Paying for College
Posted:
07 May 2009
Categories:
Choosing a College
Economy
Paying for College
Scholarships
FAFSA
Grants
Federal Student Loans
Stafford Loans
Parent PLUS Loans
Private Loans
For high school seniors and parents, this is an exciting time of year. After many years of hard work it is now time to decide where to go to college and how do I or my parents pay for it.
During this exciting period of choosing a college and beginning a new life, some of you away from home, many questions are going through your minds too. Where will I go to college, and where will my friends go? What will it be like? What courses will I take? Will I be prepared? Football games, parties, friends, large lecture halls…and the library! Keep in mind good grades are important and graduation is essential.
While the economy is certainly creating an additional challenge for many rising college freshmen and parents, the consistent theme should be, “What is the value of my education”. Sure, college should be fun, but try to think about what you are going to do when you graduate and for the many years that follow.
We here at Studentloans.com are fully aware of the challenges associated with paying for college. Paying for college is likely to be one of the biggest components to your decision in the next few months. Will you receive a grant or a scholarship? Will you take out student loans? Will your grandparents or parents pay for you, or will you need to fund school yourself or your future employer?
Since our business is the student loan business, friends, parents, teachers and even school administrators frequently ask “How should I pay for college?” While the answer varies, our initial suggestion is to complete the FAFSA – also known as the Free Application for Federal Student Aid. Sure, there has been a lot of press recently regarding the perceived difficulty associated with completing the FAFSA, but in all honesty, it really is very simple and straight forward to complete. Just go to www.FAFSA.gov and complete the online form.
All schools use the results from the FAFSA to determine financial aid that may be awarded to students and the Expected Family Contribution (EFC) that your family is expected to pay if you are not an independent student. If you need money to pay for college or university, make sure to explore all of your options. Make sure to maximize the use of grants and scholarships first! If you still need more money to pay for college, your next step should be to maximize federal student loans such as the Stafford student loan, which is a low interest loan in the student’s name. If your parents are willing to pay for your school, you should encourage them to evaluate a Parent PLUS Loan. After you have exhausted all no-cost money (grants and scholarships) and low-cost money (federal student loans), private student loans may be available. Please contact StudentLoans.com for help.
We wish you the best of luck!