student loans?
Asked by ohioiandoes anyone have any tips on student loans?
Favorite Answer
Answered by lilhottiebug
Ok, I used to work for College Loan Corporation out here in San Diego... basically you fit into two categories: dependent or independent borrower. If you are 25 or older, have children, are married, or have every been part of the military (any one of these things) you are INDEPENDENT. If you are none of these things then you are dependent. When you go to fill out a FAFSA (free-application-for-federal-student-aid) it will ask you questions according to these two categories to find out how much money you are elegible for. Obviously if you are more on your own, they will help you more; if you are more dependent on your 'rents they will give you less because they assume your parents will help in some way anyway. Your loans do NOT accrue interest while you are going to school at least 1/2 time or more. After you graduate or stop going to school entirely you have a 6 month 'grace period' before you have to start making payments on your loan (that's also when you start accruing interest). Here's where the government gets ya' though... your interest rate is VARIABLE which means that every year congress can decide to RAISE the rates or LOWER the rates; and here you are completely at the whim of a group of people from 'up on th hill.' My advice is that you "consolidate" your student loans (which basically means you lock in your rate at whatever the current rate is at the time for the life of the loan) during that 6 month grace period; this way you won't be subject to different payment amounts every year depending on what the rate is for that year. Student loans to some people can be a nightmare; it's because they don't take the time to understand what they're all about before they sign their name on the dotted line. As long as you know all the rules and 'ins-and-outs' before signing, they aren't that scary. Good luck in school!
Ok, I used to work for College Loan Corporation out here in San Diego... basically you fit into two categories: dependent or independent borrower. If you are 25 or older, have children, are married, or have every been part of the military (any one of these things) you are INDEPENDENT. If you are none of these things then you are dependent. When you go to fill out a FAFSA (free-application-for-federal-student-aid) it will ask you questions according to these two categories to find out how much money you are elegible for. Obviously if you are more on your own, they will help you more; if you are more dependent on your 'rents they will give you less because they assume your parents will help in some way anyway. Your loans do NOT accrue interest while you are going to school at least 1/2 time or more. After you graduate or stop going to school entirely you have a 6 month 'grace period' before you have to start making payments on your loan (that's also when you start accruing interest). Here's where the government gets ya' though... your interest rate is VARIABLE which means that every year congress can decide to RAISE the rates or LOWER the rates; and here you are completely at the whim of a group of people from 'up on th hill.' My advice is that you "consolidate" your student loans (which basically means you lock in your rate at whatever the current rate is at the time for the life of the loan) during that 6 month grace period; this way you won't be subject to different payment amounts every year depending on what the rate is for that year. Student loans to some people can be a nightmare; it's because they don't take the time to understand what they're all about before they sign their name on the dotted line. As long as you know all the rules and 'ins-and-outs' before signing, they aren't that scary. Good luck in school!
