The mind set required when running a marathon is one of focus, mental fortitude, and toughness for the long hall. As such, you naturally need to pace yourself and prepare yourself accordingly. I have a friend Courtney from Austin Texas who runs each week and prepares herself proportionately for her mini-marathons. She fastens her running sneakers snugly, gets her Ipod Nano set with her favorite tunes, puts on her running shorts and t-shirt, grabs a bottle of water, and equipped with her “can-do” attitude braves the scorching Texas heat. She is mentally tough and prepared for the elements. But Courtney is in the minority. We as a nation are enamored with instant gratification. Seldom do we take such steps to ensure success. Well, I’m here to tell you when it comes to educational loans you want to breach this topic more like a marathon – not a sprint. Take your time and get it right the first time. To quote a commercial from the late 80’s, “It won’t happen over night, but it will happen.”
The fact is the process of obtaining a Stafford Loan holds several key phases before completion is reached which you should be aware of. As they say, the best things in life are worth the wait, and this is one of those times. Take a look at my lucky seven keys to success!
1. Complete your FAFSA application (which gets sent to the Department of Education).
2. The DOE intern creates a Student Aid Report (SAR) on your behalf and sends this to the school(s) you designate. This process generally takes 7-10 business days.
3. The school will then send out an Awards letter outlining if you are eligible for a Stafford Loan and for how much.
4. You then complete a Stafford loan application where you will sign a Master Promissory Note (some schools are set-up for e-signature while others require a hard copy to be sent).
5. The lender will send a certification letter to the school on your behalf for them to certify your enrollment and outline what you Stafford Loan eligibility amount totals.
6. Your school sets the disbursement date of your Stafford Loan funds with the lender.
7. You begin the repayment process 6 months after you either graduate or take a leave of absence from school.
So it’s your choice. You can run out that door totally unprepared into the fiery Texas heat, or you can take a page out of Courtney’s book and arm yourself accordingly. I know which choice I would make. The problem for me, however, is I just can’t keep up with her. Court’s always been one step ahead of this writer, but someday I’ll catch her. At least that’s what I keep telling myself.
