Finding the Best Place to get College Loan

Author: Sally Croft

Financial meltdown has brought difficult times to everyone; students are no exception to it. College education is becoming even harder with unfriendly market place. Close to 93 lenders, who where hitherto offering Federal Family Education Loan Program have stopped the offering loans to students, making it harder to secure any kind educational funding for college education. While the Department of Education has announced increased borrowal limits for students by way of direct loans, the government has also planning to take initiative to reduce the impact of financial crunch by directing surplus finance with home loan banks towards student loan financing.

Best Place to get College Loan

Students can still get the best of student loans from various sources. Here are examples of few places from where one can get some of the best student loan deals.

Scholarships and Financial Aid Programs – When searching for funding options, students should first explore financial aid programs like scholarships and grants that come at zero cost. Filing a FAFSA application form enables you to find a chance of obtaining federal financial aid need based programs. While you have explored the scholarship and grant options, it is important to exhaust Stafford and PLUS loan options and work study programs. If the cost of your education is met with the above options, student loans will never come into picture.
Federal Loan Options – With relaxation offered by the Department of Education, Stafford loans are easily available to students especially those who have declared their financial need via FAFSA application. While the cost of subsidized Stafford loans is offered at a fixed rate of 6 %, unsubsidized Stafford loans are offered at 6.8%. The cost of private student loans range from 4.5% to 13%. PLUS loans are also one of the best student loan options. The loan is offered to parents of students pursuing college education. The cost of PLUS loans vary between 7.9 and 8.5%. The best place to know about the optimal federal loan options is through the college financial aid office. Not only you come to know about the federal options, but also about programs specific to students of the college or community as the case may be.
Peer to Peer Lending - Relatively a new concept in the block, peer to peer lending is a method in which the students fill out a form in which the details about their course, college and the finance required. The form is posted over the net. Anybody visiting the site, friends, family or even investors look into the requirement and accordingly decide about funding the requirement. Once it is decided, the website posting the requirement will formalize an agreement between the parties. The cost of borrowing varies between 6 to 10% or sometimes even more. It is just a beginning; it will still take some time to know the success of this option.
Private Lending – After the financial meltdown, private lenders have substantially increased the credit points required to qualify for a private student loan option. While it was 620 points of credit score earlier, it has been increased to 650 and even 700 points in case of certain lenders. Hence only those students who qualify for this condition are offered student loans.

Students have a range of options to choose from, hence it is upto you them to clinch the best deal from whatever is being offered.

Tags: College Loans, Federal Loans, Financial Aid Programs, scholarships, student
Posted in Federal School Loan, Financial Advice, Scholarship | No Comments »

Dec

Top Financial Aid Options for Students in 2010

Author: Sally Croft

If you have set attending college or university as one of your priorities for 2010, finding money for your tuition will be one of the major obstacles you will encounter. As colleges and universities continue to grapple with the reduced government support as a direct result of the financial crisis, universities have had to increase their fees to offset the gap left by budgetary support. This is then translated into more pressure on students who now have to seek out innovative ways of accessing funding to finance their higher education. Here we will discuss some sources of financial aid accessible to students for educational year 2010.

Free Application for Federal Student Aid

FAFSA offers students a variety of options through which they can gain assistance that can fund their higher education for 2010. To access these services, students must complete a FAFSA application by supplying information on themselves and their parents. FAFSA allows students to choose the type of financial assistance they desire ranging from work-study programs, federal student loans or federal grants.

Student Work-Study Program

The work-study program entails a process where students are given employment positions at their universities. Some of the most common posts offered include positions at the bookstore, library or dining hall. Here, all salary is derived from the student’s working hours will be largely credited to their tuition account. Depending on the type of salary you earn, some student-work programs can cover the entire cost of their tuition and even provide extra pocket money.

Federal Student Loans

Under the federal student loan system, students can access federal funding for their education in 2010 at low and consistent interest rates. This loan must be repaid after graduation and the six-month grace period has expired. There are three main federal loans offered to students. Stafford loans are offered to all students irrespective of their financial condition. Perkins are offered to students facing financial difficulties and are awarded on a case-by-case basis and PLUS loans that are used as supplementary loans will cover all remaining tuition expenses not covered by both Stafford and Perkins loans. However, unlike the Stafford and Perkins loans, 2010 students must begin paying interest on their PLUS loans immediately after the loan has been disbursed.

Federal Grants

Fortunately, students for the college year 2010 have more federally funded grants than students in previous years. Under the financial stimulus package, the government has floated billions of dollars in grants for individuals who want to upgrade or retool to face the employment challenges that will arise when the economy recovers. These grants are paid directly to universities once accessed by students. Happily, unlike student loans, students are not required to repay the amounts received from grants but they must be reminded that some states may bond them to contributing to national development arising from their contribution to their education. Student grants are in high demand, so students must be proactive in their application as they are given on a first come first serve basis.

Scholarships

Many private institutions offer student scholarships as a part of their civic duty. These scholarships are awarded based on various criteria ranging from extraordinary educational achievements, financial condition or physical restrictions or capabilities. Companies are also encouraged by the tax system, as they receive various tax discounts on the level of support they offer to educational development.

Private Bank Loans

Private bank loans should be your last option as this is the most expensive means of funding your college education for 2010. Private bank loans are generally accessed only after you have exhausted all other options through the federal student loan system. Bank student loan interest rates will fluctuate with market conditions and generally have higher interest rates and more stringent loan conditions.

Tags: Federal Student Loan, financial aid, grants, Private Bank Loans, scholarships
Posted in Federal School Loan, Financial Advice, Scholarship | 6 Comments »

Sep

Wells Fargo Loan Consolidation

Author: Sally Croft

Students with too much debt can handle their finances effectively by opting for loan consolidation. This helps eliminate multiple payments every month; instead they make a single payment with a lower interest rate. Though the reduction in interest rate through consolidation of loan cannot improve the credit score immediately, it can definitely help in managing student loans.

Wells Fargo Loan Consolidation

Students can pursue higher education with the help of proper funding. Though some of them are able to source their funding through scholarships or grants, most of them opt for good loan programs to manage their funding. There are many capable private lenders who manage student loans effectively. Wells Fargo is one private lender that has been in the business for many years and is one of the most trusted names in student financial aid.

Loan consolidation from the Wells Fargo is very simple to get through an easy process. It offers valuable advice to students who are looking at consolidating their loans and those who want to pursue their higher education. The Stafford loan is one of the most common Federal student loans available. It can be subsidized or unsubsidized and repayment is usually done in 10 years. The repayment of these student loan do not start until 6 months after students complete their education or 6 months after completion of part-time status at a college or university. With the help of a Wells Fargo Student Loan consolidation the loan can be extended to 20 years and the payments can be reduced to as little as half of what they were paying per month.

One Easy Payment

Wells Fargo Student Loan Consolidation can consolidate the various Federal student loans as well as other forms of loans into one easy payment. For consolidation, Wells Fargo is not particular about whether the loans are federal or private loans (http://www.studentloaninfo.org/blog/private-student-loans-dismissing-the-myths/) or whether they are from Wells Fargo or other lending companies. When students consolidate their variable rate federal loans during their grace period, they can save a lot of money. They also need not pay any origination during disbursement or any prepayment penalty if they decide to repay the debt early. Also, there is no minimum loan balance required to consolidate loans with Wells Fargo.

Points to be Considered for Wells Fargo Student Loan Consolidation

When opting for a Wells Fargo student loan consolidation, the following factors needs to be kept in mind:

Federal loans can be added to the consolidation during the first 180 days after disbursement. If it is after 180 days, students can reapply for a different loan.
If another consolidation loan is applied for, the interest rate might change and may be even more than the current interest rates. This can increase the timeframe for repayment.
The timeframe for the loan application to be approved by Wells Fargo is about two months. During this period, students need to continue make their regular loan payments.
Students need to apply for consolidation on their own.
There is no minimum loan balance needed for consolidation of loans.
Students can access their account online to make their payments easily and keep track of their consolidation payments.

Tags: Federal Student Loans, repayment, scholarships, student loan, student loan consolidation, Wells Fargo, Wells Fargo Loan Consolidation
Posted in Federal School Loan, Student Loan, student loan consolidation | 1 Comment »