website offers
a variety of interactive tools aimed at
saving students money during their
college years. Simple Tuition launched
their services in 2006 and have since
helped over 10million students to
arrange private student loans and other
financial products.
What do they do?
The Simple Tuition website is first and
foremost an interactive comparison site
for private student loans. As a student
or a parent of a student you can enter a
few personal details e.g. the name of
your college, the year you intend to
graduate, the amount you need to borrow
etc. and receive back a list of the best
private student loans for you. Many of
the top student loan lenders are
affiliated with the Simple Tuition site
so you are guaranteed a good range of
quotes.
What services do they provide?
In addition to the main private student
loan comparison tool the Simple Tuition
website also has a textbook cost
comparison tool. This allows you to find
cut price textbooks and compare the cost
of similar titles before buying.
Simple Tuition also offers information
on many aspects of college life,
including how to find cheap
accommodation, how to budget and how to
consolidate several private student
loans after graduation. As an additional
aid during your college years Simple
Tuition has gone one further and
developed a pre-paid debit card (the
SimpleSpend Visa card) that enables you
to load money on to the card, spend as
you normally would and earn rewards
points in the process.
Highly
Recommended!
In
Summary...
Excellent
loan
comparison
tool.
Take
advantage
of their
no-activation
fee,
pre-paid
debit
card
Cost-effective
private
student
loans
for all
circumstances.
Find
your
textbooks
online
and save
money in
the
process.
The ‘CU’ in ‘CU student loans’ stands
for Credit Union – the worldwide
member-owned institution of which 4
million Americans are already a member.
The Credit Union offers a range of loan
and other finance products, including
the EdAccess Private Student Loan. Their
not-for-profit status means they can
offer their loans at lower than average
interest rates.
What do they do?
The Credit Union EdAccess private
student loan has been designed to help
college students fund their years of
study. Students can borrow between $2000
and $30,000 per year of full time study
i.e. undergraduate and graduate study.
The only thing the Credit Union asks is
that either minimal interest payments or
a pro-active payment of $25 is made each
month while the student is in school.
Once graduated, the student has 6 months
before he/she needs to start repaying
the loan.
The interest rate associated with the
EdAccess private student loan depends
firstly on the creditworthiness of the
borrower (or the co-signer if there is
one). Quite uniquely, it also depends on
the academic record of the student
making the application. So, good grades,
good attendance and sought-after courses
will help to reduce the interest rate of
the loan. Each application is assessed
individually and awarded an interest
rate based on the outcome of the
assessment.
What services do they provide?
In addition to the extremely popular
EdAccess private student loan the Credit
Union also offers something called the
EdSucceed private student loan
consolidation. This is aimed at college
leavers who have several high interest
private loans demanding repayment.
Providing they meet the criteria,
students can consolidate any outstanding
private student loans into one Credit
Union loan up to a maximum of $100,000
for undergraduates and $150,000 for
graduates.
Highly
Recommended!
In
Summary...
Borrow
between
$2000
and
$30,000
each
year to
help
fund
your
college
education
Pay back
as
little
as $25
per
month
while in
school,
Start
repaying
the loan
in
earnest
6 months
after
you
officially
finish
your
course.
Benefit
from
lower
than
average
interest
rates by
excelling
in
school.
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