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Deferred Student Loan Lender – Be Sure You Have All The Information
For college students, finding ways to afford their education is as challenging as getting into a good school. Most students receive student loans and do not fully comprehend their repayment schedules.
An interest deferred student loan is only one kind of loan available. It is conceivable to find a deferred student loan lender, but like all loans, each bears its own unique set of dangers and benefits. Each lending institution features its own set of rules for potential borrowers, and the search for affordable student loans may be your first serious educational quiz!
One deferred student loan lender, the Stafford Loan, requires no payments until after graduation, with an extra six-month grace period. Whatever amount borrowed will have to be repaid only after graduation, or if the student goes below part-time status or drops out of school. As long as the student remains enrolled at a qualified educational establishment, the loan’s interest is deferred.
Stafford Loans have 2 options, 1 in which the loan is given by the school and the other when a private lending institution grants the loan, which is assured by the federal government. In both situations, loan repayment requirements remain identical.
A Perkins loan, released by the school, is backed by funds made available by the government and the amount of funding is limited and reliant on financial constraints.
Other Loan Types
Additional non-deferred student loans available for students and their parents, such as the Federal Direct Parent Loan for Undergraduate Students, will grant a loan based on the amount charged by the school for classes and additional expenses less any scholarships or other aid received by the student. In this loan, repayment is slated begin within 60 days of the full amount being paid to the school.
The Federal Direct Graduate PLUS Loan offers a similar plan, complete with the same repayment demands.
For many unsubsidized loan agreements, money borrowed under a deferred student loan agreement will not entail repayment until after graduation. But, with many of these loans, interest will accrue from the date of the loan. Students are advised to make interest payments through the life of the loan or the interest amount will be added to the principal.
Most of these loans are awarded to students not qualifying for need-based assistance and they are considered unsecured loans. For many students that need a loan to make attending college plausible, there are deferred loans which delay repayment until after graduation. There are even some occupations that will let repayment to be deferred for up to 36 months. Make sure you know if you are dealing with a deferred student loan lender, and if you have signed up for an interest deferred student loan, make extra sure you understand the terms you agreed to and the repayment schedules. Always query the financial aid office at your school and make sure you complete your application, submitting all the necessary forms requested by the lenders. Prior to applying, be sure you have all the facts to make an enlightened decision, so that you don’t equate your higher education with higher interest rates!
Interest Rates
An interest rate is the amount charged on money borrowed or lent and is usually expressed on a per year basis. Interest rates can be either variable, meaning that the amount of interest charged varies due to the market, or fixed, meaning that the amount of interest charged will never change. There are three forms of interest rates: prime interest rate, nominal interest rate, and discount rate.
Historically, the prime interest rate is the lowest interest being charged at a specific place and time and is offered only to preferred customers. The interest rate charged by a bank is largely based on the risk of default that a borrower poses. A banks best customers obviously have a very low risk of default and thus the bank is able to afford to give these customers the best possible interest rate. These best customers are usually corporations.
The prime interest rate is usually approximately 3% above the federal funds rate, the rate by which a bank lends immediately available funds to another bank overnight. The Federal Open Market Committee meets eight times a year specifically to set the federal funds rate and the prime rate. The prime rate does not change on a regular basis as other interest rates do, only when banks come together and decide it must be changed. The prime interest rate is often used in order to measure a nations economic success and serves as the measuring stick for all other forms of interest rates.
The nominal interest rate, also known as the stated interest rate is a predetermined interest rate and often less than the effective interest rate which is the actual interest paid. This form of interest rate does not take inflation or any other factor into account and therefore is unreliable. In order to come up with the real interest rate we merely take the nominal rate and subtract form it the rate of inflation.
The effectiveinterest rates, mentioned above, is the interest rate on a loan that takes the nominal interest rate and adds to it annual compounded interest. Its also known as the Yield. It is different from the annual percentage rate because it usually does not incorporate one-time charges or other anomalies. Also, the effective interest rate does not have a legal definition. Its main purpose is to make loans easier to compare by converting any loan into the equivalent annual rate because different loans have different compounding terms. Keep in mind that the effective interest rate can be differently depending on the situation.
Lastly, there is the discount rate. This rate is what the Federal Reserve charges member banks on loans and determines the present value on future cash flows. This is a very limited form of borrowing and is usually pursued only after other means have been attempted. Each Federal Reserve Bank presents its discount rate to the board I order to be approved; therefore, not all discount rates will be the same for all 12 banks.