Graduate and professional students can borrow under the PLUS Loan Program. The terms and conditions applicable to Parent PLUS Loans also apply to Graduate PLUS loans. You may borrow up to your cost of attendance (determined by your graduate or professional school) minus other financial aid including other loans. You must not have an adverse credit history and repayment begins after the loan is fully disbursed. If you are still enrolled you can qualify for an In-School Deferment to avoid making payments. Contact your school or your servicer once the final year's disbursement is made to request the deferment. The loan carries a fixed rate of 8.5 for FFEL loans and 7.9% for a Direct loans. The standard repayment term is 10 years, but can be up to 25 years depending on your total borrowing.
In order to receive a Graduate PLUS Loan, you must first complete the Free Applicaton for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and have used your maximum annual loan eligibility under the Federal Subsidized and Unsubsidized Stafford loan program.
You can use our LoanFinder to compare and apply for a Graduate PLUS loan
source:estudentloan.com/
Saturday, June 14, 2008
Federal Graduate PLUS Loan Review
Home Schooling and Financial Aid
1. Are there any programs that provide student financial assistance to homeschooled children?
Homeschooled students are eligible for federal student aid for college if they have "completed a secondary school education in a home school setting that is treated as a home school or private school under State law" (Section 484(d)(3) of the Higher Education Act of 1965). Homeschooled students have not been required to take the GED or take an ability-to-benefit test since the Higher Education Amendments of 1998. High school dropouts must take a GED exam or an ability-to-benefit test, but students who have completed a home schooled secondary education that satisfies the requirements of state law do not. For additional information, see Federal Requirements for Homeschoolers Seeking College Admission and Financial Aid, Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA), May 2003.
Many private scholarships are open to homeschooled students. Some scholarships, however, require a high school diploma or GED. If a scholarship requires a high school diploma or GED, ask for a clarification or exception before applying. If you encounter resistance, it can help to point out that in 2005 the winner of the Siemens Westinghouse Competition in Math, Science and Technology's $100,000 scholarship was a 16-year-old homeschooled student.
There aren't many scholarships specifically targeted at homeschooled students, other than those sponsored by the Home School Foundation.
Source:FAQs about Financial Aid ,finaid.org
Friday, June 13, 2008
Student loans consolidation scheme receives alarming response
It has been found out that student loan debt consolidation loan can be of help in many ways. Firstly they enable you to segregate several federal student loans and make a single payment. This amount as calculated is certainly less than the amount which one would have otherwise required to pay as per the original 10-year repayment option. This appears to be good news not only to parents and students but also to academicians and managements of many educational institutions. The reason is quiet simple. They will have more and more students. Students and parents are otherwise apprehensive to when it come to loans. Therefore it is convenient that such a measure can do a great thing to improve the rate of the number of people educated in the whole of United States of America.
This move is hailed by many people for many reasons. Firstly the terms are flexible and it is very easy to make things work out in your favor. A student can be assured of the fact that once he or she enrolls for a program and alternatively funds his education through the loan he will be in a position to repay the money as soon as he gets a comfortable job. It is for this reason this loan has received an alarming and encouraging response. The earlier loan schemes were also good enough however many of them lacked merit when it came to practical applications. This loan is not only important for the educational aspects. It helps a lot in the economy of the nation too. Such loans will make sure than more money is spent on a productive means like education and that there are more employment opportunities and as well as improved chances for increase in the aggregate national income. These loans are a very important issue and people should not take them for granted. If they do so then it will be too late to realize that they have missed something which would otherwise have great impact on career and financial stability. Lots of applications are already expected for these loans.
