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APPLYING FOR LOANS? KNOW THE STEPS YOU NEED TO TAKE. |
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For anyone planning to take out federal and/or private loans, this will be an important and very imformative Facebook Live. Just this week I spoke with a parent who thought the Parent Plus Loan she applied for was offered by the college her child was attending. She didn't realize the Parent Plus Loan is from the government or that she had other options besides that loan.
This is just one example of the confusion famiies have. Don't be avoid to ask questions. No question is too silly to ask. Feel free to send in any questions by emailing me at Debbie@Road2College.com.
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DO YOUR RESEARCH. GET PREQUALIFIED FOR PRIVATE LOANS.
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| If you didn't know, the months of May through August are know as "Loan Season" because it's the time of year that many families need to turn towards federal and private loans to cover their funding gap.
As with all parts of the college process, it's important to do your research, and that applies to deciding what loan to take and with which lender.
First off, everyone who will borrow needs to max out the federal Direct loans first. The interest rate and repayment options will be the best any student will have access to.
If your family needs more than the maximum allowed through the Direct loans, I suggest you do a few things: - Estimate how much you may have to borrow for all 4 years of college. By just worrying about the financial needs for freshman year you're not being realistic about what your borrowing needs are to get through college and if you can handle it all.
- Talk with your student about their potential career aspirations and if the future salary will be enough to handle the monthly debt payments. I like using the New York Times Student Loan Calculator which shows you the salary required to comfortably handle different monthly loan payment amounts.
- Get prequalified! More lenders are offering to prequalify students and cosigners so you know if you'll be approved and an estimated interest rate.
Find out more about student loan prequalification. I've posted this article a few times in the Paying For College 101 group because I wasn't sure members were paying attention. Prequalification is easy to do and will give you good information to make better decisions. read more here.... |
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| We released the first round of our 2018 Merit & Need Aid Survey results. Since April we've been anonymously collecting information from families about the financial aid and merit scholarships they were offered by colleges. We're continuing to gather this information through the summer, but you can download the first release of the results. Any updates to the information will be automatically emailed to those that have previously downloaded the results. |
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COLLEGE ADMISSIONS GRADE BY GRADE: WHAT TO DO NOW..... |
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12th Grade...We're still collecting as much info as families are willing to anonymously share about the financial aid and merit scholarships they were offered. "Pay it forward" to families that will be going through the college admissions process next year, share your information in our 2018 Merit and Financial Aid Survey.
We know getting into college is just the first step and the journey continues in college and post graduation. We recently created a new group to help parents with financial decisions while their student is in college and post graduation. Join us at Paying Off Student Loans 101. |
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QUESTIONS ABOUT PAYING FOR COLLEGE?
QUESTIONS ABOUT PAYING BACK STUDENT LOANS?
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If this newsletter no longer fits your needs, consider receiving our new newsletter, focusing on financial issues related to students currently in college or recently graduated. Sign up here. |
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