Growing up hearing about how long it took my parents to pay off their student loans (they only paid them back halfway through my childhood, maybe longer) even with working super hard and being frugal, in many ways I'm glad I didn't go to college because I am not dogged by student loan debt. However, for some people, especially with their chosen career path, student debt is inevitable. Here's some ways you can do it smarter.
One of the most important things you have to think about when graduating is how are you planning to pay school fees because, believe it or not, this can limit your choices when it comes to where you want to study and the degree you want to earn. You might be a genius and can guarantee yourself a full scholarship in a fancy school, or might be lucky enough to have parents that have enough money saved. However, when it comes to education, taking larger investments, generally means that you would have to end up opting for student loans.
Most students graduate with debts that weigh them down for the rest of their lives so we thought of giving you a few tips for taking out student loans.
Fill a free application for federal student aid
The FAFSA is what universities and the government use to determine which student loans and benefits you’re eligible for. You have to fill it whenever it becomes available every year.
Federal loans are so much better than personal loans, which can make your life harder and tend to add much more pressure. The interest rates are usually fixed, unlike the personal loans, which increase annually, even though sometimes student aid loans have increased interest rates, it will still be better than applying for private loans.
Look for free money
There are plenty of websites that give you the opportunity to apply for different scholarships and grants, where you can get money to earn your degree and would not be required to pay it back. Some people would even go as far by putting up a GoFundMe page, although this may be a bit too much for some cases. When applying for FAFSA, you’re not only applying for federal student loans but you’re also applying for scholarships and benefits (grants) covered by the governments and that is absolutely free to you. You will also need to use other tools and websites to try to get the most of the private grants or scholarships that you qualify for.
Consider taking private loans
What if it’s still not enough, or one of the first two options did not work for you? You can now try to go for a private loan. The options seen at https://www.loanry.com/ will provide you with lenders who are willing to help repay your debts. These kinds of services generally offer a variety of options from which you can pick from. There are different types and categories of loans and lenders other than banks and financial institutions, so make sure you evaluate your options so that you’re able to repay it easily. Keep in mind that you will need to understand the ratio of your debt to your income, especially in the first year and have high credit scores, so you borrow more.
Plan your debts
Calculate your debts, compare it with your income and make sure you’re easily covered. Having lower credit scores or a hard time repaying your debt can last more than 10 years and you don’t want to plan 10 years of lost energy instead of 10 years of success after graduating with a degree in whatever field you dream about.
If you think you are going to struggle, don’t worry because there are many ways in which you can find lenders who are willing to help refinance your debts and repay your loans, you just have to be careful with selecting and choose the best one for you.
Get a career in public service
In certain jobs related to the government, they give you benefits such as planning your repayment terms based on your monthly salary, so it can be easier for you as a public school teacher, or if you’re working at the military for example. There are plenty of options that could be interesting and beneficial for your career and will definitely help with your debts.
Leverage on that career
If you work for 10 years in a non-profit, governmental setting and after meeting certain criteria, you can apply for a pardon where the party you’re working for will offer to pay or forgive your loans over 120 qualified payments. If this option is appealing to you then make sure you pick the loans that qualify and make sure it’s something you will want to do because you might not always get the job you had hoped for.
For those of us who knew that they weren’t going to miss high school, we really looked forward to going away to earn a degree and had plenty of daydreams about how this will be a chance for us to feel better about our education and our lives, so make sure you take all the steps towards not ruining the next 10 years of your life.
Most students graduate with debts that weigh them down for the rest of their lives so we thought of giving you a few tips for taking out student loans.
Fill a free application for federal student aid
The FAFSA is what universities and the government use to determine which student loans and benefits you’re eligible for. You have to fill it whenever it becomes available every year.
Federal loans are so much better than personal loans, which can make your life harder and tend to add much more pressure. The interest rates are usually fixed, unlike the personal loans, which increase annually, even though sometimes student aid loans have increased interest rates, it will still be better than applying for private loans.
Look for free money
There are plenty of websites that give you the opportunity to apply for different scholarships and grants, where you can get money to earn your degree and would not be required to pay it back. Some people would even go as far by putting up a GoFundMe page, although this may be a bit too much for some cases. When applying for FAFSA, you’re not only applying for federal student loans but you’re also applying for scholarships and benefits (grants) covered by the governments and that is absolutely free to you. You will also need to use other tools and websites to try to get the most of the private grants or scholarships that you qualify for.
Consider taking private loans
What if it’s still not enough, or one of the first two options did not work for you? You can now try to go for a private loan. The options seen at https://www.loanry.com/ will provide you with lenders who are willing to help repay your debts. These kinds of services generally offer a variety of options from which you can pick from. There are different types and categories of loans and lenders other than banks and financial institutions, so make sure you evaluate your options so that you’re able to repay it easily. Keep in mind that you will need to understand the ratio of your debt to your income, especially in the first year and have high credit scores, so you borrow more.
Plan your debts
Calculate your debts, compare it with your income and make sure you’re easily covered. Having lower credit scores or a hard time repaying your debt can last more than 10 years and you don’t want to plan 10 years of lost energy instead of 10 years of success after graduating with a degree in whatever field you dream about.
If you think you are going to struggle, don’t worry because there are many ways in which you can find lenders who are willing to help refinance your debts and repay your loans, you just have to be careful with selecting and choose the best one for you.
Get a career in public service
In certain jobs related to the government, they give you benefits such as planning your repayment terms based on your monthly salary, so it can be easier for you as a public school teacher, or if you’re working at the military for example. There are plenty of options that could be interesting and beneficial for your career and will definitely help with your debts.
Leverage on that career
If you work for 10 years in a non-profit, governmental setting and after meeting certain criteria, you can apply for a pardon where the party you’re working for will offer to pay or forgive your loans over 120 qualified payments. If this option is appealing to you then make sure you pick the loans that qualify and make sure it’s something you will want to do because you might not always get the job you had hoped for.
For those of us who knew that they weren’t going to miss high school, we really looked forward to going away to earn a degree and had plenty of daydreams about how this will be a chance for us to feel better about our education and our lives, so make sure you take all the steps towards not ruining the next 10 years of your life.