Student Financial Aid
There are several ways to borrow money responsibly for your education so that you won’t have a lot of debt after you graduate. Here are four tips to help you get money for school:
- Complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form. This is a standard form that most colleges, universities, and career schools use to give out federal student aid and most state and college aid. Filling out this form can help you get money to go to school, so it’s worth taking the time to do it. You can find more information about FAFSA and apply online at the FAFSA website.
- Know your credit score. A credit score is a number that shows how good you are at paying back loans. It’s important to know your credit score because it can affect your ability to borrow money and your lifestyle. If you have a good credit score, you’re more likely to be approved for loans and credit cards, and you may get better interest rates.
- Get a co-signer. If you’re applying for a private student loan, you may need someone to co-sign the loan with you. A co-signer is someone who agrees to help pay back the loan if you can’t. Having a co-signer can make it easier to get approved for a loan, and it may help you get a lower interest rate. You can find out more about co-signers and how to ask someone to be your co-signer on this website.
- Apply for private loans. Even with scholarships and federal student loans, you may not have enough money to cover all of your college expenses. In that case, you may need to borrow money from a private lender, like a bank or credit union. Private student loans can help you cover all of your college expenses, like tuition, fees, books, housing, and more. OneSimpleLoan is a website that can help you find a private student loan to cover your college expenses.
Remember, it’s important to borrow money responsibly for your education so that you won’t have a lot of debt after you graduate. By following these four tips, you can get the money you need to pay for school without taking on too much debt.
College Financial Aid Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Financial Aid Basics
At OneSimpleLoan, we are strong believers in financial aid literacy to help you pay for college education and feel comfortable about student loans. Please choose from the FAQ categories below to find answers to the most commonly-asked financial aid questions.
Financial Aid Basics FAQ
OneSimpleLoan encourages prospective customers to apply for a federal student loan before applying for a private student loan, as federal loans are often less expensive and offer the widest variety of repayment options.
Financial aid is assistance to help a family cover the cost of college. It is intended to supplement a family’s contribution and can include scholarships and grants, low-interest loans and part-time employment.
Financial aid is assistance to help a family cover the cost of college. It is intended to supplement a family’s contribution and can include scholarships and grants, low-interest loans and part-time employment.
Most financial aid is determined by family income, assets and ability to pay � also known as “need”. There is no cutoff, but it is also true that many families make too much money to get large amounts of “free” aid. Government loans are available to supplement this. If government loans and other forms of financial aid do not cover the full Cost of Education for your child, you may need to fill the gap with a private student loan through OneSimpleLoan!
Common ways to save for school include savings accounts, savings bonds, 529 plans, Upromise Program and Coverdale ESAs. Any of these is a great way to start saving for your child’s college education. The most important thing is to start saving as soon as possible. Consult with your certified financial planner to decide which option may be best for you.
You can use many means to pay for school, including savings, family contributions, scholarships, grants, government loans, and private student loans. Consult with your certified financial planner to decide which options are best for your family.
There are many options available for both you and your child. Your child can borrow using Subsidized Stafford loans (if your family income is low), Unsubsidized Stafford loans (if your family income isn’t low), Perkins loans, and private student loans. As a parent, you can borrow the PLUS government loan in your name, if necessary.
Definitely! You can’t be sure you don’t qualify for aid and you may not receive financial aid you could get by failing to apply for it. There are also some sources of aid like Unsubsidized Stafford and PLUS loans that are available regardless of need. Some other scholarships and grants, even if not need-based, require you to fill in the FAFSA. The FAFSA form is free. Some schools require the FAFSA even to consider you for non-need-based aid.
Yes. Almost all financial aid offices require applications each year.
You can usually apply for financial aid any time after January 1st of your child’s enrollment year. However, your child must usually be admitted and enrolled to actually get any money.
Your financial need is based on the tax year, ending December 31st, so you can’t know all the numbers until at least January 1st. Many folks don’t apply until after they receive their W-2s in February. You can get a jump on the process if you use pay stubs and other information to figure out income and related info before that.
Submit a FAFSA. Check the appropriate boxes indicating interest in student employment, student loans, and parent loans. This does not commit you to accepting these types of aid. You can accept or decline later. Leaving these boxes unchecked will not increase your grant aid.
If a child’s parents are separated or divorced, the custodial parent is responsible for filling out the FAFSA. The custodial parent is the parent with whom the child lived the most during the past 12 months. This is not necessarily the same as the parent who has legal custody. If your child did not live with one parent more than the other, the parent who provided the child with the most financial support during the past 12 months should fill out the FAFSA. Any child support and/or alimony received from the non-custodial parent must be included on the FAFSA.
This is a complex issue that varies state-by-state and school-by-school. Seeking advice from your child’s school financial aid officer or your certified financial planner may be your best option.
Yes, if a stepparent and parent are married at the time that a FAFSA is filled out, they must report their income and assets.
Prenuptial agreements are ignored by the federal process.
Generally speaking, a bankruptcy should have no impact on eligibility for federal student aid. Parents who apply for a PLUS loan may be denied for adverse credit (which bankruptcy is). Most bankruptcies will have an impact on eligibility for private loan programs, including some school loan programs. Many private loan programs have credit criteria that preclude people with a bankruptcy within the past seven or 10 years from borrowing without a creditworthy cosigner.
Generally, no.
If your child is a U.S. citizen, but you are not, your child is still eligible for federal aid. If you do not have a Social Security number, you should use 000-00-0000 as your Social Security number on the FAFSA form.
Independent students are not expected to have a parental contribution for federal aid and this will be reflected in the EFC. Each college determines how it approaches aid based on this EFC for independent students.
For federal aid purposes, a student must fulfill the following criteria to be considered independent.
Be 24 years of age or have at least one of the following exceptions:
- is married
- has a dependent
- is a graduate or professional student
- is a ward of the court or an orphan
- is a veteran
Home-schooled students can receive federal student aid if they have “completed a secondary school education in a home-school setting that is treated as a home school or private school under state law.� Home-schooled students who meet this requirement typically do not have to take a GED.
Some scholarships are available for home-schooled students. But others do require a high school diploma or GED. If you find scholarships that do require this, it never hurts to ask for an exception.
It is recommended that you help your child with the FAFSA to help ensure accuracy. If there are mistakes on the form, it will take longer to get your financial aid. You and your child can both apply for a PIN at fafsa.ed.gov (you cannot share a PIN) to access your account in the future and to sign your FAFSA form electronically.
Unless your child is an independent student, he or she will need your financial information, as well as his or her own, in order to complete the FAFSA.
FAQs
What does loan APR mean?
A loan APR is an Annual Percentage Rate. An APR is normally an interest rate number of how much you will pay back if you take a loan out for a year. APR is a misleading figure because if you only take out a loan for 2 weeks it means you only pay 2 weeks interest.
If you booked a hotel for 2 weeks they would not tell you how much it costs to stay in the hotel for a year. This is why APR is a misleading term for loans such as Payday Loans.
What is a credit line?
A credit line is the same as a credit card and is a dollar amount of money you are allowed to take and give back, as and when you need it. If you are approved for a $1000 credit line you may be able to take $900 and then you will have to pay back (for example) $1000 to top your account back up to $1000. Normally you cannot draw 100% of your credit line and only smaller parts of it for operational reasons.
What is a payday loan?
A payday loan is a way to receive money quickly and with not too many questions to last you until you get paid. Typically payday loans are only for 2 to 3 weeks and need to be paid back in full when you get your wage and your salary. Sometimes payday loans are not the best choice of loans if you have other options, but if you need money fast and will be getting a guaranteed amount of money before the loan is due for full payment, it can be a good way of getting through the month.
What is debt consolidation?
If you have multiple loans with different interest rates and due dates, a debt consolidation loan can make everything easier by combining it into one payment. Maybe you have high interest credit card debt or high interest payday loans you have not been able to pay back. Taking out a debt consolidation loan can group all these payments into one as the company will pay off all your debts and make it easier for you to deal with.
What are private student loans?
If you have tried to get federal student loans or self fund a college course but haven’t managed to get any money it may be an option to apply for a private student loan. WIth many student loans the loan company will deal with the college and pay them directly, but with private student loans the money sometimes comes directly to you and this gives you the choices of how to use that money.
What is a cash advance?
Certain credit cards, banks and loan companies will give you money you dont have as a cash advance. Typically when you get a cash advance from a credit card you pay quite a lot for the service. A cash advance is slightly different from an overdraught and is actually a lot cheaper.
What is an overdraft?
There are different types of overdraft from a financial institution. You can have arranged overdrafts, unarranged overdraft and pre-arranged overdraft. Unarranged overdrafts are far more expensive than a pre-arranged overdraft as the interest is often calculated daily.
What is a credit union?
A typical credit union will be very similar to a bank, but credit unions are mostly non profits with the focus on the customers and members rather than the shareholders and CEO of a normal bank. Credit unions take in savings and give that money out as loans. A typical bank takes in savings but uses the banking system to give out loans and saves the savings as collateral.
How long is a short term loan?
Short term loans need to be paid off within 6 months in most cases or occasionally a year and generally they will need to be fully paid off within 18 months. Short term loans often have slightly higher interest rates than long term repayment loans, but this can vary depending on the credit score of the borrower and the requirement of the loan lender.
Can I get an online loan without a bank account?
There are very few online loan companies that can process a payment to you if you do not have a bank account. The only way to pay someone would be to either give them cash or to western union money which is not practical for an online loan service. If you are unbanked and have had issues with traditional banking it may be worth speaking to a credit union and asking them about a product they have called second-chance banking.
How do I get a loan online with bad credit?
To get a loan online with bad credit you just need to choose the right provider. A fico score or credit score is only part of the decision making process in an online lending company. Very often you can get a loan online based on your housing history and work history rather than just a credit score. We have some lenders in our panel that look at more than just your credit score and make their decision based on a number of factors.
How to get a payday loan online with bad credit?
The best way to get a payday loan online if you have bad credit is to provide any information the payday lender requests in a timely and efficient manner. Make sure you have the typical documents like drivers license and bank details ready so you can provide a copy as soon as they are requested. Typical users of payday loans mostly have bad credit and if you look at a large amount of peoples credit history it could be said most people have bad or somewhat questionable credit.
Are online bad credit loans safe?
Online loan lenders need to abide by a strict criteria so they use industry standard encryption for their websites and loan applications. If you need to check the safety of a website you can look up in the browser and see a padlock. If an online bad credit loan website does not have a padlock you should avoid it. If you are looking for a truly safe online bad credit loan website you need look no further than Onesimpleloan.
Do online loans really work?
Online loans really do make a loan possible to many people that previously had no access to credit. A loan would typically be made in a local loan store, doorstep money lender or pawn shop. With only local choices the interest rates could be as high as the lender wanted because there was no competition. The internet has allowed lenders across the country to make online loans from any state to any state where loans are legal. The amount of competition for online loans has helped drive interest rates down and pushed the bad players out of the industry.
What are the best online payday loans?
The best online payday loans are different for each individual that is needing a loan. What may be considered the best and perfect for one person with good credit that just had a small account issue may be of no use to a person who is on disability and in need of a cash injection to buy food. For many people the best online payday loans are the ones that have high approval rates and fast payout.
What is the easiest online loan to get approved for?
The easiest type of online loan to get approved for can vary depending on an individual’s credit score and financial situation. For those with good credit, a personal loan from a bank or credit union may be easiest to get approved for. If your credit score is lower, you may have better luck with an online lender that specializes in bad credit loans. These lenders may have more lenient credit requirements and offer loans such as a secured personal loan or a payday loan.
Can I get a loan instantly online?
In some cases, it may be possible to get a loan instantly online. Some online lenders offer the ability to apply and receive funding quickly, sometimes within the same day. These types of loans are often referred to as “online instant loans” or “fast cash loans.” However, the approval process and funding time can vary depending on the lender and the borrower’s credit and financial situation.
What are the easiest online payday loans to get?
The easiest online payday loans to get will likely be from lenders that have the most lenient credit requirements and offer the ability to apply and get funded quickly. Additionally, some online payday lenders may offer loans without a credit check, making it easy for those with poor credit to get approved. It’s worth being aware that some of them also may charge higher interest rates and fees and this may not be the best way to solve your short term financial challenges.
What loan can I get with very poor credit?
If you have very poor credit, your options for getting a loan may be limited. You may be able to qualify for a secured loan, such as a secured credit card or a title loan, where you put up collateral (such as your car) to guarantee the loan. However, the interest rates on these types of loans are usually quite high. Another option may be a payday loan, but these loans typically come with very high interest rates and should be used with caution. It is also worth checking with credit unions, as they may have more flexible lending criteria and may be willing to work with you even if you have poor credit.
How can I get a loan without talking to anyone?
You can apply for loans without having to talk to anyone by using online lenders, automated underwriting, credit unions and peer-to-peer lending platforms where you can apply, submit the required documentation and receive a decision all online. These options can allow borrowers to apply for a loan and get approved without ever having to speak to someone.