Given that paying for a college education now rivals buying a house, it isn’t surprising the New York Fed reports that “Balances of student loans have eclipsed both auto loans and credit cards, making student loan debt the largest form of consumer debt outside of mortgages.” Faced with limited financial aid and the prospect of … Read more
When I went to college, back in the 80’s, my Pell Grant covered my tuition. My parents were usually able to help pay for books and my student loans and part-time jobs paid for room and board. Thanks to financial aid, I was able to graduate from an honors program at my state flagship university … Read more
There are two types of federal guaranteed student loans: subsidized and unsubsidized. The subsidy refers to the payment of interest while the student is attending school or is in a deferment or grace period. For qualified students, the federal government pays the interest on the loans and therefore “subsidizes” the student loan. Subsidized student loans … Read more
Parents do not automatically qualify for the federal Parent Loan for Undergraduate Students (PLUS). The PLUS loan application process includes a credit check. According to the Federal Student Aid website, parents with an adverse credit history will not qualify for a loan. An adverse credit history is defined as follows: Your credit history may be … Read more
Private education loans are loans to college students made by financial institutions such as banks and credit unions. The do not require students to complete the FAFSA and students receive the money directly from the lender. Many private loans appear to have lower interest rates than federal loans. However, these advertised rates are generally “best” … Read more
There are four types of federal loans. Three are loans to students and one is a loan to parents. The most common loan is the Direct Loan, formally known as the Stafford loan. These are direct loans to the student from the federal government. There are two types of Direct loans, subsidized and unsubsidized. Both … Read more
SAR stands for Student Aid Report and is what you receive after your FAFSA is processed. If you provided an email, you should receive a link to your SAR three to five days after submitting the FAFSA. If you submitted a paper version without an email address, it will take up to three weeks to … Read more
The simple answer is not to apply to any college that you can’t afford to attend. Of course, given that the vast majority of financial aid is awarded by colleges, most students don’t actually know if they can afford a college until they are accepted and have received their financial aid award letters. However, the … Read more
This fall’s college rankings have made earnings and return on investment a more prominent consideration when selecting a college. And with the ever increasing cost of college, this is a very reasonable reaction. However, ranking colleges by some form of graduates’ salaries has its own set of problems. Teachers simply don’t make as much as … Read more
