Our Guide to College Loan Information

Student Grants are an important source of college funding and the best thing about grants is that they don't ever have to be paid back.  We are not talking about grant programs to conduct research. Here we are focusing on federal grant programs that help students pay for the cost of their education.

We've got some sound advice for those of you looking for cheap student airfare - be careful.  We know this might seem like a departure from our college loan theme, but one of our goals is to try and offer sound information to our readership. 

You can start planning for college expenses the day your child is born, but college costs continue to present a challenge to most of us.  With the cost of many universities and colleges in the range of $15,000 to $40,000 per year, getting a college loan is essential to many.  But even if you can afford to make these payments, you might want to take advantage of the attractive interest rates you can get with a federally funded college loan.

Going to college is a great career move - but it's also an expensive one making applying for a student loan a necessity for most families.  If you're wondering how long it takes to apply and what kinds of information you will need handy when filling out an application then keep on reading.  Here is one of those "all you need to know about applying for a student loan" articles.

The term federal student loans really only applies to three different types of loans that are available through the federal government.  That's because the government has several ways to help students pay for tuition, and loans are only one of those ways.  So in this publication we are going to stay focused on three loan types - Federal Stafford Loans, Federal PLUS Loans, and Perkins Loans.

If you're enrolled in a four-year or a two-year public or private institution, a career school or a trade school, you're most likely eligible for Federal Student Aid. Nearly all the federal aid available is need-based and covers school expenses such as tuition and fees, books and supplies, room and board, and even your transportation expenses to school and back home.

The Canadian government has set up the National Student Loan Center (Centre) to ensure that its students have access to all the information they need to apply for and repay their student loans.  The center is conveniently housed in an online website that includes all of the tools, applications, and resources that Canadian students need.

The federal government here in the US provides students with a pretty efficient way to fund their education via government student loans.  But this is just one way to help pay for college.  The government actually has distinct three different ways you can pay for school - grants, work study, and loans.  And we're going to discuss all three of these options briefly in this article.

Federal Stafford Loans are made to students as part of two loan programs - the William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan Program (Direct Loan) and the Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) Program.  Stafford Loans are true student loans and that means they must be paid back with interest.

Direct Student Loans are one of the Federal Student Aid or FSA programs that are available through the Department of Education. Direct Student Loans provide students with a way to borrow money to pay for their costs of higher education.

A Stafford Loan is one of three types of loans made available to students by the federal government.  In fact, there are several forms of financial aid available to students and the Stafford loan is a true loan - that means the money is borrowed by the student and repayment is necessary - except under certain conditions, which we will talk about later.

Student Loan Repayment options can be a pretty big deal if you've just graduated from college and you are wondering when and how you are going to start to repay your student loans.  It was nice getting that helping hand to finance your education.  But now that you're out, you have to struggle to find a job while that repayment clock is ticking.

There are several circumstances that allow current and former students to qualify for a student loan deferment.  These deferment options will vary depending on the kind of loans that are outstanding and the borrower's financial and workplace status.  But let's first answer the question - What is a student loan deferment?

Student loan forgiveness and service payback programs are available to provide aid to students and to attract individuals to serve in certain jobs or work in regions of the country that are experiencing a shortage.

Student Loans and Bankruptcy filings used to be connected by a relatively simple process.  Of course, nothing is simple when it comes to bankruptcy, but the recent rise of bankruptcy filings has lead to some pretty significant impact on student loan forgiveness.

Each year, new student loan interest rates are published.  Overall, interest rates have been relatively low - nothing compared to the rates that we experienced back in the early 1980s.  That's good news for students because even though they can do very little to control the rising cost of tuition at their colleges, at least the interest rate on their student loans are reasonable.

As tax time rolls past, you may be wondering if you can take a student loan interest deduction in 2007 or 2008.  Maybe you think that you've missed it this year, maybe you have a child that is going to college next year and you're wondering how the interest deductions work.  Well, we've got a definitive answer right from the IRS to the question - Can I take a student loan interest deduction on my taxes?  Well, maybe.

The Hope Credit is a tax credit that can help you offset the costs of higher education by directly reducing the amount of your taxable income.  The Hope Tax Credit has been around since January 1998 and allows you to claim a tax credit of up to $1,500 in qualified education expenses for each student enrolled in school.

The Lifetime Learning Credit is a tax credit aimed at helping to offset the cost of higher education by reducing the taxable income of those paying for certain college related expenses.  The Lifetime Learning Credit allows you to take a tax credit of $2,000 for those qualifying expenses of an eligible student.

Recent graduates are often left wondering if the move to consolidate a student loan is the right choice for them.  Quite simply, a consolidation loan is designed to help both the student and parent borrowers to simplify the loan repayment process by combining several types of federal student loans with various repayment terms into a single loan.

Private student loans are becoming more popular each year due to the fact that federal grants have not kept pace with rising tuition and living expenses.  Private loans, along with federal programs such as Stafford Loans or Perkins Loans, are a very important way for students to fund their education today.

If you're a student seeking help with rising college costs, you've probably been told by the financial aid folks to make sure you apply for an ACS Student Loan.  Well, maybe you've never heard of ACS and you're wondering what kinds of student loans they offer.

Sallie Mae was created in 1972 as a government sponsored enterprise to enhance public access to higher education by serving as a serving as a secondary market and warehousing entity for student loans.  Sallie Mae offers existing and former student borrowers a wide variety of services including finding student loans and debt management.

Student Loan Consolidation allows former students to leverage the economies of a larger loan by combining their federal loans into a single monthly payment.  This helps these students realize a savings on interest expense and provides to them the convenience of managing only one student loan each month.

A few years back, Section 529 of the Internal Revenue Code authorized what are now referred to as 529 college savings plans or qualified tuition plans.  These plans are sponsored by states and educational institutions to encourage the growth of college savings accounts.

A 529 plan - also known as a qualified tuition program or QTP - is one of the best ways to save for higher education that's available to investors today.  The flexibility and unique benefits of 529 plans allow account holders to deal with the rising costs of a college education while remaining very much in control of their money.

If you've got children, then one of the things you notice as a parent is that they grow up fast.  But there's something else that continues to grow over the years - the cost of a college education.  If you've been thinking about funding a 529 plan, that's great news because college can help provide for a secure financial future.  And if you're wondering how much you might need to set aside each month, then you've come to the right place.

We're going to let you in on a little secret when it comes to Section 529 plans.  Not only are they an excellent way to fund a child's future college expenses, but 529 college savings plans are also an important estate planning tool.  In fact, for wealthier families, a 529 plan offers excellent opportunities to transfer wealth as part of your overall estate plans.

If you've ever felt helpless against the rising cost of college tuition, you're not alone.  And fortunately, there is an answer to this problem in the form of 529 plans that offer those saving for college a prepaid tuition option.  That's great news for investors looking to lock in the cost of college tuition and provide their children with a large choice of private colleges and universities.

If you're saving for college, then there are a couple of ways the federal government is willing to help out in the form of a tax break.  One of them is the Coverdell Education Savings Account or Coverdell ESA.  Some of you might remember the Coverdell when it was called an education IRA, but it's got a new name and some new rules too.

Yes, you're reading that right.  You can use your Roth IRA to save for college.  As a matter of fact, you can also use a Traditional IRA to pay those college expenses.  And for some taxpayers, using an individual retirement account to create a college fund makes a lot of sense.

There's some bipartisan legislation on the horizon that aims to send more Americans to college and it's called the Student Aid Reward Act.  Sponsored by Senators Kennedy (D-MA) and Smith (R-OR) and Representatives Petri (R-WI) and Miller (D-CA), the act intends to increase college scholarships with no additional cost to taxpayers.

Back in 2005, the Wall Street Journal and the Washington Post reported that Congress was going to once again try and close a student loan loophole that's existed since the 1980s.  This isn't the first time Congress has tried to close this loop, but it may be the last if Senator Kennedy gets his way.

In 2006 Congress slashed $12 billion in student lending funds in a desperate attempt to reduce the fiscal budget deficit.  But recent studies have shown that student debt is getting out of control and lawmakers on Capitol Hill have decided to take some steps to help ease the burden for students with college loans.

Perhaps the most heartbreaking casualties of recent stock market performance are the 20 state-sponsored college tuition pre-payment plans throughout the country. With college costs continuing to grow at a pace of about 9% per year and investment returns on plan assets being flat or negative, the sponsors of the various prepaid tuition programs now project long-term cash shortages.

Applying for scholarships can be intimidating. There are hundreds of them out there and figuring out which ones you qualify for, then correctly completing the requirements for each one, can be quite confusing. Sometimes, students even wonder if they should submit an application. But the answer is a resounding, "Yes!" To help ease some of the anxiety and confusion, applicants often find themselves in need of tips and suggestions.

Do you have a son or daughter leaving home for college this fall? Along with the requisite cell phone, CD/DVD player and wardrobe, are they prepared for the money needs they will now be challenged with? Do they have the financial tools in their backpacks as they head off to one of more than 4,100 colleges and universities in the United States? Here are some important facts to consider when assisting your student in making good financial decisions as they head off to college:

Your son or daughter is a high school senior and you're worried about the coming year, and more importantly, the coming student loans. College has become so important in your children's future that parents have begun to plan for it at their child's birth. But, not all of us, as new parents thought that far ahead or could afford too. So, now what should we do? Student loans, whether they are federal loans or not, are options to considered, but to understand first.

Parents hoping their college-bound children will scratch up a few extra dollars for their higher education probably aren't encouraged to see them riding skateboards, designing prom fashions with duct tape, or studying Klingon. But these activities could, in fact, pay off.

At a time when unemployment is high, personal income is flat, and college-level education is a requirement for most well-paying jobs, U.S. public colleges continue to become less affordable for students and families.

On Parent's Day, July 27, children everywhere will thank their moms and dads for all they've done for them over the years. Every parent wants to give their children the best in life; for many parents, part of this equation is planning for their children's college education.

There are dozens of great articles and publications about college planning geared toward affluent families.  Many of these are sponsored by financial firms that hope to capitalize on the popularity of Section 529 plans, life insurance plans and Coverdell IRAs and other investment vehicles.  These are all appropriate for their intended target market.  But these same articles would cause the average middle-income family to make costly mistakes.  If I was the editor of any of these publications, I would add the pretext: "IF YOU ARE PLANNING TO APPLY FOR FINANCIAL AID, THE FOLLOWING ADVICE DOES NOT APPLY."

"How in the world are we going to pay for it?"  This is a sentiment expressed by more and more parents as they contemplate the staggering costs of sending their kids to college. Tuition, room and board, meal plans, fees, books and other costs associated with higher education are soaring due to severe budget cuts at the federal, state and even institutional levels.

A number of publications, have mistakenly reported over the past year that Coverdale IRAs, formerly known as Education IRAs, are tax deductible. Coverdale IRAs are not tax-deductible.

Higher education is very important for landing lucrative jobs. For many the challenge is finding the money for college. One piece of good news is that if you use money from an IRA to pay for education expenses the IRA account holder may qualify for a tax break.