A recent study by the National Center for Education Statistics shows that 50% of recent college graduate have student loans, with an average student loan debt of $10,000. The average cost of college increases at twice the rate of inflation. With the rising costs of college, it is difficult for aspiring colleges students to get enough scholarships and grants to pay for college and basic necessities. More and more college students are forced to use credit cards to pay for basic essentials such as books and school supplies. According to the United Marketing Service (UCMS), the average number of credit cards per student is 2.8.
Here are 8 ways to help with paying off student loan debt:
1. Develop a plan. Develop a plan to pay off your student loan debt before you graduate.
2. Save your money. Each summer throughout your college education, get a job or internship. Save half the money in a high interest savings account such as http://www.emigrantdirect.com (5.05%). After a few months, consult a financial advisor to earn the highest possible return on your money. After college, you can use the money saved during all 4 years to pay down your college debt.
3. Use caution with consolidation. Consolidating student loans combines your loans into one payment, but may or may not provide you with a lower interest rate. Do extensive research before consolidating your student loans. In addition, you may not be eligible for various student loan forgiveness programs if you consolidate your student loans.
4. Exchange work to reduce debt. Perform volunteer work or work for the following in exchange for reducing student loan debt: teaching in certain locations with low-income students or areas with shortage of teachers, providing legal and medical services in low-income areas or working for Americorps or the Peace Corps.
5. Get a work-study job. To help pay for the costs of college get a work-study job on campus to help defray the cost of college. Go to your campus employee office to ask about their work-study program. Work study jobs pay at least the minimum wage for that state.
6. Apply for lots of scholarships. In recent years, money has been reduced from the budget for college scholarships so it is harder to get a scholarship to go to college. You can increase your changes of getting a scholarship by completing as many scholarship applications as you can. If you complete at least 50 you should receive at least 5 scholarships. Also, go to your campus financial aid office and ask about financial aid programs that the schools provides to students. Become friendly with the financial aid office employees who will alert you to financial aid programs when they become available. You can also search the internet for scholarships. Some scholarship websites are http://www.scholarships.com and http://www.scholarshiphelp.org.
7. Apply for grants. Apply for as many grants and scholarships as possible. You can also apply for federal grants such as the Federal Pell Grant (Pell Grant), the Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (FSEOG) Program, Leveraging Educational Assistance Partnership (LEAP), and National Science Scholars Program.
8. Protect your credit. Try to avoid making late payments on your student loans, if you do this will be reported on your credit report and can remain for up to seven years. If you are having financial hardship, call the student loan company and inform them of your situation, ask for a hardship or loan deferment to ensure your credit is not damaged until you are able to start making payments again.
Education is one of the most important accomplishments in life. However, with the increase of tuition fees, students tend to risk borrowing money in order to build their future. Like any other debt, student loans could influence your future decisions and your credit history. College students who borrowed an amount larger than $5,000 are not likely to pursue higher education. Additionally, when a student loan debt has exceeded eight percent of your income, it is seen as bad credit when assessed for further loans.
There are two approaches in reducing your student loan debt burden. First, you could eliminate or reduce the primary balance. Second, you could reduce the monthly total payment. Given that debts are measured by comparing your income to the loan payment, if your payment is reduced, it will help you in evaluating the credit. Based from a recent study, approximately 50% of the 2004 college graduates were able to finish their studies through student loans, with average borrowed money of $10,000. When interest rates of loans fall, your education loans could be consolidated or refinanced.
There are several kinds of student loans. However, the most common are the federal and private student loans. The U.S. Department of Education's Federal Student Aid programs manage the federally funded loans. The federal educational loan is the easiest kind to obtain. With a yearly fund of $60 billion, the U.S. government provides grants, work-study support and loans. On the other hand, private student loans are controlled by standard lending facilities. The most common student loan program could be obtained at renowned banks such as Citibank. These kinds of lenders usually charge high interest rates and provide unsecured loans.
Federal student loans are more advantageous compared to private student loans. The interests on federal loans are tax-deductible and on particular kinds of service, the student loan could be forgiven. You could also defer the payments if you decided to go back to school. On the contrary, private loans do not provide any benefit. Just like any other loan, they could be either secured or unsecured, and you are responsible to pay them back.
In consolidating your student debt, it is advisable not to mix the private and federal loans together. Be sure to consolidate every one of your federal student loans. Then, you could consolidate your private loans separately. If you were to combine both the federal and private loans in consolidating, all of the federal benefits will be ineffective. There are three scenarios to determine a person's eligibility in consolidating his federal student loans. First, the person should no longer be enrolled in school. Second, the person should be actively repaying the debt or at least be in the grace period of the loan. Lastly, consolidation companies require the customer to have a minimum loan amount. The average amount is $10,000.
There are many kinds of student debt consolidation plans offered. However, the majority of them offer the same services. These benefits include reducing the size of monthly payment, lowering the monthly payment by at least 30 percent or more, improvement of the overall credit rating and saving useful money.
When students do not consolidate their student loan debt, this will result in the inability to acquire future mortgages, car loans, credit cards, and other kinds of credit. Make sure to straighten up all your finances by using any consolidation options available. Choose the institution wisely, and have a credit-free life.
Both Harrine E. Freeman & Emanuele Allenti are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
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