I'm hispanic I dont know this .... s***

SeaShells29
Tue, 19 May 2009 20:48:19 +0000

I know a little bit about financial aid. All students can get a Stafford loan as part of their financial aid package. Some Stafford loans are subsidized and some are not. I believe that the subsidized loans accrue no interest while you are in school. With both of these loans, however, you do not have to make a payment until six months after you graduate. Then you can spread your payments over ten years. The amount of the Stafford loans are fixed by the federal government and increase every year from freshman to senior year. The amount is fixed at around $5,000 plus or minus per year. You may have been eligible for some federal PELL grants as well which to not have to be paid back.

Obviously, the Stafford loan won’t cover your full expenses so part of your financial aid package was a parent loan (PLUS loan). Your parents can choose to delay payment of this loan (there are many options available for repayment) but interest does accrue while you are in school. To my knowledge, the interest rates on PLUS loans are consistent among lenders, i.e., it won’t help to shop around, but I could be wrong on this. As an alternative to a PLUS loan, your parents could take out a home equity loan for which the interest is tax deductible and they could probably get a lower interest rate than for the PLUS loan. Student loan interest is also tax deductible depending on your parents’ income.

You need to be persistent in getting answers to your financial aid questions. Are you able to go into the financial aid office and meet with their staff to get your answers? Financial aid is very confusing for freshmen but once your figure it out in freshman year, then you’ll be all set for the subsequent years. Don’t let financial aid confusion keep you from pursuing your education…just make sure you get answers to your questions.