Zandokah95829

As with everything else the cost of college education has increased greatly. Increases in tuition in excess of 6% per year are common nowadays. Just as one example, back in 1973 the price to register at The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) was about $200 per quarter and now it is well over $2,000 per quarter.

This tenfold increase in cost is not too unusual and lots of things now cost ten times more than they did back in the 1970s. Incomes, on the other hand have risen about three times in this same time period from about $15,000 - $30,000 per year to about $39,000 - $42,000 per year. The numbers vary by age, gender and a great deal more although as a rough guide a threefold increase is about right.

Now there is some good news. There are many more types of financial aid available today to both students and parents than there has ever been. As the name implies, financial assistance is money that parents and students receive from grants, loans and scholarships granted by both Federal and private lenders to help students to pay for their college education.

Once upon a time, students were dependent almost totally on Stafford loans and Pell grants to finance the cost of their education and college living expenses. Nowadays Pell grants are still issued although they're needs based and meet a small proportion of the education cost today. Stafford loans are similarly needs based but can range from 25% to 40% of the average cost of school these days. Another type of aid is Perkins loans that are similar to Stafford loans but that are reserved for the lowest income families.

Fortunately, PLUS loans are also available now and these loans were not around a few years ago. These are loans given to parents and not students to assist parents to pay for their child's college education. Interest rates on PLUS loans are average and there are certain restrictions and fees charged but they often form an important part of the student's overall package of college funding.

A quick note about fees. Many loans are for a specified sum such as $6,000 per year disbursed in several payments (normally one payment per semester). But it's not uncommon for fees of up to 4% to be deducted from the loan amount before the funds are disbursed. This 4% fee on a $6,000 equates to $240 that you will not see but that you must repay. When you are searching for a loan ensure that you do your homework and try to find a low-fee or no-fee loan.

Although Federal loan programs like the subsidized Stafford loan program carry low fees and interest is paid by the government, they are not the only source of financial assistance nowadays and are not necessarily the best choice.

Meeting the cost of college nowadays is a complex operation and the majority of students will have to put together a funding package that includes scholarships, grants, Federal loans and private borrowing.

Happily, there are now many more sources of finance available than ever before and market competition from private lenders especially means that it is possible to find funds at a price that will not necessarily run you into unmanageable debt.

You are also lucky to be living at a time when finding the information that you need to make reasoned decisions about the choices available to you is also quite easy.

TheStudentLoansCentre.com provides a wealth of information for students covering everything from an introduction to college loan financing to a detailed look at making use of a student loans consolidation service

posted by 33846  # 9:48 AM 0 comments