Federal Stafford loan??

[Mom23boys]

I am trying to find other ways to pay for college. Can anyone tell me anything about the Federal Stafford loan? I don't won't to get something that I will be paying on forever. We didnt qualify for FAFSA, so I am searching other avenues.

TIA!

[SHOPGIRL]

What do you need to know? I took out the federal student loans. I didn't pay interest while in school. Once I was done, I started paying after 6 months. When I was unemployed, I qualified for a forebearance and I didn't have to pay at all. I think its a good deal. The interest rate is very low.

[Mom23boys]

Shannon, thanks for your input. I think that is what I am looking for. I wanted to know about the repayment plan. I don't want to go into debt trying to repay a loan.

[SSGWilkesWife]

Did you get laid off? Are there programs offered in your course of study that institutions will pay for if you sign a contract? (ex nursing) Do searches on the web. I found alot of scholarship applications for women who are going into business, older students and etc. The web is full of them. YOu may have to write an essay but who knows you may get one. This may sound crazy, but call the local high school guidence counselor and ask her for a list of available scholarships. They always keep an updated list for h.s. seniors. The Stafford loan is low interest and you can get forberances if needed. I would explore all outlets. (if you were laid off your state may pay for training at a tech college if your job was moved out of the country) Just a few ideas for you. I start school on the 17th......... scary to me. I have been out of school for 20 years!

[SHOPGIRL]

Michelle,

The loan I was referring to is the basic guaranteed student loan. The fed.government has a parent's loan too. I'm not sure, but that loan might have to be paid right away.

With the student loan, you do have some choice on the number of years you want to take to repay the loan.

There are a lot of options.

[MOMMYDEAREST]

shopgirl is toally right. thats exactly what i did. the loan place will give oyu extensions & forbearances...they are very cooperative people to work with. you can pay on the interest while youa re in school or oyu can wait...its normally up to you. i hope i helped!!

[babymav]

Here is what I did:

Take out federal school loans. They are great. You don't have to start paying back until 6 months after you stop school. Also go onto www.fastweb.com (huge scholarship site) start applying to any scholarships that meet the guidelines for your specific degree (there are so many on there, and start applying now because most of the time when you win it will apply to the following year) Ex. I won a scholarship from Calgon that I applied for 2 years ago for $500.00 and a few others that were just applied this semester. Every bit helps. You will have to write essays, but it's good practice for school. Also, call the school that you are planning to attend and ask them for their scholarship list. Each school has there own scholarship funds that are awarded every year. You would be surprised the amount of money each school has set aside just for scholarships.

Hope this helps. It helped me

I got $3500.00 in financial aid. I took out $6000.00 in student loans and I won $1500.00 in scholarships. I am still to this day applying for scholarships (it will help with next year) I was able to pay for all my classes, buy buys for the whole year and I had enough money left to. Buy a new laptop. My major is (IT) Information Technology

[babymav]

I also wanted to add if you didn't qualify this year for financial aide still reapply on January 1st. which is for 2006-2007 (I just received notice to make sure to reapply on January 1st)


You might have not received anything if you applied late in the year for financial aide. By then all the funds are depleated.

If you apply on January 1st you have a better chance to qualify. (You can do it online too www.fafsa.ed.gov