Don’t Let Student Loans Ruin You

<p><img class&equals;"size-full wp-image-2840 alignleft" style&equals;"margin&colon; 5px 10px&semi;" title&equals;"student loan application" src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;www&period;collegecareerlife&period;net&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2010&sol;12&sol;student-loan-application&period;jpg" alt&equals;"" width&equals;"302" height&equals;"201" &sol;>Today&&num;8217&semi;s high tuition costs necessitate loans for many college students&period;  Loans have become so common that hardly anyone thinks about the consequences of this debt&period;  It&&num;8217&semi;s a smart investment in your future&comma; right&quest;  Not always&period;  First&comma; interest on loans is accruing daily &lpar;once you graduate for subsidized and while you&&num;8217&semi;re still in school for unsubsidized&rpar;&period;  Over the payment period of your loans&comma; <strong><em>you can pay thousands in interest alone<&sol;em><&sol;strong>&period;  And unlike other debt&comma; student loans cannot usually be discharged in bankruptcy&period;  With no guarantee you&&num;8217&semi;ll find a job in your field&comma; why take on such a burden&quest;  Before you decide to take out loans&comma; read on for how to prevent crippling debt&period; And if you&&num;8217&semi;re already overwhelmed by student loans&comma; learn how to take control of the debt before it&&num;8217&semi;s too late&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<h4><strong>Preventative Measures<&sol;strong><&sol;h4>&NewLine;<ul>&NewLine;<li><strong>Maximize scholarships and grants<&sol;strong> &&num;8211&semi;  Every small scholarship adds up&period;  Search for scholarships specific to your degree program or your hometown&period;  This will reduce the competition because these smaller scholarships are often overlooked by students&period; Visit <a href&equals;"http&colon;&sol;&sol;www&period;scholarships&period;com&sol;">Scholarships&period;com<&sol;a> to search for scholarships by different criteria&period;<&sol;li>&NewLine;<li><strong>Inquire about work&sol;study opportunities<&sol;strong> &&num;8211&semi; The <a href&equals;"http&colon;&sol;&sol;www2&period;ed&period;gov&sol;programs&sol;fws&sol;index&period;html">Federal Work Study Program<&sol;a> allows undergraduate and graduate students to earn funds through part-time work&period;  In order to receive federal financial aid&comma; including work-study funds&comma; grants&comma; and scholarships&comma; students must fill out a <a href&equals;"http&colon;&sol;&sol;www&period;fafsa&period;ed&period;gov&sol;index&period;htm" class&equals;"broken&lowbar;link">Free Application for Federal Student Aid &lpar;FAFSA&rpar;<&sol;a>&period;<&sol;li>&NewLine;<li><strong>Make tuition a factor in choosing a school<&sol;strong> &&num;8211&semi; You don&&num;8217&semi;t have to go to a private school to have a good college experience&period;  Public colleges and community colleges can offer the advantages of small private schools without the ridiculous tuition prices&period;  Read how to have a <a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;www&period;collegecareerlife&period;net&sol;2009&sol;05&sol;30&sol;private-college-experience-public-college-price&sol;" class&equals;"broken&lowbar;link">private college experience at a public college price<&sol;a>&period;<&sol;li>&NewLine;<li><strong>Live like a student<&sol;strong> &&num;8211&semi; Some students use loan money to cover non-educational expenses&period;  While in school&comma; you&&num;8217&semi;ll  need to reduce your living expenses as much as possible so that loan funds can be used for tuition and books only&period;  Take on a roommate or stay in the dorms to reduce your housing expenses&period;  Earn extra money by tutoring or freelancing&period;<&sol;li>&NewLine;<&sol;ul>&NewLine;<h4><strong>Damage Control<&sol;strong><&sol;h4>&NewLine;<ul>&NewLine;<li><strong>Understand your debt<&sol;strong> &&num;8211&semi; Instead of letting someone else calculate what you owe and your payments&comma; do it yourself&period;  Figure out what you&&num;8217&semi;re paying in interest daily by multiplying the interest rate on your loan by the principal balance and dividing by 365&period;25&period;  For example&comma; if you have a principal balance of &dollar;20&comma;000 and an interest rate of 6&period;80&percnt;&comma; your daily interest will be &lpar;&dollar;20&comma;000 x &period;068&rpar; &sol; 365&period;25 &equals; &dollar;3&period;72&period;  Set up an Excel spreadsheet for your loan calculations or use the <a href&equals;"http&colon;&sol;&sol;www&period;finaid&period;org&sol;calculators&sol;loanpaymentchartbalance&period;phtml">loan payment chart generator<&sol;a> at Finaid&period;org&period;<&sol;li>&NewLine;<li><strong>Payoff high interest loans first<&sol;strong> &&num;8211&semi; As soon as you have income&comma; make paying off your highest interest loans a priority&period;  If you&&num;8217&semi;re able to make more than the minimum monthly payments&comma; do it&period; Don&&num;8217&semi;t let the interest pile up so much that you can never make a dent in the principal&period;<&sol;li>&NewLine;<li><strong>Consider discharge options<&sol;strong> &&num;8211&semi; If you work in certain professions&comma; you may be able to get your loans discharged or reduced&period;  For example&comma; teachers working in low-income areas may have their loans forgiven or cancelled&period;<&sol;li>&NewLine;<li><strong>Learn the pros and cons of consolidation<&sol;strong> &&num;8211&semi; Consolidation can have a positive or negative effect on your financial situation&period;  One major disadvantage is the possible loss of discharge and other benefits when you consolidate&period;  You may also be charged a penalty for prepaying&period;  However&comma; consolidation can also simplify your payments and allow you to pay off your loan sooner&period; Read about the pros and cons of consolidation to determine if this option is right for you&period;<&sol;li>&NewLine;<&sol;ul>&NewLine;<p>You don&&num;8217&semi;t have to rack up huge loans to get a good education&period;  Loans&comma; grants&comma; and work&sol;study funds can go a long way if you take advantage of all the options available&period;  Read The Ultimate Scholarship Book 2011&colon; Billions of Dollars in Scholarships&comma; Grants and Prizes<img class&equals;" exohyqoiqiarpvrjvvzj exohyqoiqiarpvrjvvzj exohyqoiqiarpvrjvvzj exohyqoiqiarpvrjvvzj exohyqoiqiarpvrjvvzj exohyqoiqiarpvrjvvzj exohyqoiqiarpvrjvvzj exohyqoiqiarpvrjvvzj" style&equals;"border&colon; none &excl;important&semi; margin&colon; 0px &excl;important&semi;" src&equals;"http&colon;&sol;&sol;www&period;assoc-amazon&period;com&sol;e&sol;ir&quest;t&equals;colcarlif-20&amp&semi;l&equals;as2&amp&semi;o&equals;1&amp&semi;a&equals;1932662413" border&equals;"0" alt&equals;"" width&equals;"1" height&equals;"1" &sol;> to find scholarships you may have overlooked&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;

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