The Ripple Effect: Understanding How Student Loans Impact Your Student’s Credit Score

student budgeting using a calculator

For many students, pursuing higher education is a worthwhile investment in their future. However, this pursuit often comes with the financial burden of student loans. Beyond the immediate challenges of repayment, it’s crucial for parents and students to understand how these loans can have a lasting impact on students’ credit scores. In this blog post, we’ll dive into the intricacies …

Student Loans Can Help Build Strong Credit Scores

Fin Lit

College students and graduates can use student loans to build a great credit score. These three steps will help you understand the credit scoring process and how student loans can help young consumers build a high credit score and open opportunities for future borrowing. Step 1: Understand the players and how credit scores are calculated Equifax, Experien, and TransUnion are …

Federal Student Loans – What You Need to Know

Interest rates have increased noticeably over the past year, which means that Federal student loan interest rates will climb as well. When? By how much? Will the rate on this loan increase more in the future? Is there a better option for undergraduate students to borrow for college? These are all questions into which potential college students and their families …

Left on the Table: The Saga of Unclaimed Pell Grant and Scholarship Money

Consider the tried-and-true axiom for the lottery: “You need to be in it to win it”. Well, when it comes to applying for federal financial aid, nearly two million high school students annually are deciding not to play the game whatsoever, a decision that is costing almost half of them the chance for some much-needed assistance in the form of …

Help Me Understand Financial Aid

Father and Son FAFSA Image

Paying for college can be overwhelming. Knowing the options and identifying sources of money for your family to pay the college bill is half the battle and there’s no time like the new year to get a handle on the details, especially with financial aid season on the horizon. For most families, the options to pay for college boil down …

Saving for Higher Education is Better than Borrowing

There is no magic, one-size fits all way to pay for college. The trick is finding what works best for your family. Most families use a combination of savings, financial aid, and current income to pay the college bill. Current income is helpful to reduce total college borrowing but is often limited because there are so many other needs for …

Student Loan Repayment Options

The six-month grace period for education loans is coming to an end and repayment is beginning for students who graduated or left college this past spring. As education loans enter repayment, borrowers may be able to choose from a variety of repayment plans. Moreover, the variety of plans depends on whether they have private or federal loans. Review the plans …

Primer for Student Loans: Fixed and Variable Interest Rate

Picking a student loan that best meets your needs requires a borrower to understand some basic concepts.  The first place to start: knowing how interest rates work. This article: Defines what an interest rate is Explains the difference between fixed and variable interest rates Offers the pros and cons of each Identifies which student loan programs offer fixed and variable …

Student Loan Basics: Choosing between Undergraduate Federal and Private Student Loan Programs

Picking a student loan that meets your needs requires an understanding of some basic concepts. Student Loan Basics empowers you with information to make informed choices to borrow for college. This article explains the difference between undergraduate federal and private loans. Federal vs private student loans The fundamental difference is the lender. The federal government, specifically, the U. S. Department …

Student Loan Options Explained

Federal Student Loans

Wouldn’t it be great to have enough money — whether scholarships, grants, income or savings — to cover all the costs of college? Unfortunately, with the sky-rocketing cost of college, this is not the reality for most families. To fill this gap, many turn to student loans. This then begs the question of which loan is best. For students, the …