College Admissions Help Blog

Ask Admissions Girl: Which private student loan is right for me?

If you are headed off to college in the fall, you may have recently come to the realization that you need a private student loan to supplement your federal financial aid package. So where do you go from here? When shopping for a private student loan it is important to look at all of your options and take some time to decide which loan best fits your needs.

The Private Student Loan Comparison Tool on PrivateStudentLoans.com can help you do your research and see all of your private student loan options in one place. The comparison tool provides at-a-glance benefits for borrowers from multiple lenders and detailed information about each loan including interest rates, fees and deferment options. The best part is that you do not have to provide any personal information in order to do your research.

A private student loan is not a purchase to be taken lightly. By doing your research there will be no surprises when it comes to repayment expectations. If you are in the market for a private student loan for college, do not apply for a loan product until you know all of your options. Use the comparison tool to make a smarter borrowing decision.

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Ask Admissions Girl: I have been accepted to college. What should I do now to prepare for the fall?

Now that you have been accepted to college there is nothing left to do but wait for August to roll around, right? Wrong! Going to college is a major life transition that takes a lot of preparation.There are three things you should be doing for the next few months to get ready.

Prepare for the costs associated with college: Beyond tuition, there are a lot of costs associated with college. Even if you got a great federal financial aid package you will probably need extra money for college. Now is the time to start planning and for the cost of books, supplies and social activities. Working one or two jobs during the summer and saving most of the money you make is a great way to ensure you will not be strapped for cash come September.

Prepare to move away from home: College will probably be the first time you really move away from home. This change will probably be difficult for both you and your parents. Your parents will have to adjust to you not being around all of the time and you will have to adjust to living with a roommate, eating college food and sharing a bathroom with a lot of other people. Spend the next few months making sure you have everything you will need for college life.

Prepare mentally for academic challenges: Your college classes will be a lot more challenging than your high school classes. Do something academic this summer to get ready for the fall. Maybe you will choose to take a class so that you stay in the school mode or maybe you will choose to read a few books. Whatever you choose to to to exercise your mind, make sure it is something you enjoy.

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Ask Admissions Girl: What is a private student loan?

While deciding which college to attend in the fall you are most likely taking financial aid into consideration. However, if your top school did not provide you with sufficient federal financial aid it is important to know that there are other ways to help pay for your college education. One way is to take out a private student loan.

Private student loans help students make up the difference between their financial aid awards and the total cost of their education. Unlike federal student loans they are based on credit rather than on need. Therefore, most college students will need a parent or other close adult to cosign the loan.

PrivateStudentLoans.com is a great resource for information about this type of loan. This site will let you see what your private student loan options are, compare lenders and even help you apply for a loan.

If financial aid circumstances are forcing you to choose a school you are less than thrilled with, consider all of your options before you make your decision final. You should be happy with the school you attend, but also feel like you can comfortably pay for it.

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Ask Admissions Girl: What is the Expected Family Contribution (EFC)?

When you receive your first college financial aid package, you might not know what all of the components are. Students and parents are usually confused my a number called the EFC. EFC stands for Expected Family Contribution. It is the amount of money that you and your family are expected to contribute to your education based on the information you provided on the FAFSA.

The EFC not only determines how much money you family can put towards your education, but also how much financial assistance you need for college. Your EFC is subtracted from the total cost of attendance to determine the rest of your financial aid package including Federal Pell Grants, Stafford loans, Federal Perkins loans, Federal Work-Study and other school loans and scholarships.

It is important to remember that not every school is able to cover 100% of need for every student. This means that your total award amounts will not always equal total cost of attendance minus EFC. Federal student loan funds and grants are limited which is why you will not always receive the total amount that you are eligible for.

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After you have been accepted to college and received your financial aid package, paying for college becomes more of a reality than a distant necessity. It is time to start seriously thinking about how you will make up the difference between your federal financial aid awards and the total cost of your education. Here are a few places where you might find funds for college:

• Your parents: If you are lucky your parents have saved some money for your college education. This is not the case for everyone, but if it is the case for you count your blessings.
• Your own savings: If you haven’t already started saving, start now. Your own personal savings will go a long way in paying for books and social expenses while you are in college. You may even want to take on an extra job this summer so that you can have extra money saved for expenses that pop up along the way.
• Scholarships: StudentScholarshipSearch.com is a great resource to help you find scholarships that you might qualify for. There are hundreds of thousands of scholarships from all around the country in the database.
• Private Student Loans: Private Student Loans are a great option for students who may not have a lot of financial need on paper. These loans are based on credit. The only catch is that most students will need a parent or family member to cosign the loan for them.

Hi everyone! TGIF, right? Hopefully things have calmed down for you all now that your college applications are in. It should be smooth sailing from here; or for now at least. Once your acceptance letters start to roll on you will have more big decisions to make. The question is when do you have to tell a school whether or not you will be attending in the fall?

The deadline for letting a college know you are attending is May 1st. Since you could receive acceptance letters any time from now until mid-April you have plenty of time to make your final decision. Before you make a decision you should wait to hear from all of the colleges that you applied to. There are a few things to consider as you get letters in the mail. First, you should compare all of your federal financial aid packages. Some schools may offer you more money than others which could be a big selling point. Some other things to consider are what your living situation will be at each school, what kinds of activities each school offers that interest you, and even what your semester schedule will be like.

Even though you are the one who will be attending school, make sure your parents are comfortable with your decision. You should talk to them about the distance between home and school and if they are willing to help you out with travel to and from campus. You should also make sure that they are comfortable with the financial aid package offered by your chosen school. Chances are they will be taking on some of the financial responsibility of your education.

Whatever you decide remember that this is the school you will be attending for the next four years. Good luck!

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Hey seniors! I just wanted to take a minute to make sure that FAFSA deadline are approaching quickly! Many deadlines could be as soon as February 28th which is this coming weekend. If you have not filled your 2010-2011 FAFSA yet there are a few steps you should take to make sure you do not miss out on any federal financial aid.

1. Find out how much time you have: Look up the FAFSA deadlines for all of the schools you are applying to. If they are not until mid-March then you have a few more weeks to pull your information together.
2. Get your parents on board: To get this thing done on time you are probably going to need the help of your parents. The FAFSA requires a lot of parental information so it will be helpful to have them go through the process with you. Make sure they know when your deadlines are so that they are able to allocate their time appropriately.
3. Visit FAFSAOnline.com for help: The 2010-2011 FAFSA Form Guide can help you through every step of the FAFSA.

Good luck and remember not to stress out! There are a lot of pieces that go into applying for college, but before you know it you will be sleeping in your new dorm room, eating cafeteria food for breakfast, lunch and dinner, and making a lot of new friends!

Happy Wednesday everyone! I hope you are all having a good week and finally catching a break from college applications. At this point I am sure you have moved on to tackling the FAFSA with your parent. Soon enough you will be receiving financial aid packages

So what happens if you do not receive enough federal financial aid from any of the schools you apply to? Luckily there are other ways to help finance your education. Private student loans are an option to consider after you know how much additional help you are going to need paying for college.

There are  many benefits of private student loans. Unlike federal financial aid, private student loans are based on credit. You do not have to exhibit great financial need to qualify. You, or your cosigner, just needs to have good credit. Private student loan funds can also go towards paying for expenses beyond tuition including books and room and board.

There are many different private student loan lenders. Each offer different options and benefits so it is important to compare private student loan lenders before applying.

It is probably too early to think about applying for a private student loan now, but it is definitely something to keep in mind when the time comes. There are no deadlines with private student loans so you can even wait until you are well into your first semester to apply for one.

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Hello all and happy 2010! We have now entered the most wonderful time of the year; FAFSA season! If you are a senior in high school filing the FAFSA should be number one on your current priority list.

When it comes to financial aid one of the most common questions that people ask is, “do I really need to submit a FAFSA?” The short answer is 100% yes! No matter who you are and how much money your parents make you should file a FAFSA. A common misconception is that when you fill out a FAFSA you are only applying for need-based financial aid. People think that if they make over a certain amount of money they will not qualify for any aid. This is not necessarily true.

When you fill out and submit a FAFSA you are essentially applying for four different types of financial aid:

1. Grants: Grant money is financial aid that does not have to be repaid. Most grant money is based on financial need.
2. Scholarships: Like grants, scholarship money does not have to be repaid. Most scholarship money is awarded based on a student’s academic achievements.
3. Work-study: Work-study money is earned through a job on or near campus. Work-study money does not have to be repaid.
4. Loans: Loan money, including subsidized Stafford loans and unsubsidized Stafford loans, is awarded by the government and must be repaid with interest.

So file you FAFSA today! If you need help with it or have any questions about it download the 2010-2011 FAFSA form guide. This guide goes through the FAFSA step-by-step to make sure you can tackle the form efficiently and accurately. Good luck and may 2010 bring you abundant financial aid.

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It is that time of year again! A time for holiday parties, trimming the tree, wrapping presents, and financial aid. The 2010-2011 FAFSA will be available after January 1^st. Call me Scrooge, but if you are a high school senior, the parent of a high school senior, or anyone attending college for the first time it is important to take a little bit of time away from all of the holiday cheer to learn about the FAFSA and how to properly fill it out.

Mistakes on the FAFSA can cost you thousands of dollars in financial aid, so if you have lingering questions about how it works make sure you talk to people who have been through it or financial aid experts. Luckily, this is also the time of year when high schools and communities hold financial aid workshops to help families of prospective college students understand the process better. Contact your school’s guidance department to find out when they are holding a workshop. After you attend you can finish all or your last minute shopping and Christmas cookie baking feeling relaxed and ready to conquer the FAFSA in January!