Student Loan Consolidation » Direct Loans

Student Loans for College – 10 Things You Should Know About Student Loans

admin — Sun, 27 Jun 2010 19:57:11 +0000

Student loans mean a lot for college students because their future depends on the money that will be given to them. Going to college is getting more and more expensive every school year which is why student loans are important to students and parents as well. So, if you are thinking about college or student loans in particular, here are some tips and guidelines that would put your college life in perspective.

1. Collect figures

Collect figures mean that you should now look at how much money is needed in order to pay for your education. This means that you should have at least an idea how much is the cost of the tuition and fees of your desired course. Aside from that, you should be able to have an estimate of other expenses like travel costs, college text books, room and board, college tuition, personal expenses, and other things.

2. Research about student loans

If you already have the information mentioned above, then the next step to take is to look for a student loan that is right for you. All student loans are not the same because not all payment plans are suitable for all. Gather as much information as you can so that you can choose from the options available for you.

3. Types of student loan

There are five types of loans available for student expenses: subsidized (based on financial need, and the government will subsidize the interest charges until education is completed), unsubsidized (no financial need, interest accrual starts immediately), direct PLUS loans (Parent Loan to Undergraduate Student), private loans, and home equity loans.

4. Differentiate and compare student loans

Each of the student loans is at least slightly different. Compare and contrast the types of student loans so that you can narrow down your decision process. They are different in terms of payment terms, grace period, or penalties.

5. Financial Need Student Loans

This type of student loan has a low interest rate and is from the federal government for students with financial need. The interest rate in this type of loan doesn’t begin until the student has begun repayment of the amount thus making it easier and cheap if compared with other student loans.

6. Non-Financial Need Student Loans

This is quite similar to the financial need student loan, the only difference is that it is not based on the financial need of the family and the interest rate starts while the student is still in school.

7. Federal PLUS (Parent Loan for Undergraduate Students)

This type of student loan is not based on the financial needs of the student. The parents of the child could apply for this type of student loan. It also doesn’t consider the family’s income or asset when applying for a student loan. The amount of eligibility is based on the educational expense minus other loans, grants and scholarships t he student qualifies for.

8. Private Loans

The ones that are offering this type of loans are usually companies, banks, and financial institutions. These firms provide private student loans for both undergraduate and graduate students. The interest rates in this type of loan are actually high so it is not really recommended for students to choose this type of loan.

9. Home Equity Loans and Lines Of Credit

In this type of student loan, a home equity loan or line of credit is the way homeowners pay for your college education. One possible advantage here is a tax deductible interest.

10. Choose and manage well

From the different types of student loans mentioned above, choose one or more that is suitable for your needs and your budget. Be sure that once you have chosen the type of student loan that you like, you could actually manage it well and handle the problems that comes along the way.

Student loans were made for two reasons. One is to help the student financially in their quest for higher education, and the other reason is to help them be mature individuals. By having student loans, a student is able to face responsibilities which are really essential once that they step beyond their learning years into everyday life.

Remember though that these loans do eventually have to be paid back, after graduation if not sooner.

By: Dennis Becker

Student Loans Made Easy

admin — Wed, 26 May 2010 19:46:28 +0000

You can always get a student’s loan if you are running out of money to meet expenses pertaining to tuition fees, books, dorm fees and some other charges. The Education Department offers a program called student financial aid direct loans which helps needy students to get through college. This method of lending money to students is simple and inexpensive. You can qualify for this type of loan in case your school recognizes this kind of student loan. For availing this you may have to complete a master promissory note which can explain the loan terms. It will also be the legal binding agreement so that you make repayments to the Department.

There are four types of repayment plans to choose from namely the graduated, standard, income contingent and extended. From these you can choose which one could suit your needs the best way. In the standard plan you can pay your monthly repayments in a fixed manner till you complete the entire loan amount. You can choose the Standard plan if you can make higher amounts as monthly repayments. The graduated repayment method is one in which you can start by repaying a smaller amount and increase it slowly over time. When you expect an increase in your income over a period of time you can choose this plan.

The income contingent repayment can help you get through financial trouble as it is a very flexible plan. The monthly payment will be calculated based on the size of your family, your adjusted gross income and loan amount. The maximum repayment time for this is twenty-five years. If you have not paid your loan under this plan even after twenty-five years the unpaid portion will be discharged. However, taxes have to be paid on the discharged amount. You can also avail grants and scholarships to meet expenses while in college. Tuition loans are also offered by several institutions but this has to be repaid once your education is over. Many students apply for grants and scholarships as this the easiest and most convenient way to get your degree.

By: Mary W Johnson

Direct Student Loans – Lower Interest Rate, Easier Repayment

admin — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 09:06:09 +0000

Education in colleges can be very expensive and may force students to drop the idea of further pursuing their degree. But there is always the option of direct student loans for students to pay the high college education fees. So the student has not to worry at all. The interest rate of such loans is also low. Hence, students can easily pay their education fees without any tension and can get finish their education thereby joining their hands in the development of the nation.

Direct student loans are offered by the US Department of Education. They do not involve private lenders and hence, the student is taking a loan from the federal government directly. Direct student loans are available in two options: subsidized and unsubsidized, so that all students can avail this loan as per their requirement necessity and need. In case of subsidized rate plan till the college education of a student is over, he won’t be charged the subsidized rate of interest. Meanwhile, for an unsubsidized direct student loan, the interest rate is charged from the time of approval till the complete repayment. But the rate of interest of such loans is quite low as compared to subsidized direct student loans.

For repayment of direct student loans, the student has enough time, ranging from 10 to 25 years. If the student cannot manage to pay the loan amount on time, there are a lot of ways under direct student loans for deferring the payment, though the student may have to pay some penalties. The repayment duration of a direct student loan can also be extended.

A free form of Federal Student Aid, filled up, makes you a direct student loan candidate automatically. All you have to do is accept the fact that you’re ready to take the loan and the loan amount will be deposited into your account immediately.

By: Steve C Clark

How Student Loan Consolidation Can Help Students

admin — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 07:17:58 +0000

Basically loan consolidation is a means that merges all the loans taken by a particular borrower into one single loan. As a consequence the monthly repayments and the rates of interest are considerably reduced with a longer repayment period. In the case of student loan consolidation, the student who is the borrower will only have one single payment to make instead of paying to different lenders every month.

Students can avail of student-loan consolidation for federal loans like Perkins, Stafford, Direct loans and private education loans. In the federal student consolidation system, the existing loans are taken over by a company or by the Department of Education based on the type of loans that have been taken by the student. The interest rate for the consolidation will depend on the student loan rate of that particular year.

Actually this is a tool that is utilized by both the government and the lenders who are inclined to help students to bring their student loan debts.

One of the greatest benefits of such a system is that the student gets a much longer repayment period with lowered interest rates and you will not be paying more money by way of interest when you pay over a longer time period. Moreover you will only be making one monthly repayment instead of many.

Another advantage is, even if you happen to have bad credit you are not required to have any credit checks, nor are you liable to pay any penalty or extra fees with this sort of student loan consolidation.

The whole process of availing this loan system will take about two to three months and is not very complicated either. In case you are interested in taking a government student consolidation loan all details are available online. You will have to fill up an online application form. But there are also various other financiers who are offering student-loan consolidation in case you feel that you would like to take it from private people.

By: Jimmy Jenkins Ray

Student Loan Consolidation Information – What Is The William D Ford Direct Loan Plan

admin — Sun, 24 Jan 2010 05:40:33 +0000

At the time of researching your student loan consolidation information alternatives you need to examine the William D Ford Direct Loan Plan.

The Direct loan program began about 15 years ago and in reliable American fashion was used to remove the middle man, instead of having the banks, credit unions and other private businesses lend money to students and their parents, the Federal government loans the dollars directly.

Direct programs overlap in many areas, the alternative known FFELP (Federal Family Education Loan Program), the latter is the acronym for programs that work via private lenders, since they duplicate in a few ways the FFEL schemes, it is critical for lenders to target which program they want as both offer Stafford and PLUS loans, Direct loans have similar criteria for eligibility, they adhere to a similar need-based guidelines, or have similar credit check requirements for non-need-based services, providing similar programs according to a similar standard raises a natural question, how to pick between them?

In part the decision involves picking out which of two types to use, both provide customer service personnel to answer any questions, in a good number of cases the private lenders will be more flexible and helpful and the government more bureaucratic or indifferent, reading many of the forums, which can be accessed on-line could be the better way to obtain more information about which would best suit an individuals situation, with the growth of social networks it has become much easier to get a diverse set of views and opinions, many of these views are based less on objective criteria than personal taste, reading the posts may instantly allow a person to decide which side they favor.

More concrete differences between the two products do exist, though since FFELP loans are funded and serviced by private financial institutions who you sign a promissory note and could possibly not be who you re-pay the loan to, it is a basic practice for lenders to re-sell loans to other businesses, mortgage companies have been doing this all the time, you may have gone to the trouble to discover a lender and their services you like, you could have decided over and above the rate and repayment terms preferring their customer service and then for example finding the loan has been sold to another business, you may now be repaying the loan to a company you rejected, however in the situation of Direct loans since the Federal government is the lender the loans are not sold to any third party.

The most critical difference to many people will be the possibility that rates, charges and repayment terms could differ between the two, officially the interest rates of both Stafford and PLUS loans are fixed, nevertheless private lenders have some flexibility in other areas.

The lenders could possibly charge or not charge origination and insurance charges (officially assessed at 3% and 1% according to the Federal laws, which themselves are changing in the next few years). Though the fees are still there the lender may agree to absorb them in order to obtain your business, they could possibly modify the dates on which interest charges are calculated, or extend grace periods or lengthen the re-payment time.

The only way to find out what is available is to shop around much as you would for any other kind of loan and calculate the total cost of the loans, it is imperative to keep this information at hand when considering any student loan consolidation information.

By: Ian Wilkie