Student Loans As The Best Financial Aid

By Uzoma Amaole

Applying for loans from banks to cover for study expenses may not augur well with the student applicant as the loan usually comes with high interest rates. This may not be the best option for a young student going by the huge financial involvement in paying for the tuition, text books and accommodation fees per session. The best financial aid for students, resident or international, is by applying for a Student Loan.

A Student Loan, like other assisted loans, helps the students to pay for their University or College expenses such as; tuition, books, accommodation and living costs. The interest rate of the loan is significantly lower than other loans and one can make the loan repayment concurrently while the students' educational program is still running.
Another school of thought, advises students seeking for loans to utilize other options. Such options could be; Grants, Scholarships, Personal Savings; which does not require any form of repayment. Unfortunately, these options may not cover all the necessary university costs. As a student, if you need financial assistance for your schools' expenses having exhausted other forms of aid, utilize the student loans.

In some countries, such as United States of America (USA), Canada, United Kingdom and Australia, they place more emphasis on the use of student loans for their citizens.
In the United States for instance, offers three forms of student loans: two of such loans are sponsored by the Federal government and the other by private student loans. The United States uses a federally guaranteed student aid program to help college students pay for their education. The program allows students to borrow money at a reduced interest rate and defer payment until they are no longer in school. Student loans are generally offered as part of a total financial aid package that may include grants, scholarships, or work study opportunities.

In as much as one places high importance to this kind of loan, it has not been free form criticisms. One of such critics is other forms of assistance like the federal grants and scholarships endowment funds from government or private institutions. They feel that such loan should have a soft landing for students who may not be able to pay up before the stipulated period. The borrowers also feel victimized when things go wrong in the plan which could be attributed to insufficient knowledge of the terms of the loan and sometimes are denied the privileges of the loan when befallen by natural disability.

It is advised that students should seek a financial expert when applying for a loan to guide him or her in the terms of offer in order to avoid undue complaints or high interest rate repayments that may result from the loan application.

On the positive side, however, another great facet of student loans, especially federal, is that they may be subsidized. Subsidized Stafford Loans are for students with financial need determined by their financial provider. The government subsidizes the loan and pays the interest for you while in school. This is a key difference between federal loans and private loans. Even though private loans offer numerous benefits, you just cannot compete with the subsidized federal undergraduate loans.

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