Sat Test

Did you know that you can go through school paid for entirely by student loans? Did you know that if you are in school at least half time, the loans do not come due for repayment until you graduate? And even then, there is usually a grace period before repayment begins.

Perhaps you’re not thinking about all the financial things that you’re going to need for your future right now. You’re more interested in who you might be going to the prom with, or why your bff hasn’t text messaged you for at least half an hour. Then again, there’s always who you’re going to chill with on Friday night or what music you need to download for your myspace page. There’s a great deal of things calling for your attention when you’re a senior in high school and most of them aren’t things that will directly affect your financial future.

However, just like puppies and kittens one day turn into dogs and cats, teenagers turn into adults. Along with that maturity comes a responsibility for your finances. Hopefully your parents have given you a base of knowledge to help you understand just how important it is to keep your finances in order.

You can apply for student loans to pay for your college education, but do not use that avenue if you do not have to do so. Remember, anything you borrow, you must repay. There are a great many lending companies out there vying for student loan business, so make sure you research your loan options thoroughly before committing.

You can see how many companies are looking to finance student loans by googling ’student loans’. It’s important to remember find the best interest rates available. Hopefully your parents have talked to you about staying away from drugs, about driving carefully and have fully explained interest rates and credit card issues to you. If not, then here is a little crash course.

You can consider the interest rate the price of money. Credit is pretty easy to obtain and is fairly dangerous to use and if used unwisely it can take years to fix. Interest rates can vary and depending on how much you borrow, you will always end up paying more than you borrowed and this is due to the interest rate. Up till now you’ve probably not had to even think about interest rates or loans. You’ve been a student and that has been your most important job up until now.

An excellent site to go to for student loan information and interest rates is called Sallie Mae SallieMae has a great deal of excellent information about different kinds of student loans and how to apply for them. On their website it says that there are fixed interest rates or you can get a variable interest rate. A fixed rate means that the amount you pay will not change; a variable rate means that your interest rate can change but will never go above a certain point.

These things can become confusing, so it’s a good idea to have a parent or someone who understands financial matters sit down with you and discuss all your options. You won’t be sorry that you planned ahead for the financial aspect of your education and it could end up saving you money in the long run!

In my last couple of blog posts I talked about scholarships and how to find one that will help fund your college education. I also mentioned some obscure scholarships that might have made you giggle. Life is serious, but you should always make time for laughter. Hopefully some of those offbeat scholarships gave you a little fun.

Now I’d like to get serious for a little while. Funding your education is a serious business and there is the potential for disaster if you’re not careful how you go about doing things. I’m talking about using credit and student loans responsibly.

Maybe you haven’t qualified for a scholarship so you’ve decided that you might want to look into how to go about getting a student loan. No matter what career choice you’ve made once you graduate from high school, you should make a financial plan and do your best to stick to it.

Previously I gave you some tips on where to look for scholarships. Now I’ll talk a little bit about grants. A grant is money that you get and do not have to pay back. There are different grants available to help you fund your college education.

Federal Pell Grants~ A Pell grant helps over five million full and part time students in four year colleges, two year college and vocational schools. Your family can have an income of up to $50,000, but most Pell Grants are awarded to students whose family’s income is less than $20,000. Go to FAFSA at http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/ to find out how to apply for a federal grant. You’ll need to collect all of your personal information and learn the deadlines for federal and state filings. Some state deadlines are earlier than the federal ones, so make sure you don’t miss any deadlines! Grants are given out in increments from $400 to $4,310, depending on qualifications.

Academic Competitiveness Grant is a federally funded grant given to students in addition to a Pell Grant, so you must be eligible for a Pell Grant to be given this extra financial aid. It’s given to first and second year students. First year students are awarded $750 their first year and up to $1,300 for their second year.

National Science and Mathematics Access to Retain Talent Grant or SMART Grant or Smart Grant~ This is a grant that’s also given in addition to a Pell Grant, so this means that you must be Pell eligible to receive this money. The Smart Grant gives up to $4,000 to third and fourth year students in a baccalaureate program with a 3.0 cumulative G.P.A. and be enrolled in an eligible program. Eligible programs include Computer Science, Engineering, Critical Foreign Languages, Mathematics, Physical Sciences, Technology or Multidisciplinary Studies. There are other requirements to qualify, so check here for more information. http://www.studentaid.ed.gov/PORTALSWebApp/students/english/NewPrograms.jsp

Be sure to talk to the financial aid office at the school you’ve chosen to apply to for more information on their special financial aid packets. More than likely there is something there for you to consider.