5 Student Loan Tips For Students and Parents

For students and parents of college students, it is highly important you learn as much as you can regarding financing a college education. Blindly jumping into any student loans you find along the way, could result in financial disaster. We have complied 5 Student Loan Tips for Students and Parents that every student and parent of a college student should know:

1. Start early and research all of your options. Saving money for college is an obvious method to help avoid student loan debt, however there are some less obvious methods such as taking AP classes while in high school which can provide you with free college credits, and thus less money needed in student loans.

2. After high school, highly consider a community college for your first 2 years of study. This could save you loads in tuition and most community colleges have guarantee transfer programs to the local 4 year university if you can maintain a certain grade point average.

3. If you must go to a 4 year university right away, select in-state public universities. Private or out of state colleges will typically always cost you more money.

4. Before you consider student loans, be sure to look for grants, scholarships, loan alternatives, and then apply for FAFSA. Doing things in this order will ensure that you get all the free money for college you can, which should be goal for any college student.

5. Private student loans should be your last resort, however if you must use a private student loan, you are really going to need to compare your options in order to make sure you are getting the best deal possible. NEVER take out more money in private student loans than you absolutely need for your college expenses. Spending your private student loan money on unrelated expenses can put you deep into debt and really damage your financial future.