Many college students today hit a hurdle before they even start when it comes to finding the funds necessary for college because they have already managed to run up a poor credit history. Fortunately however there are aid and loan packages available today which look principally at need and ignore your credit history and so this is where you will need to start your search for funding.

One of the oldest sources of funding and one which is chiefly available on the basis of economic need is the Pell grant. As long as the student and his family are considered to be a low-income family a Pell grant is more or less automatic and is made on the basis of the submission of supporting documentation.

The student will be required to provide proof of the cost of his intended course (including tuition fees and other qualifying costs) and will also need to provide details of the family’s income from which an EFC (Expected Family Contribution) number will be calculated. On this basis a decision will be made and the grant made or refused.

As the name suggests, a Pell grant is a ‘gift’ and not a loan and it does not have to be repaid. Pell grants are currently for a maximum of $4,731 a year (depending on your assessed financial need) and, while this will not normally cover the full cost of attending college, it can go a long way towards helping. However, most students will need to seek loan funding in addition to a Pell grant and the best form of loan funding initially are Stafford loans.

There are two different types of Stafford loan and the first is a subsidized Stafford loan on which the government pays any interest charges while you are studying full-time and for up to six months after graduation. The second type of Stafford loan is an unsubsidized Stafford loan on which you will be responsible for making all interest payments.

Unsubsidized Stafford loans need to be considered very carefully because, although you will be responsible for making interest payments, you will not be required to do so while you are in full-time education and for up to six months after graduation. However, during this period interest will still be applied to any loan and will simply be added to the outstanding amount of the loan. This means that during a three or four year college course your loan debt can grow substantially and reach a very significant sum by the time you do start paying it off.

Naturally, most students would prefer to have an unsubsidized Stafford loan but loans are disbursed according to the funds available and on the basis of need so that only a minority of students will qualify for a subsidized loan. The good news however is that most students will qualify for an unsubsidized loan and, despite their drawbacks, these still represent one of the best forms of college loan funding available today.

There are of course other forms of grant and loan funding available (and scholarships) and you need to shop around to see just what is available and best suits your circumstances. However for students from low-income families Pell grants and Stafford loans are invariably the best routes to follow.

By: Donald Saunders

Tuition is the cornerstone of the college experience. It is the main thing about which every potential college student worries. It can even be the basis of which college or university a potential student chooses to attend. The following is a discussion of what precisely tuition is in terms of how it applies to college and university life. Moreover, the following will discuss what college-bound students can do in order to make certain that they meet their university’s tuition requirements.

As it applies to colleges and universities, tuition is the term used to describe the fee which must be paid for educational instruction, specifically at an institution which specializes in higher learning. For most colleges and universities, tuition is designed to assist with such things as paying the faculty and staff, funding the courses offered, purchasing lab equipment, books, and libraries, and ensuring a comfortable, knowledgeable learning experience.

Very rarely is a student able to fund his or her entire tuition by himself or herself – or even with the help of parents, guardians, or other family members. As such, there are several methods available to help students afford tuition. First and foremost are scholarships, which may be awarded privately, through a student’s individual high school and/or university, through third-parties, or through scholarship databases available on the internet. Scholarships may be awarded for scholastic and academic achievement, athletic achievement, or artistic achievement. They do not have to be paid back, nor do grants, which – as in the case of the Pell Grant – are normally offered to students who exhibit an exceptional need for financial assistance.

Federal student loans are also available to help students pay for college. These are by far some of the most common and popular means of financial assistance available. A student can receive federal student loans by submitting a FAFSA form. Among the most common federal loans are Stafford Loans and Perkins Loans. Stafford Loans can be either subsidized loans, wherein they are need-based and the government covers the interest charges while the recipient is enrolled in school, or unsubsidized, which are not need-based. With unsubsidized Stafford Loans, the student is responsible for the interest even while he or she is attending college, however they can be deferred as long as the borrowing student understands that the interest accrued will be applied to the loan principal. Like subsidized Stafford Loans, Perkins Loans are need-based scholarships and are awarded to those students with exponential financial need.

There are also private loans available to help a student cover the cost of tuition. These are generally available through third-party lenders and the interest is usually much higher than what is offered by federal student loan programs. As well, there are parent loans, wherein the parents obtain money intended to go toward their child’s college education.

In the case of most colleges and universities, the tuition increases with each passing academic year. Conversely, as tuition rates rise, the overall amount of financial aid available seems to be decreasing at an alarming rate. However, this does not mean that college is out of the question because as long as there are students who are interested in attending college, there will always be options available to help them cover the cost of tuition.

By: Gary Marjani