If you are planning to attend college or the parent of a child you hope
will attend college, I’m sure you are concerned over how you are going
to be able to afford the process. A college education in many cases is a
significant investment. The good news is that there are many options
for the average family when it comes to paying the high costs involved
in higher education.
Types of Financial Assistance for Educational Expenses
Scholarships. You will find that scholarships come in many different
shapes and sizes and have all kinds of strange requirements in order to
qualify to receive them. Some are based on need while others are based
on merit. You will also find that there are many community and faith
based organizations that offer scholarships in addition to certain
corporations that offer scholarships in a gesture of good will to
employees and the children of their employees. These are an excellent
source of educational funding, as they do not need to be repaid.
Federal Pell Grants. This is another financial aid source that doesn’t
require repayment. However, you must qualify based on need in order to
receive this particular type of college assistance. You can only obtain a
Pell grant if you are an undergraduate college student who has not yet
earned a college degree. There is a formula that is used to determine
the amount of award for which you are eligible. This depends greatly on
your means as a family and how much you can realistically expect to
contribute towards the cost of your education.
Loans. This should be used as a last resort when it comes to paying your
college expenses, as this is money that must be repaid with interest.
There are several types of loans that are available and you should
consider carefully and weigh your options before taking out a loan.
However, if this is the only method you have for covering the cost of
your tuition it will be money well spent once you’ve managed to repay
the debt.
1) Student loans. There are three different types of student loans:
subsidized, unsubsidized, and Perkins loans. You must qualify in order
to receive an unsubsidized loan, which will put off your interest
accumulation until after graduation or you cease to be enrolled the
minimum number of hours. You do not however, need to qualify in order to
receive an unsubsidized student loan, which will begin accruing
interest immediately. If you happen to be in exceptional financial need
you can apply through your university for a Perkins loans. These are low
interest loans that must be repaid to the university.
2) Parent Loans. These are commonly referred to as PLUS loans (parent
loan for undergraduate students). These loans allow parents to borrow
the money required to cover the costs of education that are not covered
by other means of financial assistance. Repayment on these loans begins
60 days after the funds are transferred and can take up to 10 years.
3) Private loans. These loans are not guaranteed and are solely
credit-based loans. They do not however, have the same limited scope
that government loans have and in many cases can help bridge the gaps in
actual educational expenses and the amount of money that you are
allowed to borrow through traditional financial aid opportunities.
Before signing up for any particular sort of financial aid it is a good
idea to see a financial aid counselor at the university you are planning
to attend. They will have the best information about what steps you
need to take in order to apply for financial aid at that specific
universities and unique scholarship or grant opportunities that might be
available to you through your state or the college. Higher education is
a dream that is definitely worth having. Do not allow financial
limitations to keep you from your goal if possible but enter into all
financial arrangements with great caution and thought
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