It’s the end of the year again and you are on the threshold of a new beginning. This feeling is all the more amplified for college bound students who are at the brink of making important decisions that will affect their future and their finances, one of them being taking out a student
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It’s the end of the year again and you are on the threshold of a new beginning. This feeling is all the more amplified for college bound students who are at the brink of making important decisions that will affect their future and their finances, one of them being taking out a student loan. If you are a high school senior worried about student loans, here are a few New Year’s resolutions to help you get started.
Research, Research, Research!
Make use of the holidays to research as much as possible about student loans. Get your hands on all the student loan 101 that you can. Study about the various different types of student loans and understand terms like subsidized, unsubsidized, federal and private loan, etc. Student loan FAQs on our site are an excellent resource to start with. Also visit community listings and your high school counseling offices to get to know more about the options that are available.
Fill out the FAFSA form
This one tops the list of New Year’s resolutions as this is the most time specific and its date of acceptance starts January 1. FAFSA stands for Free Application for Federal Student Aid. If you want financial aid then you need to fill out the FAFSA. Visit the website, get a hang of all the documents that are needed and organize them in one place.
Calculate the Amount of Money You Need
It is important to be absolutely clear about the amount of financial aid you will need to fund your college education. Finaid and other student finance websites have great calculators where you can calculate the amount of money you need along with the interest rate.
Look For Scholarships and Grants
Can you believe a huge amount of scholarship money goes waste every year because students actually failed to apply for it? Save out on the amount of student loan you need to borrow by applying for scholarships and grants. It helps if you are nerdy; even if you aren’t there are many options and many different types of scholarships out there. Scour newspapers and websites to get to know more.
Be Thrifty, Be Wise
Borrow books from seniors, don’t make impulsive purchases, don’t build your credit card debt and choose a college near home. If there is one motto every college going and college bound student should adopt, its, “Be frugal!”
Remember the earlier you start the better it is for you.
Happy New Year!
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Tags: Career Advice, college students, FAFSA, New Year Resolution, Student Loan, Student Loans
Categories: Student Loan