Let's Learn About Loans

We've all got money on our minds these days, so that's why it's so important that you are well-informed about the process of applying for and paying off your student loans. This article is meant to fill you in on the basic details of the student loan procedure!

You've received your SAT scores and you've gone through the whole college search process. After your college acceptance, you can apply for two federal student loans-the Perkins Loan and the Stafford Loan. Both loans offer a six to nine month grace period after graduation for you to have time to get a job before you begin full loan repayment.

You will be approved for either a subsidized or unsubsidized loan. The difference between subsidized and unsubsidized lies in who pays the interest while you are in school. For a subsidized loan, your interest is paid by the government until you graduate. Subsidized loans are usually given to lower-income students. With an unsubsidized loan, the student is responsible to pay the interest during school.

Remember, it is absolutely essential that you begin paying off your loans on time-not doing so can be detrimental to your financial future! So you must be prepared, and finding yourself a good financial aid calculator is a good start. Also, take the time to consider going to a public college rather than a private. For example, the cost of going to the public school University of Massachusetts at Amherst is less than half that of going to Boston University, a private college.

But don't let your dreams die over the dollar-there is still hope yet that you can afford your dream school if you apply for the right schools and use tools to determine how much you can afford to spend at college, there are lots of options out there for your college search success!

CampusCompare facilitates the college search and selection process by providing free information, student college reviews, and interactive media, connecting students to over 3000 colleges. Its helpful tools include the "What Are My Chances" tool and the Financial Aid Calculator to help students in the "match me with a college" process.