PLUS Loans ? it's never too late to subsidize your
PLUS Loans ? it's never too late to subsidize your child's education costRising. Soaring. Skyrocketing. These are the words that seem to begin every article about college tuition costs ? and they are words guaranteed to make every parent cringe. According to the College Board, costs for the 2004-2005 school year at four-year private colleges are up 6%, while costs at four-year public colleges are up 10.5%.
Scary? Yes. Impossible to handle? No! The good news is that there is more financial aid available than ever before. One of the most interesting financial aid options is the Parent Loan for Undergraduate Students, or PLUS Loan. What is a PLUS Loan? PLUS Loans are federal loans taken out by parents to help pay their children's college costs. PLUS Loans offer several advantages: ? Interest rates are adjusted each year, but are consistently kept low.
For the 2004-2005 school year, the interest rate is 4.17%. It is capped to never exceed 9%. ? Financial need is not a determining factor in receiving a PLUS Loan. ? No collateral is required. ? There is no penalty for early repayment.
? Loans can be consolidated. ? If you are eligible, up to $2000 in interest may be tax-deductible under the Hope Education Tax Credit.
Who is eligible for a PLUS Loan?If you are a parent with dependent students attending college at least part-time, you are eligible to receive a PLUS Loan. You do need to have a good credit history. The following credit issues will reduce your chances of getting a PLUS Loan:
? Bankruptcies ? Defaulted loans ? Payments overdue by 90 days or more ? High debt-to-income ratio
If you are turned down for a PLUS Loan because of poor credit history, you can find someone to co-sign the loan with you and then apply again.
How much can I borrow with a PLUS Loan?You can borrow up to the total cost of undergraduate education expenses, minus other financial aid already received. Expenses can include tuition, room and board, supplies, lab expenses, and travel. How do I apply for a PLUS Loan?You can apply for a PLUS Loan through the Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) Program or through the William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan (Direct Loan) Program. FFEL loans come from private lenders or loan servicers, such as your bank.
PLUS Loan applications are available from your school or your lender. To apply for an FFEL PLUS Loan, you complete the application and then submit it to your school. The school completes its portion of the application and sends it to the lender for approval. Direct loans come from the U.S. Department of Education's Direct Loan Servicing Center.
To apply for a Direct PLUS Loan, you complete a Direct PLUS Loan application and promissory note and submit it to your school's financial aid office. This form is available from your school's Financial Aid Office. You can take out one loan per enrollment period for each eligible student in your family. PLUS Loans do require an application fee of up 4% of the principal of the loan. These fees are deducted from the loan principal, so no up-front money is required.
The fee includes a 3% origination fee charged by the federal government and a guarantee fee of up to 1% charged by the guarantee agency. However, most guarantors waive the guarantee fee. How are PLUS Loan funds disbursed?Funds are sent directly to the school's financial aid office for scheduled payments over the course of the academic year. As with other federal loans, there are usually at least two disbursements, one for each school term.
The funds are first applied to tuition, fees, room and board, and other school charges.
If any money remains, you can receive it as a check or you can put it in your student's school account. This remaining money must be used for education expenses. When do I repay PLUS Loans?You start paying back PLUS Loans 60 days after the final disbursement of the school year. So, if the final disbursement is made in January, as is typical, repayment generally begins in late February or early March. PLUS Loans are the financial responsibility of the parents, not the student.
If the student agrees to make payments on the PLUS Loan but fails to make the payments on time, the parents are held responsible. What is the difference between PLUS Loans and other student loans?The other student loan generally available to students is the Stafford Loan. The table below illustrates the similarities and differences between these two loan programs: PLUS Loan Federally guaranteed Made to parents of dependent students Interest rate is low, but not as low as a Stafford (currently 4.17%) Repayment begins 60 days after final disbursement for the academic year Loan borrowing can be up to 100% of college education costs Stafford LoanFederally guaranteedMade to students themselvesInterest rate is lowest available (currently 3.37%Repayment begins six months after graduation or leaving schoolLoan borrowing is capped:?
$2,625 for first-year undergraduates?
$3,500 for second-year undergraduates?
$5,500 for third- and fourth-year undergraduatesLoan can be needs-based and requires a FAFSAInterest charges do not begin until repayment begins, after graduation This article is distributed by NextStudent. At NextStudent, we believe that getting an education is the best investment you can make, and we're dedicated to helping you pursue your education dreams by making college funding as easy as possible. We invite you to learn more about PLUS Loans at http://www.NextStudent.com..
Eufora MasterCard Gives Away $30,000 BMW 325i; Georgia Cardholder Fifth Winner in Five Months
(ContentDesk) January 7 2004--Tia Hinton got the phone call from Eufora MasterCard (http://www.eufora.com/) informing her that she had won her choice of one of twenty-five $30,000 cars. The lucky Eufora cardholder from Atlanta, Georgia had opted in to the sweepstakes when she applied for her MasterCard. Hinton is now the owner of a brand-new BMW 325i and yet another dedicated Eufora MasterCard user.Hinton was the fifth winner of the Eufora Monthly New Car Sweepstakes. Eufora has been giving away a car per month since August 2003. The sweepstakes begins on the first day of each month and ends on the last day of the month.
Eufora cardholders earn one automatic entry into the sweepstakes for every $100 they spend in a month; the winner is randomly drawn on or around the 15th of each month from all entries received during the previous month."Winning the car in this month's sweepstakes drawing has been a dream come true", said Hinton....
Eufora MasterCard Gives Away $30,000 BMW 325i; Georgia Cardholder Fifth Winner in Five Months
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Bad Debts Personal Loans To Help You Achieve Your Goals
Loans are an essential thing these days for many people. Loans cover every financial eventuality that one can possibly come across in one's life. But previously it was not that easy to get loans for the people let alone people who have bad debts to their name and therefore have poor credit history.
In that case the people can take the help of the personal loans. These loans are specifically designed to help people in need and people with bad debts previously can also use these loans.
Personal loans can be used for a variety of purposes few examples where personal loans can be used are, for business purposes, debt consolidation, and home improvement or for educational purposes. Personal loans are available for every need.
People with bad debts can go for personal loans can go for it and choose between any form of loan available i.e.
secured personal loan or unsecured personal loan. The only difference between these loans is that with...
Bad Debts Personal Loans To Help You Achieve Your Goals
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Higher Education Act Delay Allows College Graduates to Consolidate Student Loans
Quincy, MA (ContentDesk) October 3, 2005 -- Legislative changes affecting federal student loans have been pushed back in Congress for at least 60 days, giving recent college
graduates a window of opportunity to consolidate their federal
student loans at the current interest rates and programs. Graduates can take advantage of locking in low interest rates and transforming
their variable rate federal student loans into fixed rate loans.Both houses of Congress spent a fair portion of the summer designing revisions to the Higher Education Act of 1965 (last reauthorized in
1998) which, if passed, would make significant changes to federal financial aid programs. Some of the proposed changes include:-????Penalizing graduates with higher interest rates if graduates choose a fixed rate consolidation over a variable rate consolidation,-????Stafford Loan interest rate increases from the current 5.3% to 6.8%,-????Reduction of $5 billion - $12 billion in funds...
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Rent One Online to Provide Avis and Budget Rental Cars to Vacation Rental Travelers
Scotts Valley, CA (ContentDesk) April 20 , 2006 -- Rent One Online is introducing the ability for travelers to vacation rental properties to get quotes and book Avis and Budget rental cars via Rent One Onlines rental property management and vacation travel software.
Rent One Onlines solution is used by vacation rental managers, destination area real estate offices, resorts and web sites that list vacation rental properties.Rent One Online is the first vacation rental company to directly integrate car rental booking within its web-based reservation and vacation property management software. Rent One Online, and its network of customers, can now offer quality Avis and Budget rental cars to vacation rental travelers from the initial point of booking through the point of stay . Rental managers win by providing better service and by sharing in the travel agency commission received by Rent One Online; the vacation rental traveler wins via the convenience of a one-stop shop ...
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Start New Projects With Bad Credit Business Loans
Often business persons going through a bad credit phase face hurdles in availing much required finance. This, however, is not the case with the business people who take route of bad credit business loans. If key aspects of bad credit business loans are given a thought, business persons take the required amount of loan at lower interest rate.
There are number of utilizations of bad credit business loans such as starting a new business, buying new business assets, making payments to the creditors. One of the best uses of this loan is to pay off previous debts and thus improve credentials in the eyes of lenders.
Before applying or finalizing bad credit business loans deal it is advisable that business persons first make efforts to show some improvements in their credit report which results in better credit score. Borrowers should know that under FICCO scale credit score ranges from 300 to 850 and a score of 720 and above is considered by lenders as safe and...
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Government Student Loan Consolidation
Are you behind on your bills? Do you have more than one student loan? If you answered "yes" to either question there are some terrific opportunities for you to lump your debt together with a government student loan consolidation. Please read on for more information.
When you graduated from school, more than likely your first job was low paying and your expenses were high. It is not that uncommon for students to rack up bills of 30, 40, or 50 thousand dollars or more in debt, just to the school. Car payments, credit cards bills, and everyday expenses can push your debt levels up through the stratosphere. Time to think of getting some help.
Time to consider government student loan consolidation.
What is government student loan consolidation exactly? It is a loan which allows for you to take multiple student loans, pay them off, and make monthly payments to just one lender. Why can this be a good option for you? Well, if you have four loans to four different...
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Gourmet Fruit Gift Baskets
Gourmet fruit baskets quickly emerged as a way to deliver a gift of special items that the recipient would never buy for himself, but would probably enjoy. Depending on the tastes and experiences of the recipient, gourmet fruit gift baskets can contain almost anything imaginable. In addition to the usual assortment (high-quality, peak-of-ripeness fruits; rare aged cheeses; or jams and jellies), gourmet bottled items -- such as chestnuts in brandy, various wines and assorted breads and crackers...
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Survey Reveals Top 10 Online Business Degree Majors
The popularity of online degrees continues to escalate. However some degree majors are clearly more in demand than others. GetEducated.com, LLC, a consumer-oriented, online degree clearinghouse, has uncovered the following trends among learners seeking graduate degrees online:Top 10 Online Business Degree Majors:1) Business Administration2) Management3) Leadership4) Project Management5) Information Systems Management6) Finance7) Technology Management8) Entrepreneurship9) Human Resources10) International/Global...
Car loans Survey Reveals Top 10 Online Business Degree Majors PLUS Loans ? it's never too late to subsidize your
Car loans > Survey Reveals Top 10 Online Business Degree Majors
Should Your Next Big Screen TV be a Plasma HDTV?
Are you looking for a new big screen TV? There are several choices of different technologies for your next big screen TV. Right now one of the best and most popular items available is the Plasma HDTV technology. But how do you know which model is the right one for you? Here are some brief descriptions of the CRT technology, LCD screens, Plasma HDTV,...
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Car loans plasma PLUS Loans ? it's never too late to subsidize your
Car loans PLUS Loans ? it's never too late to subsidize your shoes