| For many people, college is the second biggest | | | | The financial aid department at your prospective |
| expense they will have in their entire lifetimes, yet it | | | | college should be very helpful in your efforts to get the |
| comes at a time in life when they have no major | | | | right federal student loans. These people are |
| source of income. So it is to be expected that most | | | | professionals who deal with these issues regularly. |
| college students will have to get federal student loans | | | | They can point you towards what forms you'll need to |
| to pay most of their expenses while they are in | | | | fill out to apply for your education loan and when the |
| college. But not all loans for students are the same, | | | | application deadlines are. If you find the application |
| and few people realize this fact. It is very easy to | | | | confusing, they can usually help explain the forms to |
| accidentally end up in some sort of expensive private | | | | you so that you can successfully apply for it. |
| lender loans instead of affordable government loans. | | | | With federal student loans, you will have several |
| The government backs education loans, and, as you | | | | months after you quit going to school until you are |
| might expect, that means strings are attached. Most of | | | | expected to make your payments. But if you begin |
| those strings are rules about how the lenders can | | | | making payments before this time, you can specify |
| treat you and how much they can charge you for it. | | | | that it go towards the principal. This will greatly reduce |
| The federal government tends to take the students' | | | | how much you have to pay when you begin making |
| sides on the regulation of them. If you were stuck in | | | | your regular payments on your student education |
| private loans, you could have interest compounding at | | | | loans. There are some rules with these types of loans |
| unknown rates that will leave you buried for life when | | | | that may allow you to defer payments by going back |
| you graduate from college, particularly when interest | | | | to school or defer payments when you lose a job or |
| rates are on the rise. It can be an extremely | | | | are short on cash. But for the most part you want to |
| overwhelming prospect when many people are getting | | | | avoid deferring payments as much as possible, |
| out of college and trying to buy a home and start a | | | | because the interest continues to compound when |
| family. | | | | you aren't making payments. |