How to Apply for Student Loans

Most people who attend college do so by borrowing at least a portion of their tuition and other expenses associated with getting a higher education. After graduation, those loans must be repaid. In order to get a loan, you must first apply for one and be accepted. Loans are never simply given out to whoever asks for money. Fortunately, getting a student loan isn’t all that difficult; you simply have to follow certain procedures. Following are a few tips on how to apply for student loans.

Get Counseling

Before you apply for a student loan, it’s a good idea to talk to a financial aid counselor. In some cases, you may not have a choice--some schools require financial aid counseling before they’ll even allow you to apply. Part of the reason for going through financial aid counseling is to make sure you realize the gravity of taking out a student loan--after all, it is a loan, not a handout. Due to the fact that you probably haven’t taken out a loan up until now, the counselor will help you understand the responsibility of taking out a loan.

Get Organized

In order to fill out a student loan application, you will need certain information at hand. Prior to actually setting down to fill out the forms, you should make sure the required information is available--have it organized so you won’t have to stop and look for your tax returns from the previous year, or those of your parents. Both are necessary in order to fill out the forms. You will also need your social security number, your driver’s license number, and your bank statements, including recent transactions. If anyone in your family has a mortgage or investments, that information will need to be divulged. Being organized will simplify the process and make it go smoother.

Get the Form

Before you can fill out an application for student aid, you will need to download the FAFSA form, which stands for Free Application for Federal Student Aid. The form can be accessed by going online to the Internet website, www.fafsa.ed.gov. Follow the instructions on the website and fill out the form. A FAFSA form must be filled out every year that you intend to borrow money for school, because your qualifications for receiving financial aid are reevaluated from year to year. The reason is that your financial situation may have changed somehow during the previous year. The FAFSA must be filled out line by line, which makes it important to have the information you’ll need readily available. If you have to stop repeatedly to look up the necessary information, the process will be slowed exponentially. Once the FAFSA form has been submitted, you’ll be assigned a PIN number. Using this number is the method in which you’ll be able to monitor your potential loan’s progress through the system. Memorize your PIN number so you can access your account whenever you want to.

Deadline

There is a deadline for the FAFSA form, so you should make every effort to make sure it’s turned in on time--usually before the end of June for the upcoming school period. The deadline may vary slightly, depending on which state you live in, but in most cases the funds are given out sometime between the middle of February and the first of July. To be assured that you’ll be able to receive any funds that are allotted to you--depending on whether or not you qualify to receive them--make sure you find out when your state’s deadline is. You can access that information on the FAFSA website.

Eligibility

Numerous criteria are used in selecting individuals to qualify for a student loan, and not everyone is eligible to receive the same amount--the amount of money you or your family are able to contribute to your college expenses is taken into consideration when making these decisions. If you visit the Internet website, www.finaid.org, you can get an idea of whether or not you’ll qualify, and if you do, how much you could possibly receive. The website has a calculator, called an EFC (Expected Family Contribution) that will help you determine if you’ll qualify for a student loan. Simply follow the directions on the website and you will be able to get an estimate.