College Students Loans

by Pauline Davies

Let's suppose that you have a child who will soon be graduating from high school. You will feel happy of course, the same as any other parent whose child is graduating from high school. It is one of those milestones in life that you have successfully passed, despite all the financial obstacles that you have probably had to overcome. It is time to celebrate, for you have fulfilled your responsibility of giving your child a better chance in life.

But as most would say, a high school graduation is not the be all and end all. In fact, it is just the beginning of tougher challenges that await you and your child in the following years of college education.

At this point, you need to start thinking about how you will pay for the studies of your college-bound teenager. With the increasing cost of tuition fees, you need to plan ahead well of time to avoid any problems, especially if you not well-off. I should imagine you already know how difficult it is to have to deal with the escalating costs of your child's high school education before. The earlier you start thinking about your child's college education, the less you will have financial problems afterwards.

If you honestly think you will ever be faced with financial problems again, it is vital that you understand the various financial aid programs available for your college-bound child. Just keep reading to learn the financial aids that are available to you:

A Grant: it is the first kind of college financial aid that you should try for. It just requires you to complete a FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) application form. Once the application has been submitted, it will be evaluated and if your child qualifies, he/she will get the full amount of what he/she has applied for. At this point, you need not do anything much further except provide the name of the college or university that your child wants to enrol into.

A Scholarship: Despite the fact that scholarships are mostly intended for students who have the 'brains' but not the 'money', not all college scholarships are intended for academics. Students who do not have the best academic record can still qualify for many other college scholarships. There are college sports scholarships, community service work scholarships, social involvement scholarships and many others. These are just a couple of the different types of scholarships for your child if he / she is not that academically talented.

'Student Loans': these types of loans have lower interest rates compared to other types of loan. Some loans are subsidized, which means that the interest does not accumulate until a student finishes college. Furthermore, these loans do not require collateral, and therefore, you do not have to worry about putting your own home as collateral against the student loan for your child. Most of these loans are available on a variety of repayment plans at low interest rates and low monthly repayments.

If you haven't yet started searching for any of the various financial aid programs available, it is advisable that you start now. These financial aids are there to help you and will provide the funds needed for your teen's college education. You can become free from worries about the cost of your teen's education, if you begin early enough.