A Student Guide to Credit Cards and Loans

Your college career aid and federal grants are just not covering all your expenses as a student. Many students today turn to student loans to finance their education and then, the next steps, are to take out a private student loan or obtain a student credit card. There are many places for private student loans and student credit cards, but the standard Federal loan is a Stafford loan, which is often easily obtained after filing the FAFSA. Most college finance offices will have information on this federal loan process. Remember, that these are loans and have to be paid back, so when you make your decision on how much to borrow and how to pay it back you will have to do some looking to find these answers.

This includes comparing student credit cards before applying for one.

It is relatively easy to fill out a student loan application and be on your way to financing college. To a lot of people, this can be very tempting, and especially so, is this is their only way of being able to go to school. Most college loans do not require you to make payments while you are in school but credit cards require immediate monthly payments. You can borrow the maximum amount available from a student loan even if you cannot afford it. This really makes it hard to say no, but if you are determined to go to college that may sometimes be your only way to meet the full cost of college expenses.

There are five loans available that students should consider. The first one is the Federal Perkins Loan, the second is Federal Subsidized Stafford or Direct Loans, the third is the Federal Unsubsidized Stafford Loan, the Federal Plus Loan for parents to help their children go to college, and then the Alternative or Private Loans can be considered, if the rest of the other loans do not cover the total cost of college plus tuition.

There are a few things to consider before you take out a loan and they are to find out how much you should borrow, estimate your loan payment and never borrow more than you need, apply for loans right away, use student employment as alternative for borrowing, which is the work-study program and then consider options that will reduce your student loan payments. Electing to take on a student credit card can help cover smaller school expenses such as books, school supplies and other college related expenses.

A college education is one of the most important things you will care for in life and is usually your first step forward toward a career. In today’s economic climate student loans may not always be as available as they were in the past, especially private student loans. Taking on a student credit card is similar to a private loan, with the main differences being the credit cards often carry higher interest rates and require immediate repayment each month.