Recent studies indicate that two out of every three college seniors will have to payoff a student loans debt of approximately $22,000, and that debt is increasing every year.
The cost of college has been rising at about twice the inflationary rate and because of the state of the economy it's getting more and more challenging for students to get the financial help they need to help take care of their educational needs. Because the number of available grants and scholarships have declined many students are now using credit cards to finance their education. That's a very scary situation with credit card interest rates being as high as they are.
In order to alleviate potential problems, many students are now doing whatever they can while they're still in school to pay off their student loans debt. This way the financial burden will not be as great once they graduate.
Here are seven ways to lower your student loan debt. Some are for those still in school and others for those of you who have already graduated:
1. Go to your campus employment office and see if there is a work-study program. Although work-study jobs often pay minimum wage, the money you save can really add up over the course of your college education.
2. Get an internship during summer vacation. If you can save even half the money you earn you can substantially reduce your student loan debt once you graduate.
3. Go to your campus financial aid office and find out if your school offers financial aid programs for its students.
4. Apply for as many scholarships as you can. The more you apply for the better your odds. If 10% of the scholarships you apply for accept you and you apply for 100 scholarships you will get 10 scholarships. Even though it's a lot of work now it can save you many thousands of dollars and help you to sleep more easily in the future.
5. Apply for grants such as the Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant Program (FSEOG), the Federal Pell Grant, and the Leveraging Educational Assistance Partnership (LEAP).
6. Perform volunteer work in exchange for reducing your student loan debt. You can consider joining the Peace Corps or Americorps. As an alternative you can teach or provide medical or legal services in a number of low-income areas.
7. Start investigating student loan consolidation. After graduation, if you consolidate student loans, you will be able to combine all of your loans into one loan that can offer you a lower interest rate as well as extend the amount of time you have to repay your loans.
Student loan consolidation can potentially knock literally hundreds of dollars per month off your loan payments.
The cost of college has been rising at about twice the inflationary rate and because of the state of the economy it's getting more and more challenging for students to get the financial help they need to help take care of their educational needs. Because the number of available grants and scholarships have declined many students are now using credit cards to finance their education. That's a very scary situation with credit card interest rates being as high as they are.
In order to alleviate potential problems, many students are now doing whatever they can while they're still in school to pay off their student loans debt. This way the financial burden will not be as great once they graduate.
Here are seven ways to lower your student loan debt. Some are for those still in school and others for those of you who have already graduated:
1. Go to your campus employment office and see if there is a work-study program. Although work-study jobs often pay minimum wage, the money you save can really add up over the course of your college education.
2. Get an internship during summer vacation. If you can save even half the money you earn you can substantially reduce your student loan debt once you graduate.
3. Go to your campus financial aid office and find out if your school offers financial aid programs for its students.
4. Apply for as many scholarships as you can. The more you apply for the better your odds. If 10% of the scholarships you apply for accept you and you apply for 100 scholarships you will get 10 scholarships. Even though it's a lot of work now it can save you many thousands of dollars and help you to sleep more easily in the future.
5. Apply for grants such as the Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant Program (FSEOG), the Federal Pell Grant, and the Leveraging Educational Assistance Partnership (LEAP).
6. Perform volunteer work in exchange for reducing your student loan debt. You can consider joining the Peace Corps or Americorps. As an alternative you can teach or provide medical or legal services in a number of low-income areas.
7. Start investigating student loan consolidation. After graduation, if you consolidate student loans, you will be able to combine all of your loans into one loan that can offer you a lower interest rate as well as extend the amount of time you have to repay your loans.
Student loan consolidation can potentially knock literally hundreds of dollars per month off your loan payments.
Comments (0)
Post a Comment