Is There An Age Minimum To Get A Student Loan
This depends on the type of loan you want to get.
- Federal student loans: Theres no minimum age requirement for federal loans. However, you must have the qualifications needed for your program meaning a high school diploma, GED, homeschool program, or equivalent.
- Private student loans: Most private lenders require borrowers to be at least 18 to take out a loan.
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Write A Detailed Letter Explaining The Reason For Your Appeal
This is what initiates the Professional Judgment Review.
Your appeal may be needs-based, meaning your initial financial aid offer is not enough to cover your costs. Or it could be merit-based, meaning you have a higher offer from another school or some significant achievement since you first submitted the FAFSA.
A needs-based appeal might be right for you if your family experienced a job loss or reduction in salary. It might also apply if your family has extra expenses for a special needs child or elderly parent care, or even if your parents themselves enrolled in college. Finally, you might need to ask for more financial aid if your family survived a natural disaster.
| Examples of special circumstances |
|---|
| Lost income or change in employment Change in marital status or family size Death of a spouse or parent Parent enrolls in college, full-time No longer receiving child support New healthcare costs not covered by insurance Experienced a total loss due to a natural disaster |
A merit-based appeal, on the other hand, is all about your academic achievements. If your grades significantly improved since you submitted the FAFSA, for instance, you might notify the school to see if it will grant you more merit-based aid. Evidence of academic awards or additional letters of recommendation could help your case.
Whether youre filing a needs-based or merit-based appeal, youll need the documentation to back up your case. Make sure you can prove your point with supporting paperwork.
Federal Subsidized Direct Loans
These loans are available based on your demonstrated financial need, determined by information provided on your FAFSA. The federal government will pay the interest on a subsidized loan while you are in school and completing your program successfully. There are limits on how much you can borrow based on your year in school.
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What Is A Student Loan Cosigner
A student loan cosigner can be anyone with good credit such as a parent, another relative, or trusted friend who is willing to share responsibility for a private student loan with you. Having a creditworthy cosigner could help you get approved for a loan if you have poor or no credit.
Even if you dont need a cosigner to qualify, having one might get you a lower interest rate than youd get alone. However, remember that because your cosigner is equally responsible for the loan, theyll be liable if you dont make your payments.
Explore All Your Options For Tackling Your Student Loan Debt
There are many options to get partial or total forgiveness of your federal student loans. If youâre not eligible, look you could qualify for partial or total forgiveness of your student loans. If you arenât eligible, look into other repayment options available to you.
And if you want help developing a strategy to deal with your student loans, Iâm here to help. My entire law practice is dedicated to helping borrowers with federal and private loans.
Schedule a free 10-minute call with me today. Weâll work together to develop a plan that allows you to meet your future goals.
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Types Of Student Loans
Student loans are from the federal government or from private sources, such as a bank, credit union, state agency, or school. Learn the differences between federal and private loans before considering a loan.
Federal Student Loans
If you need to borrow money to pay for college or career school, start with federal student loans. Theyre more affordable than private loans.
Types of Federal Student Loan Programs – The William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan Program offers four types of Direct Loans:
- Direct Subsidized Loans are made to eligible undergraduate students based on financial need.
- Direct Unsubsidized Loans are made to eligible undergraduate, graduate, and professional students, and are not based on financial need.
- Direct PLUS Loans are made to graduate or professional students and parents of dependent undergraduate students.
- Direct Consolidation Loans allow you to combine all of your eligible federal student loans into a single loan with a single loan servicer.
Eligibility – You must be enrolled at a school that participates in the school loan program, and meet the general eligibility requirements.
How to apply – Complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid or FAFSA.
Private Student Loans
Before taking a private loan, make sure you need it. These loans generally are not as affordable as federal student loans and offer little repayment flexibility. Read these tips before getting a private loan.
What Can You Pay For With Student Loans
Your total college costs will include much more than just tuition. Room and board alone could easily cost over $10,000, and that doesnt include transportation, books and fun money. But, can you use your student loans to pay for housing and living expenses?
You can use your student loans to pay for school-certified education expenses, which includes most living expenses. This includes tuition, fees, books, room and board, study abroad and computers. Costs of food, transportation, health care and child care are also eligible. Its important to stick to these essentials so that you dont end up taking on excessive debt.
If you end up borrowing more than you need, you can return your unused student loans. Remember, every dollar you borrow will likely cost about two dollars once you pay it back.
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State Forgivable Loan Programs
The Forgivable Education Loans for Service Program provides financial assistance, in the form of forgivable loans, to assist qualified students who are committed to working in North Carolina in designated critical employment shortage professions, including education, allied health, nursing, and medicine.
The North Carolina Transforming Principal Preparation Program provides financial assistance, in the form of forgivable loans, to qualified students who plan to enroll in a masters program of school administration and serve as a principal, assistant principal, or other approved school leader position in a North Carolina public school.
The North Carolina Teaching Fellows Program is a competitive, merit-based program that provides financial assistance, in the form of forgivable loans, to highly qualified students committed to teaching special education or a STEM field in a North Carolina public school.
Applying For Private Student Loans
The process for private student loans will differ depending on what lender you go through. However, heres a look at the standard application flow.
- Step 1 Go to your chosen lenders website.
- Step 2 Research information on the interest rate, repayment flexibility and rules, and what is required for approval.
- Step 3 Apply via their website.
- At this point, you may be asked to choose your repayment plan and interest rate. Keep in mind most private loans have a strict repayment schedule and you should make sure its something youll be able to afford.
- Step 4 Add a co-signer, if necessary. If you have little or no credit, you will likely need a co-signer for approval.
- Step 5 You and your cosigners credit will be checked by the lender & they will let you know the decision either immediately or via mail.
- Step 6 If you are approved, you will need to sign your documents consenting to the conditions of the loan.
Private student loans are a great option if you need to close the aid gap to complete college. However, they come with strict repayment schedules compared to federal loans, so be prepared to build that into your budget.
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National Student Loan Data System
The National Student Loan Data System is the U.S. Department of Education’s online database for federal student loan borrowers. NSLDS receives data from schools, loan guarantee agencies, the Direct Loan program and other Department of Education programs. This online resource allows you to be an educated borrower by providing loan types, loan amounts, loan servicers, and disbursement dates. These details are the first steps in determining the repayment plans that is right for you to successfully manage your debt.
Taking Out Student Loans
College is a significant investment. Student loans can help you cover the cost so you can earn a degree and start your career, but they are paid back with interest so its important to only borrow what you need.
Before you take out a student loan, make sure to carefully review your repayment options and think ahead about how you will pay it back. Create a budget and stick to a plan so you can repay your student loans responsibly.
If you have additional questions about how to take out student loans, please visit our , or feel free to with any concerns.
Now that youve learned how to take out student loans, its time to learn .
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How Does Fafsa Work
What kind of aid you qualify for is based almost solely on your tax information . This is the broad measuring stick the government uses to determine your eligibility for various levels of financial aid. The more you make, the less aid you qualify for, essentially. While your state, school choice, and a few other elements are factored in this decision, theyre all secondary to your yearly taxes.
It should also be noted that if you or your familys financial situation has changed significantly from whats reflected on your most recent tax return, you may be eligible to have your financial aid package adjusted.
What Can Student Loans Be Used For
You can use student loans for education-related expenses. But that is a broad statement, so lets get more specific. Student loans should be used to cover things like:
- Tuition and fees
- Transportation to/from school
- Child care expenses
What you should not use your student loans for are non-essentials and things that do not relate to your education. For example, buying airline tickets for spring break, or buying a new car. Sometimes, there may be questions related to qualifying educational expenses. When in doubt, refer to your schools cost of attendance breakdown or talk to your school. Depending on your major or degree, or certain circumstances, some less obvious costs may be considered as qualifying educational expenses.
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Search For Scholarships And Grants
There are countless scholarships and grants available for students. Some are awarded based on financial need while others are given for merit in academics, athletics, community service, or something else.
Students can look for scholarships and grants offered by the school theyll be attending or by non-profit and private organizations. There are also state-based scholarships and grants that may be available.
Best of all, this type of aid doesnt have to be repaid like student loans.
What Is A Direct Loan
The U.S. Department of Education provides a program called the William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan Program. Direct Loans refer to the subsidized and unsubsidized loans available to undergraduates. The program offers several different student loans and each one is a bit different.
Here are the four different types of student loans you could qualify for:
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Differences Between Forgiveness Cancellation And Discharge
The U.S. Department of Education offers different programs to wipe away some or all of your federal student loan debt. If it eliminates your loan balance because of your job, the government will refer to that as forgiveness or cancellation. And if it clears your student loan debt because of disability, death, or your school closed, the Department will refer to that as discharge.
You Make Payments For At Least 20 Years
It would be nice if student loans went away after theyâve been in repayment for several years like they do in other countries. But in the US, the only way to get old student loan debt forgiven is to make payments on the loans under one of the income-driven repayment plans for at least 20 years.
Unfortunately, most income-driven repayment plans didnât exist until after 2010. If you borrowed loans before then, thereâs no way to get credit for payments made under the Standard, Graduated, or Extended Repayment Plans. Your credit towards repayment forgiveness doesnât start until you make your first payment under the IBR, ICR, PAYE, or REPAYE plan.
- Whose eligible: Borrowers with FFEL and Direct Loans are eligible. Perkins Loan borrowers are eligible only if they consolidate the Perkins Loan into a Direct Consolidation Loan.
- How to apply: Six months before you make your final payment, your student loan servicer will contact you to let you know that youâre close to making your final payment.
- When to apply: You donât have to apply. Your servicer will track your progress towards making the necessary payments.
- Application: There is no application for repayment plan forgiveness.
Learn More:Income-Driven Repayment Plan Forgiveness Guide
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What Is The Difference Between Federal And Private Student Loans
Most students begin by applying for federal direct loans and then use private student loans to fill in any funding gaps. Here are the biggest differences between the two types of loans.
| FEDERAL STUDENT LOANS | |
|---|---|
| Federal loans come with income-driven repayment plans, deferment, forbearance, and loan forgiveness. | Private loans have fewer borrower protections. These protections will be set by the lender. |
Take Out Private Student Loans
Private student loans are typically used by students after they have hit federal student loan limits or if they arent eligible for federal financial aid.
They can often be used to pay for the entire cost of your education, if necessary, or just to cover gaps left after federal student aid, scholarships, grants, and income earned while in school are all exhausted.
There are downsides to consider with private student loans, however.
First, with private student loans, there arent as many flexible repayment options and hardship options such as income-driven repayment plans and student loan forgiveness.
Aside from less forgiving repayment, even some of the best private student loans may have interest rates that are higher than federal loans depending on how well you meet the eligibility requirements.
When applying for a private student loan, a cosigner is often necessary as most college students havent yet built a strong credit score. Cosigning a student loan is risky though as the cosigner is responsible if the primary borrower cant repay the loan. Also, if the primary borrower misses a payment or defaults, the cosigners credit can be impacted.
If you dont have a cosigner, there are some lenders who specialize in offering student loans to those without one.
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Gather The Documents Youll Need
Youll need quite a bit of information to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid , especially if its your first time. Its a good idea to gather this information before you get started so you dont miss anything.
Here is a list of some of the documents youll need:
- Your Social Security Number
- Any other record of previous income earned
Review The Aid Offer From Your School
About two weeks after you submit the FAFSA to your school, you can expect to receive an aid offer. The offer will include information about all sources of aid including:
- Scholarships
- Subsidized student loans
- Unsubsidized student loans
In general, you want to take all the free money you can get. That means accepting the scholarships and the grants. If you plan to live on campus, you may want to consider taking the work-study offer too.
However, consider work-study as a baseline for your earnings, not a cap. Often, work-study jobs do not pay very well. Side hustles like reffing soccer or basketball, tutoring, waiting tables and tending a bar, or any form of skilled labor typically pay much better.
And, of course, starting a business may be the best way to earn money during college.
The last form of aid will be student loans. These will include subsidized loans, which have a lower interest rate , and unsubsidized loans .
Read our full guide to paying for college here > >
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How Student Loans Can Affect Your Credit
When you apply for a private student loan, lenders will review your credit worthiness before they loan you money. Your credit score will also determine your interest rate. In other words, borrowers with stable income and good credit history will pay less for their loans.
Undergraduate federal student loans dont require a cosigner or a credit check.
Having student loan debt affects your credit the same way your other loans do. This is important to know if youre planning to borrow money from another source. For example, student loan debt increases your debt-to-income ratio, which can hurt your chances of getting approved for a mortgage or other loan.
However, student loan debt can also help you build your credit. Making on-time regular payments could improve your credit score another measure lenders use to determine your ability to make payments.
And of course, the opposite is true if you miss a payment so be sure to stay on top of your loan payment every month.