“The human species, according to the best theory I can form of it, is composed of two distinct races, the men who borrow, and the men who lend…” - Charles Lamb

…And in the case of a student in need of financial assistance, Federal Student Loan programs and Private Loan programs will alleviate his monetary dilemma by acting as the ‘lender’, handing money to the said ‘borrower’ in the form of student loans.

So, what are student loans?

In simplistic terms, student loans are loans given to students in need of financial assistance in their pursuit of higher education. With student loans being loans, they logically entail the borrower paying back the money that was lent to him.

In the United States, there are different kinds of student loans :

1. Federal Student loans (made to students directly) - With this kind of loan, the upside is that students don’t have to start paying until after their graduation. However, the downside to this is that amounts handed out to students are limited.

According to Wikipedia, “The first type are loans made directly to the student. These loans are available to college and university students and are used to supplement personal and family resources, scholarships, grants and work-study. They may be subsidized by the U.S. Government, or may be unsubsidized depending on the student’s financial need.”

(a) Subsidized loans are given to students with apparent financial need, i.e., students who come from low income families. Stemming from the term ’subsidized,’ the federal government pays for the interest of the student’s loans while still he is still in college.

(b) Unsubsidized loans are of course, the opposite of subsidized loans. The government will not pay for the interest of the student’s loans. This means that the student will pay for the money he borrows plus the accrued interest of that debt. Read More

When researching your student loan consolidation information options you want to look into how credit history affects student loans.

A range of general student loan products are not credit-based, Stafford and Perkins are based solely on need and do not even perform credit checks, but not all students will qualify and these services will in many instances cover a reduce amount of less than 100% of the amount needed, especially given the high cost of education today, most students and his or her families may therefore need to supplement these with credit-based student loans, when they do being able to show a good credit report to evaluators will result in the best access to funds, with the better interest rates, as with any credit-based loans a prior history of bad credit does not make acquiring funds impossible, nevertheless it is often much harder and in many instances carries a higher interest rate, avoiding a bad credit history will hence be the difference between getting a loan or if you do obtain one, repaying much more than you would have with a good credit rating.

However what is good or bad credit?

The first issue any loan officer will examine is the FICO score, the FICO is a total score calculated by the main credit agencies based on a secret proprietary formula, though the exact equation is not public, multiple criteria are well known and even obvious. Read More

Perhaps it’s happened to you - a period of mounting medical bills, loss of wages, natural disaster and even identity theft. Any one of these things can cause a person’s credit score to plummet. Today, more than ever before, a decent credit score can be a positive force in every aspect of your life.

We all want to have enough money to pay our bills and have enough money left over to live. To accomplish this, we’re expected to manage our money and our credit wisely. Our credit score is a picture of how well we handle our debts. What are the typical purchases and decisions that are affected by a person’s credit score?

• Applying for a job
• Buying a car
• Purchasing a home
• Renting an apartment
• Applying for insurance
• Requesting a credit card
• Opening a bank account

This is only a short list of products and actions that involve a credit score. So, what is this mystery called Credit Scoring? It all starts with your “credit report”.

The three national credit reporting agencies are Equifax, Experian and TransUnion (with smaller ones including ChexSystems). Read More

If you’re seriously interested in knowing about student loans, you need to think beyond the basics. This informative article takes a closer look at things you need to know about student loans and consolidation loans to help with your education.

The primary factor to keep in mind regarding a student loan is that it is not a determent or expense but rather an investment, for yourself. When you finish your college education, it will lead you to a satisfying job and more earnings during the course of your career.

Never let the weights of your student loans influence your credit. Take into consideration of consolidating your loans so it will be easier for you to pay them back.

A student consolidation loan program permits students to join together all unsettled and unpaid loans. For instance, when a certain student has four separate or individual loans, all can be consolidated into just one loan, if the student chooses to. Theoretically, all four loans will be regarded as paid and another loan will begin as replacement.

3 Advantages of Student Loan Consolidation Read More