Get Your Student Loan Here
June 2nd 2008 19:56
I, like many other college students, took out student loans to pay for my education. Not once, during all of the time until I graduated, did I look at how much I had accumulated in student loan debt. Boy, did it pile up quickly. My husband also took out a number of student loans to pay for college. Now we are looking at putting children through college while still paying off the student loans we took out for our own education.
So what’s the answer to this vicious cycle of student loan debt? Well, first, I’m going to put a stop to this insane desire to accumulate debt. As I prepare for my children to go to college, I am going to find ways to help them avoid their own student loan crisis. Sure, they may need some student loans, depending on where they choose to go, but I want them to be smarter about loans than I was.
What can you do as a student or the parent of a student? For starters, take a close look at how much you have already accumulated in student loan debt – unsubsidized and subsidized government-backed student loans as well as private student loans. Add up all of those totals. If you don’t know how much you owe, look it up in the National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS). The Department of Education can also give you an idea of how much your monthly payment will be based on how much you owe. Now think about how much money you will need to make to afford that monthly payment, along with the cost of housing, and other living expenses once you graduate.
Student loans seem like easy money until you have to start repaying them. There are better alternatives to paying for your education with loans. Contrary to popular belief, you can get a job and go to school. You don’t have to work full-time; a part-time job can give you cash to help with your expenses. It may cut into your fun and party-time but working two jobs after college to pay off those student loans will put an even bigger dent in your social life.
Another possibility is to get information on scholarships. Not all scholarships require you to be a straight-A student. There are fun scholarships out there too (i.e. wear duct-tape to your prom). If you are Internet-savvy, you can do some research to find all kinds of ways to get money for college.
So what’s the answer to this vicious cycle of student loan debt? Well, first, I’m going to put a stop to this insane desire to accumulate debt. As I prepare for my children to go to college, I am going to find ways to help them avoid their own student loan crisis. Sure, they may need some student loans, depending on where they choose to go, but I want them to be smarter about loans than I was.
What can you do as a student or the parent of a student? For starters, take a close look at how much you have already accumulated in student loan debt – unsubsidized and subsidized government-backed student loans as well as private student loans. Add up all of those totals. If you don’t know how much you owe, look it up in the National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS). The Department of Education can also give you an idea of how much your monthly payment will be based on how much you owe. Now think about how much money you will need to make to afford that monthly payment, along with the cost of housing, and other living expenses once you graduate.
Student loans seem like easy money until you have to start repaying them. There are better alternatives to paying for your education with loans. Contrary to popular belief, you can get a job and go to school. You don’t have to work full-time; a part-time job can give you cash to help with your expenses. It may cut into your fun and party-time but working two jobs after college to pay off those student loans will put an even bigger dent in your social life.
Another possibility is to get information on scholarships. Not all scholarships require you to be a straight-A student. There are fun scholarships out there too (i.e. wear duct-tape to your prom). If you are Internet-savvy, you can do some research to find all kinds of ways to get money for college.
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