Feb 15th 2008, 07:29

A Brighter Future For Your Child

Diverse education loan options for your kids

Children who do not benefit from a good education may eventually end up jobless or doing something less than what they can otherwise do. Learning is part of human nature, but without formal guidance, there’s a discrepancy on results - which is a key factor on the latest jobs that are out there.

Thankfully, money to finance your child’s education need not be an impossible dream - at least not as big a blow on the entire family budget as it was before. In 1965, the Congress created a partnership to accommodate guaranteed loans for students and their parents; that being the ‘Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) Program.’

There are four types of loans that you can apply for:

• Stafford Loan

Available to students who have financial needs. The government pays the interest while the student attends school, during six months after the student leaves the school, and during authorized loan deferment periods.

• Unsubsidized Stafford Loans
  
  Available to students regardless of their financial need, but the student takes care of the interest.

• PLUS Loans
  
  Parents can loan up to the amount of their children’s undergraduate fees. As of July of 2006, professional students and graduates may also apply for this loan.
  

• Federal Consolidation Loans
  
  Combines federal education loans into one loan. The repayment period may get extended depending on the outstanding balance of the loan.
  

These loans can be acquired when the student fills up the ‘Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), where the information provided by the applicant creates a financial-aid package that may include a mix of scholarships, work-study, recommended loan amount, and grants. The package constitutes the student’s ‘unmet needs’ or the amount that the students and their families are expected to contribute to compliment the expenses.

Applying for a FFEL takes only a matter of minutes. If a student has been granted a package with a FFEL loan, the student chooses a lender with the help of the school’s financial-aid office. The lender provides the loan with the help of a guarantor. In the end, the U.S. Department of Education, lender, school, and the guarantor unite in order to guarantee the student’s eligibility in borrowing the needed amount.

There are thousands of other sources of grant programs available that can be used not only for education, but for housing, business and other worthwhile purposes.

For detailed information about this career education loan, visit

www.ed.gov/programs/ffel/

 

To Do List: - Suggested Links:

1. Increase Your Income:
   Get an online degree with financial aid from the government.
2. Consolidate Your Bills:
   Student Loans - Credit Card Debts - Refinance Home
3. Reward Yourself:
   Get a new computer for free.
4. Get some cash you don’t have to pay back:
   Government has money for almost any worthwhile need.
5. A MasterCard or Visa, even if your credit is not good
   A real line of credit