Student Financial Aid

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.

One of the toughest things to decide is to go to college and take out loans because you know that when you graduate you are going to have to pay the loans back. The reason many people take this path is because they don't know that there are many other possibilities for them to choose from. One of these possibilities is actually joining an online Internet business and I will be identifying three reasons why you should choose this over the college route.

#1 No Loans Needed To Get Started

In order to get started in an online Internet business you do not need any loans because there are many ways to start for an affordable investment. Believe me when I tell you that you would not be paying thousands of dollars and this is something that is very powerful because you're going to be learning a lot more than you would in any College. Many of the people that graduate from college graduate into debt but this is not going to be the case for you as you're probably going to graduate into profit.

#2 Earn As You Learn

As you continue to learn about your online Internet business and how you're going to be successful at it you will be able to earn as well by applying the lessons that you learn. This is very powerful because while you go to school you're not going to earn anything until you graduate. Not to mention that everything you earn will probably be going to paying your school loans for many years of your life.

#3 Build Your Future In 4 to 5 Years

You're going to be able to build your future in 4 to 5 years by being part of an online Internet business and this is the exact time that it will take you to graduate from college into debt. So you can literally say that in the time that it took someone to graduate you will probably have your business empire growing on a consistent basis.
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You may have heard the term "student loan forgiveness" before. However, most people simply assume that they will not be able to take advantage of these types of programs because they seem too good to be true. Student loan forgiveness programs literally forgive your debt. You do not have to pay it back. The end result is that you have basically had a "scholarship" for part or all of your college tuition and educational training.

However, you definitely will earn this "scholarship" if you receive it. Generally, student debt forgiveness is based on your career choice. If you choose a career in public service and remain in that career for a decade, then not only will the federal government forgive any remaining debt, but in some cases they will actually cut you a check for some of the payments that you did make over that period of time. And you may be surprised at the types of careers that can qualify you for student loan forgiveness. Examples of public service careers include not only firemen, policemen and community defense personnel, but also doctors and lawyers who work with underprivileged clients and people who do a variety of charitable works as part of their job.

If you believe that your career may qualify you for student loan forgiveness, then you should immediately start gathering documentation. For example, a yearly written job description from a supervisor, highlighting the things that you do to make your job "public service" can go a long way in this type of case. Also, make sure that you have documents proving how long you have been employed in that position. Go ahead and contact any relevant government programs to find out exactly what they will require for you to get your student loan forgiveness so you can gather as you go rather than waiting until your decade is up and then hoping you can make and prove your case. 

Of course, certain types of loans are more likely to qualify for college loan forgiveness than others. Federal student loans nearly always do. However, if you are a parent who has taken out a PLUS loan, you are probably not going to be eligible for student loan forgiveness regardless of you or your child's career choice. This does not rule out your chances at getting your loan forgiven entirely though. If there was a failure in the educational system where your child attended, then you may be able to make a case.

When it comes to student loan forgiveness, dedication and attention to detail is the key to your success. Make sure that you have thorough documentation of all your qualifying work. Be persistent but always polite to lender representatives and program aides. You will find that they are as eager as you are to find a way to help you get loan forgiveness if you qualify.

Cheap student loans are becoming harder and harder to come across due to the tightening of credit markets around the world. Cheap student loans are becoming particularly difficult to find in the private student loan sector, with more and more private lenders boosting their interest rates for less-than-ideal borrowers and other sorts of unique situations. If you are looking for cheap student loan financing then you need to become aware of your situation both in terms of options and personal circumstances so that you can eventually get the financing you need.

This means that you must first understand that private student loans are a credit-based loan product that will depend heavily on your personal credit and income. This means that to get the cheapest private student loan possible you must have both good credit and a good income, and if one of these are missing then you might not even be able to get approved by some private lenders. The better you credit score is the better interest rate you'll be able to secure and this will translate into less money you'll have to pay each month for your student loan.

Some of the best private student lenders that can offer you the cheapest college loans are the ones that offer what are called fast student loans. Fast student loans are essentially private college loans that don't have to be certified by the school you are attending, and for many students these kinds of loans can provide the additional layer of security that can allow them to get a great interest rate but at the same time save the most money. The private lenders that provide such fast student loans can be found all over the Internet, and these kinds of lenders will typically make it well known on both their website and in their advertising that they provide student loans that don't require school certification.

Once you apply for these kinds of fast student loans and you are approved then you can normally receive your money in less than two weeks, and the check can be sent straight to your home address. This will allow you to avoid any "rate-capping" or other sorts of practices that can keep you from getting the best rate for your student loan. As long as you have your application all ready to go you should have no trouble getting these types of college loans, and in the end that will mean more money in your pocket over the long-term.

The best student loan consolidation program is the program that offers you the lowest student debt consolidation interest rate as well as the best terms of agreement. To obtain the best offer, it requires a lot of time and effort in searching and evaluating the program which suits your needs most. There are 4 key steps you need to take to obtain the best deal.

Step 1:

Do thorough research

In order to get the lowest study loan consolidation interest rate for yourself, you need to put in some hard effort. Do some research either online or offline to find out more information about student debt consolidation from the banks and credit unions. You need to compile all the interest rates as well as the basic terms and benefits offered by the lenders.

Step 2:

Do comparison carefully

The interest rates for student loan consolidation may vary from one program to another. You are advised to make a comparison chart by listing all the interest rates and terms offered. By looking at the chart, you are able to see clearly which financial institutions are offering the lowest loan consolidation interest rate. 
  
Step 3:

Evaluate all the terms offered

After comparing the interest rates, you are then required to evaluate the terms and benefits offered. You are reminded not to look at the interest rate only, you need to consider all the terms offered to you. You should not choose the program which offers you the lowest interest rate but all the terms are not in favor of you.

Step 4:

Negotiate further

Before making your final decision, it is recommended that you should find the opportunity to negotiate with the lenders further. You may stand a chance to negotiate for a lower interest rate or better terms. 

By taking the 4 key steps above, you may stand a better position to reduce your student loan and save some costs.