Friday, November 30, 2007

Student Loan Tip: Finish school!

It's almost the end of the fall semester. Are you a struggling college student thinking about throwing in the towel and dropping out of school?

If you're living off of student loans, you had better suck it up and keep going. If you think your young life is painful now trying to keep up in class, you ain't seen nothing yet if you decide to enter back into the world with a load of student debt and no college degree.

You're not likely to pull down a good enough job to pay off your loans anytime soon. You could very easily find yourself holding down two jobs just to make ends meet and keep Sallie Mae off your back. You'll find yourself slaving away for long hours while you ponder, "Why in the world did I drop out of college?"

So suck it up. So what if your grades this semester won't be that great. This had better be motivation for you to get serious about your classes next year. Stop the partying and hole yourself up and study hard. You can't afford not to.

Friday, November 16, 2007

The Financial Aid Office is Your Friend

Don't shy away from seeking financial aid from the college you are attending or applying for. Many don't seek financial aid from universities simply because they are too proud. With the cost of education these days, you HAVE to get over that. By not humbling yourself and seeking help, you're practically asking for years more of student debt.

The university financial aid administrator is there to help you. They are full of advice and may open financial doors you haven't even thought of.

Don't get cocky either trying to butt in front of other students and sucking everything out of them. You don't want to bite the hand that feeds you. Everybody wins if you're nice about it.

Wednesday, November 14, 2007

Start thinking about student loan finance for next year.

Student loan season most always runs at the beginning of the year. All colleges and universities have firm deadlines for financial aid applications. Be ready and early in filling out your FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid). Both parents and students need their W2 forms as early as possible in January. If you can't get your W2 early, then come up with a really good estimate of what you think it'll be.

You want to be at the head of the queue if you want the best shot especially at the scholarships and grants. Each school has there own deadline. It's not uniform across the country. If you miss the deadline, you'll be stuck looking for private loans which have higher interest rates. This is one piece of student loan advice you had better heed to.

Scholarships, scholarships, scholarships

Always, I mean ALWAYS, be looking out for scholarships. There's nothing like free money ease your student loan finance situation.

Here's just a couple of places to look:

Hispanic Scholarships:
http://www.hsf.net/

The Google 2008 Anita Borg Scholarship (for women):
http://www.google.com/anitaborg/

There are so many out there for all sorts of people, not just based on gender or race. You just have to go hunting. The Sallie Mae site is a great place to start.