Student Loans

Are you thinking about going to college in the near future? If you answered yes, then you are probably going to need to take out a student loan in order to pay for your tuition and books.

1. The first step in the process is to fill out a FAFSA; a FAFSA is a free application for federal student aid. This will help determine what if any federal student aid you will receive.
2. The second step in the process is to figure out how much student loan money you will need. You need to know how much your tuition and books will cost so that you can prepare yourself in advance for these expenses.
3. The third step in the process is to research student loan lenders. Examples of student loan lenders include: Sallie Mae, Sun Trust, Wells Fargo, Citi Bank, Discover, and U.S. Bank. You need to find a lender that has a competitive interest rate because you will be re-paying your student loan from anywhere from ten to thirty years. You need to save as much money as possible so finding a competitive interest rate can really help you a lot financially in the long run.

   There are many types of student loans they include:

   • subsidized Stafford loans
   • unsubsidized Stafford loans
   • parent plus loans
   • private student loans
   • federal Perkins loans

   A subsidized Stafford loan is a loan that you get based on your financial need. The government takes care of the loan interest until you finish school and enter into repayment.

   Unsubsidized Stafford loans can be given to any person who applies for financial aid; the interest accrues as soon as you get your first disbursement of loan funds. You have to start to repay the loan after your six month grace period ends.

   Parent plus loans are loans that parents of college students can take out. Parents can only get these loans if they pass a credit check and have good enough credit to secure the loan. The repayment process begins two months after the second loan disbursement occurs.

   Federal Perkins loans are given to college students who have special circumstances that cause them to need financial aid. The repayment plan usually begins nine months after the student has stopped taking college classes.

4. The fourth step in the process is to apply for either a private student loan or a combination of private student loans with federal loans. You need to make sure that you understand all fees and interest rates that you will be held responsible for. You should also speak to the financial aid representatives at your college to make sure that you have everything in order.


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A college or university degree is acknowledged as a stepping stone for an excellent career growth. To this end, students as well as parents feel it is justified to take a student loan to fund the college studies partly or wholly.

For many students with student loans, working through school is quite the norm. Post-graduation however, it may not be easy to settle the student loans. Unforeseen and unplanned situations can make things harder. A random incident like accident, injury, illness or late employment etc may be causing financial pressure. Outlined below are some simple and great suggestions to help you pay off your debts.

The most important decision is to decide that paying back student loans is a priority. Be honest with yourself about the current household budget and other outstanding bills. Paying back student loans may involve creating more income. Even if it appears that you are too busy, there may be a solution.

Scout for business opportunities or perhaps find an additional part time or a weekend job. Avoid concentrating on others’ negative opinion about your plans. A person defaulting on his student loans or has other debts outstanding, may feed you with de-motivating and negative thoughts about your aim to pay off your student loan.

Plan to set your own home based business by putting to use your niche skills and offering them at reasonable and economical rates. This is a good idea to increase the pace of settling your debt. Your wife or husband can also assist and support you towards reaching your target.

Find out any rewarding opportunity and grab on it. Be focused about this new stream of income. Say, you find opportunity in the cleaning services and offer such cleaning services, for a fee of $30 per hour by dedicating 7 hours during the week. This now brings you additional income of $210 per week and $840 over a month. This additional revenue of $840 can be added to what you are already paying on your student loan.

Be sure to plan your payment schedule by keeping a tab on the number of months required to settle your debt. Another good idea to quicken the pace of settling the loan would be to work during the weekends. A weekend job can bring as much as $200 to $250 per week. This another stream of income added to your home business and full time job can strikingly increase your contribution to the monthly payments towards the loan.

To settle your student loan early would involve some planning on your part. You may have to find avenues to make extra money. Start with paying off the loan amount that is the lowest. Once that is done, focus on the other student loans, one at a time. After you have paid off the student loan, try not to expend your additional revenue unnecessarily. Now you can focus on your other pending debts and outstanding bills.