NACAC Elist and Other Options

Questions about college? 1-866-944-2648 Select Category Applying to College  (54)    College Applications  (32)    FAFSA  (9) College Admissions  (214)    Graduate Admissions  (2) College Life  (48) College Rankings  (11) Community Colleges  (2) For-Profit Colleges  (1) High School  (5) Online Education  (7)    online classes  (4)    online degrees  (3) Paying for College  (100)    College Costs  (8)    Federal Student Aid  (3)    Financial Aid  (55)    Pell Grants  (2)    Private Student Loans  (7)    Scholarships  (28)    Stafford Loans  (3) Preparing for College  (43)    ACT  (5)    College Counselors  (9)    SAT  (5)    Test Prep  (14) Selective Colleges  (3) Uncategorized  (1) Select Month May 2011  (6) April 2011  (8) March 2011  (7) February 2011  (7) January 2011  (6) December 2010  (6) November 2010  (7) October 2010  (6) September 2010  (10) August 2010  (4) July 2010  (2) June 2010  (5) May 2010  (6) April 2010  (8) March 2010  (7) February 2010  (8) January 2010  (5) December 2009  (10) November 2009  (10) October 2009  (8) September 2009  (2) August 2009  (5) July 2009  (3) June 2009  (11) May 2009  (11) April 2009  (10) March 2009  (17) February 2009  (2) January 2009  (14) December 2008  (10) November 2008  (10) October 2008  (9) September 2008  (5) August 2008  (3) July 2008  (4) June 2008  (6) May 2008  (3) April 2008  (4) March 2008  (7) February 2008  (8) January 2008  (8) December 2007  (11) November 2007  (7) October 2007  (10) September 2007  (28) August 2007  (2) July 2007  (7) June 2007  (6) May 2007  (6) April 2007  (1) Below are a list of options for network in the College Counseling, Admissions and Financial Aid Field.

http://www.linkedin.com/groups?mostPopular=&gid=1771062  - "College Counselors : Admissions and Financial Aid" https://groups.google.com/group/admissions-professionals?hl=en
http://groupspaces.com/NACAC/ Feel free to list others in the comments section below.

This blog is sponsored in part by:

View the original article here

Student Loan Options for Canadian Students (and CanHelp)

For foreign students, searching for loans to attend American universities can be difficult. In previous years, students could apply for the CanHelp student loan, but unfortunately, CanHelp loans were discontinued in 2008. Instead, through the Canadian Student Loan Program, students have the option to apply for a Smart Option loan through Sallie Mae.

The Canadian Student Loan Program allows students to take out a loan up to the cost of education. What’s great about this loan is that there are no early repayment penalties and students don’t need to start repayment until 6 months after they graduate. However, it’s important to note that any student who wishes to apply for a loan, must have a US cosigner.

Additionally, StudentScholarshipSearch has a number of scholarship listings for international students and would be a great place to search for a little extra money for school.

>>To apply for a Canadian Student Loan, visit InternationalStudentLoans.com.

View the original article here

Understand Your Graduate Loan Options

The Wall Street Journal had a great article yesterday explaining some of the problems that graduate business schools have been facing in regards to decreased applicant and attendance volume over the past few semesters.
The author, Diana Middleton, writes:

Many full-time programs have seen a drop in applications international students, partly due to increased competition from schools abroad and because of increased difficulty securing visas and student loans.

It’s no secret that student loans are more difficult to obtain for graduate students in the past few years due to the credit crunch and slow economic recovery. However, there are more lenders and programs than ever to assist post-undergraduates with their advanced degree programs.
Between the graduate Stafford loans and GradPLUS loan offerings, there is a substantial base of federal loans available to students attending accredited, Title IV-certified academic institutions. The interest rates on both loans are fixed (6.8% APR and 7.9% APR, respectively) and allow the safety of stable, unchanging payments.
Although the federal loans have fixed interest rates, private loans have the potential to much lower. At this moment in time, I have seen APRs start as low as 2.8% (August 2010). In addition, private student loans have many benefits and incentives that are not available to federal borrowers such as co-signer release and graduation rewards.
If you want to do your research find out what is available, take some time and compare student loans.
View the original article here

Repayment Options for the Parent PLUS loan

Posted in Parent PLUS Loans at 2:46 pm by plusloans
If you are a parent who has taken out a PLUS loan to cover some of your child’s education, you might be wondering what methods of repayment are available to you. While many parents opt for standard repayment, there are other options as well:
The Graduated Repayment Plan allows you to start out with lower monthly payments that gradually increase over time until the loan is paid in full. The required monthly payment is calculated based on your loan debt and interest rate.
The Income-Sensitive Repayment Plan bases your monthly payment on your yearly income and your loan amount. You are eligible for this plan only if you monthly loan payment is greater than ten percent of your annual gross income.
The Extended Repayment Plan provides eligible loan borrowers with payment relief through an expanded repayment term of up to 25 years.
Visit ParentPLUSLoan.com for more information on repayment, and don’t forget to consolidate if you have more than one federal loan.

View the original article here