If you're a current or future college student, chances are good that you're considering a student loan. Before you make any decisions, it pays to understand the basic principles behind borrowing. All loans consist of three components: The interest rate, security component and term. The Interest Rate The interest rate is the lender's charge for the use of their money. The ...

The US House of Representatives approved the student loan and health care reform legislation on Sunday night, March 21, 2010, by a vote of 220 to 211. No Republicans voted in favor of the legislation. The US Senate is expected to pass the legislation within about a week. The student loan bill will end the federally-guaranteed student loan program, where banks ...

For years, the college cost inflation rate has been steadily rising by roughly 7% each year. The 2010-2011 academic year is no exception. According to College Board, who recently released their Trends in College Pricing and Trends in Student Aid, the average cost of tuition and fees at four-year public schools rose 7.9% while the average rate at private colleges and ...

Is your financial aid advice featured in The New York Times? Didn’t think so. Mark Kantrowitz, is nationally recognized as an often quoted leading financial aid expert. With degrees from M.I.T., Carnegie-Mellon and more quotes than Webster’s, he is the financial aid guy’s financial aid guy. Here’s his advice for these tough times. Kantrowitz strongly encourages families to save 1/3 of ...

I'm having problems with my financial aid. I'm a single mother of one. My daughter is almost three years old and will be attending daycare this semester. I've been going to college for two years and will receive my associates degree soon with a cumulative GPA of 3.7. I will continue my education at another college this fall, and again I'm ...

We asked FastWeb members to pass along their advice on financial aid, based on their personal experiences. Here's what they said: "It is NOT your school's responsibility to keep track of your account, it's yours! If you think that something is not right about your financial aid, check it out. Even if the school's mistake seems to be favoring you, you ...

The price of textbooks has risen at twice the rate of inflation (.pdf) over the last 20 years according to the Government Accountability Office. Even used books don't soften the blow. What's a student with a bruised bank account to do? Net Yourself a Used Textbook Amazon, Abebooks and eBay are familiar resources. Other Web sites (like Campusi) list available titles ...

1. What types of financial aid do you offer? What are the requirements for need-based aid and for merit-based aid? 2. How much debt do students have when they graduate? What percentage of students graduate with debt? 3. If I get a work-study job, how many hours will I be required to work per week? Are part-time jobs available to students ...

Not sure when your financial aid applications are due? Here’s a complete list of financial aid deadlines for the 2010-2011 academic year— Federal and State. The 2010-2011 School Year (July 1st, 2010 - June 30th, 2011): *FAFSA on the Web applications must be submitted by midnight Central Daylight time, June 30, 2011. *Corrections on the Web forms must be submitted by ...

Unfortunately, federal aid isn't distributed on whether or not your parents want to pay for your education; it all depends on if they can. Parents have many reasons for not contributing to their child's education: can't afford it; it's the child's responsibility; sticky divorce. But your parents refusal actually hurts you more than they may know. Regardless of your parents' reasons, ...

Maybe you have a fellowship. Or student loans are helping you out. But even if you're not strapped for cash, you should check out an important part of graduate school funding: research grants. Like a scholarship or fellowship, research grants can help to fund your graduate work. But a research grant offers so much more: an opportunity to further your unique ...

It’s December 1st, which has us thinking about the FAFSA already. The FAFSA stands for Free Application for Federal Student Aid and is made available every January 1st to potential and current college and graduate students. It’s the document that decides your need for student aid—not unlike the way your mother decided your fate when she picked your outfit for third ...

Congress is proposing to allow borrowers to discharge private student loans in bankruptcy. Under current law, education loans are not dischargeable in bankruptcy except in extreme circumstances. The US Bankruptcy Code at 11 USC 523(a)(8) requires borrowers who want to get a bankruptcy discharge for their student loans to demonstrate in an adversary proceeding that repaying their student loans "would impose ...

Even though the bailout bill has been passed, most Americans are still wary of future financial woes. Students are especially worried, seeing as their funding for college is tied up in private loans and may have been affected by the recent sub prime mortgage crisis. Mark Kantrowitz, a leading financial aid expert, has a few tips to help students continue to ...

Winning the grant you've worked so hard to achieve is one thing. Taking steps to ensure the award will be one of many is something completely different. Get to Know Your Grant Sometimes the greatest challenge is figuring out how you are allowed to spend "your" money. A lot of expenses you expect to be covered could be restricted. For example, ...

Why should I fill in the FAFSA, opening up my financial life, when I know today that it will not get any aid for my children's college educations? We are not independently wealthy with millions in salary and savings, but we intend to have the kids compete for merit based, essay or other subjective determinants for college awards and scholarships. — ...

Suppose you've made the required payments on all your loans and want to use some extra money to pay off your debt quicker. How do you choose which loan to pay off first? There are two main strategies for accelerating the repayment of debt. One involves paying down the loan with the highest after-tax interest rate first. The other, popularized by ...

I am a high school junior and an Upward Bound scholar. I do not have any way to pay for college and I really want to attend. How do I apply for financial aid? What are the requirements? Do I have to pay for anything? What advice do you have for me if I do receive financial aid? — Alexis M. ...

After you submit your application for financial aid, you will receive a financial aid award letter from the college(s) to which you applied, typically in early to mid-April. This letter spells out the details of your financial aid package. A financial aid package is a collection of different types of financial aid from multiple sources. It is intended to help you ...

Fastweb partnered with Maguire Associates, a firm that specializes in market research, analysis and predictive modeling for colleges and universities, to evaluate the impact of the economy on college choices by high school seniors and their parents. Initial surveys were sent in February and March 2009 to identify the initial selection of colleges. Follow-up surveys were sent in May 2009 to ...