07.12.06 | Finding the right answers
Sometimes, when you’re looking for financial aid information, you can get the wrong answer, or at least the not quite right answer. Take this Yahoo site for instance: http://answers.yahoo.com/question/?qid=20060617163838AAbG7w8
Here a person asks why they need to apply for a Stafford Loan and whether deadlines are important. There are three answers. All are partially correct, but not completely. That’s the danger in asking strangers for information. 
The deadlines can be floating, as the first answer says, but the second person makes an important point – schools have a fixed amount of money to allocate. If you miss the deadline, you may not get as much, or you may not get any. If you’re lucky, everything will turn out fine. But to be certain get your documents in on time! Think of it like you’re first college test. You need to get your tuition finances straight before you can begin attending classes.
And the third answer is also partially correct – you DO need to pay back Stafford Loans. It’s not free money, like most scholarships are. It is at a much lower interest rate than non-Federal loans, but it is still a loan and you must pay it back. Scholarships are going to be your best bet as you don’t repay them.
For more information on Stafford Loans visit www.StaffordLoan.com
Visit www.StudentScholarshipSearch.com/ to look through more than one billion dollars in scholarship money.
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I have had to take out parent loans to supplement college costs for my two children. I have another child about to enter college. I am severely financially strapped with the loans. Is there any way to have the loans placed under my childrens name and deferred until they finish college?
Thanks
May 26th, 2007 | #