Find Student Loan Consolidation

1. someguy Says:
   August 13th, 2008 at 8:16 am

   Fill out a FASFA form, and whatever they approve you for, that’s what you can get.

2. thingone76 Says:
   August 14th, 2008 at 12:21 am

   Yes and no. Stafford loans are loans backed by the government and are ALL calculated from ALL lending sources (meaning…you can get these loans through Wells Fargo but they deduct from the amount you are eligible to receive from ANY lending institution). There are Stafford SUBSIDIZED and UNSUBSIDIZED. (Sub meaning interest paid while in college, Unsub meaning interest not paid while in college).

   First you get your calculated EFC amount after applying for FAFSA. This is what you are EXPECTED to contribute towards your education. All your loan and grant monies are derived from the EFC. Once you have the EFC this is deducted from what your college tuition is plus living expenses. Whatever the remaining amount is (after EFC deduction), is what you are eligible for in lending. Depending on what year of college you are in dictates how much you are allowed to take out in stafford loans…no matter who you are getting them through. You can get OUTSIDE funding…but this is largely based on your credit score (and sometimes your parent’s as well).

   So basically your answer is NO…if you are getting THREE stafford loans I would assume this is a mix of Sub and Unsub which means you are getting your full amount. I would suggest an outside loan or workstudy or talking with your financial aid counselor about what options you have given your specific situation.

   Here is all you need to know…http://www.studentaid.ed.gov/students/publications/student_guide/2005-2006/english/types-perkinsandstaffordloans.htm

3. sunshine_today Says:
   August 16th, 2008 at 2:56 am

   Stay away from loans as much as you can. You have no idea how burdensome it is to pay them back once you leave school.

   There are tons of scholarships that go unclaimed each year. Many $400, $500 or $1000 scholarships never even get applied for because people think it’s chump change and not worth applying for. Well, get a few of those $500 scholarships and it’ll really make a dent in your tuition bill.

   People make the mistake of looking for one big scholarship to pay for everything when they should be targeting smaller scholarships that are more regionalized or specialized to their intended field or reflect something unique about them (son of Italian policeman, daughter of registered nurse, etc). Everybody goes for the big scholarships, the competition for those is much higher and your chances are smaller of getting it. Research and apply for anything and everything you are close to being eligible for no matter how small the scholarship.

   Do a search on scholarships, search your major, your ethnic heritage, your town, your parents employers, your employer, hobbies, high school, local Chamber of Commerce/Rotary/ Lion’s Club etc. Left-handed? There is a scholarship out there for you! Older woman returning to school? There are scholarships out there for you. Do combined searches on more than one criteria “hispanic women aviation scholarships” etc.

   Go to the library and ask the reference librarian for a reference book on scholarships. They usually have more than one. There are all kinds of scholarships out there, you just have to start applying yourself and make it your summer career to send out letters everyday for scholarships. Good luck!

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