….For recent college graduates who borrowed heavily, these issues may hit very close to home. F…… If you’re a new college grad and facing your first loan repayment deadline — or have a child in this situation — here are some strategies that can help, even in tough times like these. Read Full article

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If you are a student and your family income is at or lower than a certain level, you may be eligible for a federal Pell Grant. This is money given out for educational purposes and it does not have to be repayed. Be sure to apply early if you are hoping to get a Pell Grant for the upcoming school year, as funds can run out if you wait too long. Start by filling out a FAFSA and they will determine your eligiblity. Requirements for eligibility are:
Your Pell Grant Index (PGI) number must be low enough to meet required need standards, as determined by the government; the number is found on your SAR
You must be attending school no less than half-time
You must be working on your first undergraduate degree
You must meet all application deadlines
You must be a U.S. citizen or eligible non-citizen

There are several advantages when you get a federal student loan consolidation. You can take advantage of fixed interest rates, lower monthly payments, one payment each month, get payment incentives and get new or renewed deferments.

There is usually not a minimum loan balance required with this type of loan program. Also, you have the option of which loans you may want to include and money saving payment incentive plans with some federal student loan consolidation programs.

Another advantage is that you can consolidate your undergraduate loans if you are still in graduate school. You can decide on what loans you want to consolidate from the loans that qualify.

However, federal student loan consolidation can’t include loans you may have received from banks, credit unions, personal loans, consumer debt loans or any other type of financial service loans that you may have applied for in the past. They have to be federal student loans to qualify.

What You Should Know Before You Apply For A Federal Student Loan Consolidation

There are several types of loans that qualify for federal student loan consolidation. When considering if your student loan can qualify, be sure to be very clear on interest rates and to see if you can save money with this type of consolidation loan. Sometimes student loan consolidation can increase your interest rate and cost you more than you are paying now.

Many federal student loans have a very low fixed interest rate already in place. This is why it is very important to be very clear on the rates from the plans you may be considering before you do a federal student loan consolidation.

What would be the point if you end up paying more for your consolidation loan? However, for some students it might be a good idea because of the hassles of trying to keep track of several student loan payments and monthly due dates.

Only you can decide if a federal student loan consolidation makes sense for your financial situation.

What Type Of Loans Qualify For Federal Student Loan Consolidation?

There are several federal student loans that may qualify for consolidation. Be sure to take some time to research the option you are considering and compare costs. You can use online calculators to get an estimate on payments. Check to see if your type of federal student loan will qualify for a federal student loan consolidation program.

10 Types Of Loans That Can Qualify For Consolidation

1. Federal Perkins Loan 2. Federal Stafford Loans 3. Federal Direct Loans 4. Federally Insured Student Loans 5. Federal Parent Loans 6. National Direct Student Loans 7. Nursing Student Loans 8. Health Education Assistance Loans 9. Health Profession Student Loans 10. Auxilary Loans To Assist Students

With some research and a little education you may be able to get a federal student loan consolidation to help ease the burden of having several student loans. You can focus on your education and new career instead of stressing out about trying to keep track of several loan payments and due dates.

With today’s Internet access, you now have an advantage when considering a federal student loan consolidation as an option. You can easily see if you qualify and get the best loan program for your financial situation.

-Dean Shainin

Dean Shainin is a consultant specializing in student loan consolidation. Get valuable resources, tools, information and more articles on student loan consolidation, visit this site: http://www.studentloanconsolidationtips.com

Students are always on the lookout for ways to help pay or offset the cost of their tuition. There are various government grants and scholarships available to you if you qualify. But what if you don’t qualify for these government programs? Don’t lose hope, there are still options available to you that can help offset those tuition bills.

Did you know that tax credits are another way that Uncle Sam can help you finance your college education? Well it’s true and it has come to my attention that there are many students, old and new alike, who are not taking advantage of these educational tax credits that they are entitled to. Specifically the tax credits are the Hope Tax Credit and the Lifetime Learning Tax Credit. These two tax credits will reduce the amount of Federal Income Tax that you would pay dollar for dollar, unlike tax deductions that are used to lower your taxable income. It’s like someone saying to you “if you spend your money on college, I’ll give it back to you.” The tax credits are based on the amount of qualified educational expenses that students pay.

What are these qualified expenses? Qualified expenses are tuition and fees that are required to pay to an accredited college, university, or vocational school as a requirement for attendance. Fees that are not included are room & board, personal living and family expenses. Other expenses that may also qualify are expenses for books, supplies, student activity fees, and equipment if they are required to be paid to the school as a condition for enrollment.

Who is eligible for these tax credits? Anyone can claim these tax credits; you can claim these credits for yourself, your spouse and anyone you can legally claim as a dependant on your tax return.

The Hope Tax Credit is worth up to a maximum of $1,500, depending on how much the qualified educational expenses are, 100% of the first $1000 and 50% of the next $1000. To be eligible for The Hope Tax Credit the student need to be enrolled at least half time (6 credits) in at least one semester and meet certain income requirements. The Hope Tax Credit is available for each and every student, on the same tax return enrolled in a qualifying college program. This credit can be taken for the first two years of post secondary education (undergraduate degree or vocational school) for each student. A family with three students with qualified expenses of $2,000 each on the same return equals a $4,500 reduction in the taxes you owe.

The Lifetime Learning Tax Credit works a little bit differently, the credit is based on 20% of the of the first $10,000 of educational expense up to a maximum credit is $2,000 per return not per student. This credit can be taken for any and all years that a studennt takes even just one class that will improve or aquire job skills (undergraduate, graduate and professional degree courses included). If you have qualified expenses of $2,000 then you get a tax credit of $400 (.20 X $2,000).

Consider this, these tax credits can bring down the tax that you owe on April 15th, and money that you don’t have to pay in tax can be used to pay for the education you want and deserve. Other limitations are that both of these tax credits may not be used for the same student in the same year. Students that have been comvicted of a felony drug offense can not claim the Hope Tax Credit, but they can still take advantage of the Lifetime Learning Tax Credit.

This is just a brief overview of these tax credits that all students should know about and tahe advantage of. I reecomend that you do refer to IRS Publication 970 and IRS: Topics for Students for further information or discuss these tax credits with your Tax Professional.

-Pat Nash

Pat Nash  blogs on different topics related to higher education. Visit his blog College Matters for more higher education information.

The Federal government is one of the best sources for college financial aid. From low interest loans to free grants, the array of government aid is open to just about everyone. As long as you have passing grades and financial need, you almost certainly qualify for something.

The search for federal aid begins with the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). This form can be filled out on paper or submitted online. Once it is processed, the government will make a judgement about the level and kinds of aid you are eligible for. To receive funding, you must have a high school diploma, GED certificate, or have met state standards to enroll in a qualified higher education school. You must also be a U.S. citizen or an eligible noncitizen, such as a permanent resident. The key factor in determining how much aid you receive will be financial need, not grades. Of course, if you fail to maintain passing grades, you will lose all assistance. However, it is not necessary to be an “A plus” student.

Undergraduates who meet the need criteria can receive Pell Grants. These range from $400 to $4,050 a year. Students with exception financial need may qualify for a Federal Supplemental Opportunity Grant (FSEOGs), which ranges from $100 to $4,000 a year. The amount you can receive may be reduced if you have other sources of aid, such as a scholarship. These grants do not have to be paid back.

Federal loan programs are offered to supplement grant awards, and for those who were not eligible for a grant. For some loans, you do not have to demonstrate need. The amount you can borrow will depend both on your school expenses and your grade level. Perkins loans are offered first to Pell Grant recipients. Only a certain amount is awarded each year and when that runs out, no more loans are given until the following year. Stafford loans are available to both graduates and undergraduates. You must be enrolled at least part-time. Financial need is not a requirement for the Stafford, but for lower income students, the government may award a subsidized loan. This means that the interest will be paid for you while you are a student, and during a six-month grace period after you graduate. Finally, the parents of dependent undergraduate students can take out a Plus loan to cover educational costs.

If you plan to take advantage of any of the programs, you can apply between January 1st and June 30th and receive funds for the following Fall semester. It is highly recommended that you apply as early as possible, as some schools and states require an application be submitted much earlier. In any case, submitting the FAFSA is an essential part of college financial aid. Many scholarships, private foundations, and other sources of aid will require you to first exhaust all federal aid possibilities before they will consider your application. 

-Chris Davis
 Learn more about college grants, scholarships, and alternate sources of college financial aid at http://www.educationwebresources.com

Is your credit report important? There are a lot of people who would not consider their credit rating as something too important to them in their life. There are others who, while recognizing its importance, would not be overly concerned about the issue or understand the reasons for its importance. Well, to those people, they should at least be aware of some of the uses that are made of credit reports in the world in which we live.

While it may seem obvious to state it, credit reports are predominantly concerned with assessing the risk involved in lending money to you. Lenders are obsessed with one thing, getting repaid, and their entire industry revolves around making this occur. Therefore, they have developed the credit score that will assess your likely hood of repaying them and this is then used to either approve or reject your application for credit. While this is the basic purpose, some more sophisticated lenders desire to get in on an ever larger share of the market and in order to lend to higher risk borrowers, they create different categories of loans which people with lower scores can qualify for. These loans will invariably have higher interest rates and other less favorable conditions and this will be the price you pay for having a lower credit rating.

Since loans are used to finance homes, education, cars, and most other large purchases in life, the inability to get access to credit, or only to be able to get it at less attractive terms and rates, is a substantially reason to care about your credit report and try to keep it in as good a condition as possible.

Credit reports are also used when you apply for renting or leasing applications. This is usually because the landlord wants to be fairly certain that you’ll be able to pay your rent as it falls due. So keeping your credit score healthy at this stage will pay off if you need to be approved for renting or leasing residential property.

There is also a trend among employer to start using credit ratings when assessing job applicants. The reasons they are making use of credit reports are of course different for every employer but there is a consensus that a healthy credit report and a good past record of meeting financial commitments is a good sign that the job applicant is someone reliable and worth employing. While it does seem slightly perverse that the very people that will need a job the most are precisely the ones that can be denied it but that’s the direction things are moving in.

-Joseph Kenny

Joseph Kenny runs a US credit card comparison site http://www.credit-cards-info.com/

Bad Credit Student Loans – What Are The Options?

Bad credit student loans are available to those that need them, if you know where to look and what to look for. When it is time to get into a school and to advance your degree or to simply get your degree and you have a poor credit score, you may be under the belief that you just cannot do it. But, there are solutions to your problems. The best thing that you can do is to take the time to look at your options and decide which is the right overall choice for you. There are options for those that need bad credit student loans.

Understanding The Process

In most cases, universities and colleges offer a number of opportunities for you to attend classes while making payments on your education. For those who will not work during this time or those that cannot afford it, the need for a loan is there. The question is, though, what solution will you take? Here are some things to consider.

· First and foremost, find out just what is available. To do this, visit your financial aid counselor at your school. Often, they will help you to find resources that you can take advantage of. For example, there tends to be a wide range of small scholarships that are obscure that you may qualify for. Or, there may be grant money that you can take advantage of. · When this doesn’t help, strike out on your own. It is often necessary to do a little digging yourself. Head to the library and find some resources for applying for scholarships and grants. There are all sorts of federal funds available to those who can find them. · When it all comes down to it, you may need to take out a line of credit through a student loan. In this case, you need to invest in the wide range of financial opportunities. For many types, there are few people who do apply and have good credit. Most that apply have no score at all. So, there is leniency here. · As a last case scenario, you can consider the personal loan route as well. This alternative is costly. This type of loan, though, is not one that can wait until you graduate from college. You’ll need to make payments on it long before that. So, insure that you have the ability to pay this amount of money off per month.

It is also important to realize that there are many lending institutions to consider. And, for that, you have financing options. You can go from one to the next to find the best rate and terms. You can do some digging to find something that works better for you. You don’t have to settle for the first type of funding that falls into your lap.

Getting the help you need to get into school can be frustrating especially when you know you’ll be doing well after you complete your courses. But, there are options and they are offered throughout the web. Soon, you will find yourself approved for an education.

-Susan Dean

Susan Dean is the webmaster and publisher of http://www.cash-loans-now.com  

 The FAFSA Application Process

The FAFSA application is where every prospective student needs to begin in obtaining financial assistance. Each year there is a deadline for filling out the form for the fall semester. You can find out this information on the FAFSA website.

When you start the FAFSA  federal student loan application, you will need to sit down at a time when you are not hurried and be set up with the information required by the form. In most cases you will have to do this with your parents alongside to assist, as they will be required to furnish info as well. Your federal student loan application will require personalized info about you as well as your parents (if applicable). Full name, address, and social security number are standard, along with bank report and employment specifics.

The application will call for total revealing of fiscal data. This includes recent income tax returns, stock market and additional financial holdings, as well as property and other assets you may own. Both you and your parents (if applicable) will be required to provide these numbers. The form will also look at outstanding debts owed by you and your parents, including credit cards, car loans, and other payment amounts.

In general, the federal student loan application calls for the most in depth information from you and your parents. This is because federal programs regard financial need when calculating assistance awards and they need to have a complete picture of the family’s financial resources. A private student loan application, conversely, might not call for as much or even any information given by your parents if yours will be the sole name on the loan. If your parents are co-signors then they will need to provide financial information to affirm their credit stability alongside yours.

Fortunately, the application site has you setup a login account so you will not have to complete the application all at once, but go back as many times as needed to complete it.