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Useful Tips About a Student Loan Application (Page 1 of 2)
Since there are not many people who can finance a college education without some sort of financial assistance, at some point most students will have to fill out at least one student loan application. This process can be daunting, but fear of completing a student loan application is no reason to give up on higher education. Unfortunately, sometimes the easiest student loans to apply for are those with the most unfavorable terms.
For this reason, any student who is attempting to procure financial aid should become familiar with the types of loans available and the student loan application procedures that need to be followed in order to qualify for these loans.
FAFSA: The First Step in Financing an Education
The Free Application for Federal Student Aid or FAFSA is the most important scholarship and student loan application that any student must complete. It is also frequently the most complex and tedious application for students and their parents. This is because the FAFSA requires a lot of detailed financial information, including tax returns, from both students and parents. While the application requires time, this form is essential for all students. Filing a FAFSA is not only the sole method of obtaining federal funding for education including Stafford Loans, but this exhaustive form is also a prerequisite for most state and institution based loan programs. Since these types of loan programs tend to offer the most favorable terms for students, filing a FAFSA should be every student’s first step in the financial aid process.
Applying for Federal Aid
Even though the FAFSA is free and can be completed online, its exhaustive nature causes too many students to give up and accept private loans with high interest rates and unfavorable repayment terms. A little preparation can help families avoid this undesirable situation, however. Anyone seeking financial aid should be sure to file a tax return as early as possible. As soon as the tax return is done, families should gather the completed return, bank statements and financial paperwork and fill out the FAFSA. Having paperwork on hand will make the process go more quickly, and early filing is crucial in ensuring eligibility for the maximum amount of aid available. It is imperative that families not only file the form before the FAFSA deadline but before the deadlines for individual school and private loan programs. A completed FAFSA is frequently required before students can even submit any other student loan application, and often these deadlines are earlier than the federal deadline.
School Based Financial Aid
Most higher education institutions have financial offices and offer many forms of financial aid and counseling to their students. While a FAFSA is usually required to qualify for school based programs, there are also additional applications to fill out. Since the deadlines for school based aid are often very early, every student should contact the financial aid office of his or her school as soon as a matriculation decision is made and obtain the necessary paperwork. This paperwork will often include a general financial aid application, applications for specific scholarships and a student loan application for any loans offered specifically by the school. These applications may require personal information in addition to the financial information required for the FAFSA.
Private Student Loans
Private financial companies including banks or other specialized educational money lenders provide private student loans for students. It is one of the different types of loans available for the students to continue their higher education when they do not have the money to do so.
Private student loans have all the features of various government loans, and can be the best choice for those in search of educational finance. They have higher loan limits with attractive interest rates. Similar to the federal loans, they also have a grace period and students do not need to start repaying them prior to the completion of studies.
The grace periods of the loans vary from company to company and can be from six months to 12 months. Even though private student loans offer lower interest rates, they can be a little higher than the government loan interest rates, but much lower than other private loans. Unlike government loans, there are overhead charges often called origination fees, which are applicable at the time of the loan processing.
Private student loans are based on the credit history of the applicant or of the co-signer. This type of loan is utilized by students who are not able to pay for their educations without a loan but cannot apply for federal loans due to the possession of assets beyond the qualifying limit or due to higher income of the family.
Private student loans are looked as an alternative to federal student loans for parents, known as PLUS (Parent Loans for Undergraduate Students) loan. Private student loans need not be paid back until graduation, whereas the repayment of PLUS loan starts soon after the procedures. Many international students can also acquire these private loans with the help of a co-signer. The loan amount is paid directly to the school by the lender and the remaining money is given to the student for living expenses. Due to a lower interest rate, these loans are widely used by students. Today, many companies also offer online private student loans.