I have never hid my opinion from our readers that, if given a choice, federal student loans are far superior to private student loans. Federal student loans have lower interest rates, more favorable terms (such as income-based loan repayment), don’t require a co-signer, and freeze your repayments and interest while you’re in school. All these [...]
Yesterday, we talked about whether or not paying for college should be the parents’ responsibility. At the end of the post, I asked what you thought about cosigning a student loan. Is cosigning a great way for parents to help out their kids with the rising cost of college? Or is co-signing a slippery slope [...]
The credit crisis has everyone on edge. If you are planning to take out student loans to help pay for your college education, you, too, may be worrying about how this financial crisis is going to affect you. If your credit rating isn’t all that good, your worry is probably pretty intense. But before you [...]
According to this recent article on MSNBC, college students are scrambling for financial aid for next year: “The financing system for college is in real crisis,” said Barmak Nassirian, associate executive director of the American Association of College Registrars and Admissions Officers. “Every one of the participants in the system is experiencing hardship – higher [...]
Credit is retracting in nearly every sector – home mortgages are dwindling, business loans are down, car loans are non-existent. But there is one area in which credit has actually expanded: Government-backed, higher education loans. The total number of student loans made in 2008 is up 18.6% from 2007, according to an article in today’s [...]
October 6, 2008 by Mara Strom You can’t turn on the TV these days without being bombarded by financial doom and gloom. If you are a college student (or planning to be one in the near future), there is no doubt that current economic climate is going to have some kind of an impact on [...]
September 22, 2008 by Mara Strom A panel of financial aid experts thinks that America’s federal financial aid system needs a major overhaul. According to the Rethinking Student Aid study group, these changes include simplifying the application process (aka FAFSA, or the Free Application for Federal Student Aid) and increasing Pell grant maximums. The most [...]
July 15, 2008 by Mara Strom Some of you may be wondering whether qualifying for a federal loan is really that big of a deal. You figure money is money, and debt is debt. Plus, you’ve heard that applying for and getting accepted for a private loan is easier and faster. While it’s true that [...]
