College Financial Aid Myths – Don’t Believe Them!!

Counseling for First Time Student Loan Takers

Student loan program is a topic of which not many students are expected to know before they actually get into one. And as far as elders are concerned, their knowledge about handling student loans are limited to just signing the papers and repaying them till the date they get their pension. In order to ensure students are in the right track of doing things it is important they get a proper counseling about Student Loan Programs and the pros and cons of availing a student loan.

Inspite of various requests put forth to relevant authorities and steps taken by them to include the awareness about student loan programs in their syllabus, no great change is really seen as far the effectiveness of these changes are concerned. Hence an effort has been put forth to list the various aspects of student loan programs.

Let us discuss student loan programs and the way you will proceed adopting them.

• Learn about Student Loans - Undertake the effort to learn about student loan options carefully. Take note of the various hints and suggestions offered to you during your counseling session and make note of the terminologies and suggestions used. Many websites are as well offering the meanings of various terminologies namely www.finaid.org/loansand www.studentaid.ed.gov
• Parental Help - Take your parents help and support while dealing with student loan options. Their help and contribution will surely help you get better deals and as well identify the wrong ones. Inspite of the fact that you parents haven’t been to the college, remember they know finances better than you.
• Keep Track – Not just borrowing, do keep track of all that you have borrowed and know your liabilities every now and then. It will not only help you assess your financial liability but also help you plan your payment routine
• Friendship Works – If you have a buddy at any of the loan processing centres they are sure to help you find the right loan deal and also let you have an idea of the various options and their procedures. You can be rest assured you have not missed the bus as far as availing the right loan option is concerned.
• Low Cost Loans – If you have an eye for detail keep checking the loan rates and you will be surprised to find that every year the loan rates keep reducing considerably and wait for your chance to switch to a low interest rate scheme
• Private Lending – Private lending is not doubt one of the most flourishing businesses, hence be careful before taking the private students loan. Ensure you have properly verified about the lender and compared the various loan prices before you have zeroed upon a single loan option. There are many unscrupulous lenders whose main aim is to loot money, hence stay careful from illegitimate lending activities.

Hundred advices may be offered, but what really helps is your understanding and careful assessment of your student loan option. Hence, make sure you take an informed decision about all your loan related issues.

School Loan Debt Trapped

How do students opt for student loan schemes? What exactly is the problem about their understanding of the student/ school loan programs? Where do they go wrong or what brings their repayments process to a standstill? What kind of push do they need? I am sure you will have loads of questions coming up in your mind.

We have the case study of Stefan Heise a college graduate who ended up filing bankruptcy, due to his inability to pay back his student loan debt of $84,000. This is a small documentary film about how college graduates end up earning very meager amount which are just not sufficient to meet their day to day living expenses.

An aspiring student Stefan Heise took up college education without ay financial support and managed to pay his school fees with the help of student loans and credit card payment. He had to juggle with the various credit cards to meet his living expenses and sometimes every the rent for his accommodation.

He admits that it was only with the help of cash advances offered by credit card companies did he ever move to New York. He in fact deferred his student loans in order to be able to complete his credit card debt. Stefan 34 lost all hopes of being able to pay back the money he had borrowed over a period of time through his credit cards. And the real test began when he was unable to pay his credit card installments. The interest rates started shooting up exorbitantly that it rose from three percent to nine percentage, soon after he missed paying installments.

What more can you expect from an intern with a service organization making just about $16,000 per annum. Eventually his debit card was blocked and saving account freezed. With no money to pay, he resorted to bankruptcy. His bankruptcy hearing was over and his credit card debt to the extent of $21,000 was dismissed. Now all Stefan had was a student loan of about $ 63,000. I am sure you know that student loans will not be dismissed even after filing bankruptcy.

Beware of School Loan Debt

This is not the case only with Stefan, but with thousands of students whose willingness to complete graduation has cost them their lifetime. Further to this, statistics reveals that the earning levels of graduates have been almost flat ever since 1975. While women graduates saw a 10% increase in their earning level, it was a clear indication that even after completing their education, their earnings never matched their debt, consequently falling into the School Loan Debt Trap. Only a wise choice of job offers and academic performance may help them get away with their school or student loan debt liabilities.

Types of Chase Student Loans

• Federal consolidation loans
• Private consolidation loans
• Federal Stafford loans
• Federal Grad PLUS loans
• Private student loans

Federal student loans are offered by the government and can be funded by private lenders like Chase. Private lenders offer similar student loans that have lower interest rates with extended repayment periods. The private student loans offered by Chase can be used for approved education-related expenditures. They are offered in varied forms and can be opted for when the money offered by federal loans is not enough to take care of the full fees for higher education and when they need to be consolidated during repayment.

Student Loan Consolidation from Chase

Student loan consolidation from Chase is offered to combine all existing private loans into a single loan with a low interest rate. It is easy to repay the loan as a single payment every month. Chase takes care of servicing these private student loans and does not sell them to another financial institute or lender. These loans require credit approval along with a completed and signed Application/Promissory Note and verification of application information.

Consolidating Federal student loans do not require for any kind of credit check. However, it does require a minimum balance of $7,500 with a cumulative borrowing limit for private student loans of $150,000, based on credit eligibility. With the help of student loan consolidation from Chase, the repayment period can be extended so that the overall financial obligation can be increased. With this, the monthly loan payments can be reduced and the principal can be prepaid with no penalties. Being able to prepay means the overall cost of the loan reduces drastically.

Keep in Mind

• Federal Student Loans can be consolidated, but federal and private student loans should not be consolidated into a single student loan consolidation program. If you consolidate them together, you lose the benefits of forbearance and deferment with the federal loans.
• Similar to other debt consolidation loans, student loan consolidation payments should be done by a single lender who will pay the earlier creditors for all initial loans.
• For Federal Student Loans Consolidation, the minimum balance is $7,500 and it must be done within the six month grace period or when the loans are in repayment.
• Based on the balance of the loan, student loan consolidation will have an extended repayment period.
• The repayment plan should enable balance of monthly payments and result in a good credit rating.
• Student loan consolidation has a maximum interest rate of 8.25%.
• There are no additional charges involved in processing the student loan consolidation.
• After the consolidation is approved, it cannot be undone as the loan amount will have already been paid to the previous creditors.

I created a list of 10 quick, easy to make recipes that suit student busy lives.

Hash Brown

Instead of making the trip to Burger King why not make your own hash brown. Hash brown is a simple mix of shredded, diced or riced potato. Add seasoning to taste and then squeeze them together into small balls and then fry. It can be made also from scrap potato pieces from other prior food preparations.

Canned Tuna

Canned tuna can be found at any corner store. You can prepare tuna on a student budget in countless ways on a student budget. Canned Tuna can be prepared as tuna casserole, tuna patties or just simply make tuna sandwich with vegetables.

Ramen

Ramen is another great student food. It prepares in two minutes and come in a variety of flavors. Tin its most popular form it is consumed as a soup, but can also be used to make simple pasta that can be quite tasty.

Hot Dog Sandwich

Hot dog is an American favorite as a quick easy meal. Instead of students going down the street each they need a sandwich, students can easily buy a pack of hot dogs from the local corner store. Hot dogs can be prepared in many ways and when either fried, boiled of eaten uncooked, when combined with mustard and ketchup and bread make the perfect student meal.

Egg

Egg is a savior to the student budget. The combination of simple student dishes that uses egg as its base is countless. Students can simply fry or boil them as a standalone meal, combine eggs with vegetables to make sandwiches or stretch their creative skills to create dishes that are even more creative. Eggs are cheap and accessible o any student budget.

Canned Salmon

Salmon is a nutritious fish that adds calcium and omega -3 fatty acids to your diet. These are vital to the performance of any student. Canned salmon is available at any corner at knock down prices and within the budget of any student. Canned salmon may be prepared as sandwiches, with rice, potato salmon scallop or as whatever suits the taste.

Chicken Soup

Chicken soup can be easily prepared using chicken scrap from other chicken meal preparations. Students can just season the boiling water to taste and add small pieces of chicken along with some noodles. Chicken soup can be made using chicken parts such as the wings or legs are cheap and found at any corner store.

Salads

Vegetable salad is another cheap means of student food. Vegetables add fiber to the diet and help to stabilize the metabolism of the body. Students can easily knock up their favorite vegetable recipe in a couple of minutes and be off to school or study.

Macaroni and Cheese

Microwaved macaroni and cheese is a cheap source of calcium for students on a budget. It is also cheap and extremely easy to prepare. Students simply read the instructions written of the packaging and place it in the microwave and go.

Ground Beef

Ground beef is one of the easiest meat kinds for any student to prepare. Because of its soft texture, ground beef cooks in minutes. It can be prepared to make a variety of dishes such as sandwiches, dinner meals with rice or pasta with macaroni.

Hey pals, I hope you are going to try some if not all of these gastronomical delights to entertain your folks and roommates . So where is the party this weekend ???