There are a number of different financial aid programs that an individual can use to find the money that he or she needs to pay for an accounting degree, but one of the most common types of financial aid that many people use is a student loan. A student loan is a financial aid benefit in which an organization gives an individual some or all of the money that he or she needs to pay for school expenses on the condition that the individual will pay that money back to the organization. In other words, a student loan is a payment or a series of payments that an organization offers to an individual to help that person pay for college, but he or she must pay it back. Student loans can be extremely helpful to individuals who do not have the money to pay for school now. It is important to note, however, that there are some key points about student loans that an individual should keep in mind.
- First, it is important to remember that an organization will issue a student loan only for educational purposes and that the money from a student loan can be used only on qualified expenses. This is important because there are a variety of different student loans that an individual can obtain, and the expenses that a particular loan will allow an individual to pay may vary from loan to loan. In other words, there are some loans that will allow an individual to pay for his or her books, room and board, tuition, and other similar expenses, but there are also loans that will allow an individual to pay only for his or her tuition and room and board. Because of such stipulations, an individual must make sure that the loan he or she receives is actually going to pay for the expenses that need to be paid.
- Secondly, it is important to remember that an individual will always be required to repay a student loan; however, an individual is not necessarily required to start making payments and/or paying interest immediately upon receiving the loan. The reason for this is that there are actually two main types of student loans that an individual can obtain, and the amount of time that an individual has before he or she has to start making payments and/or begin paying interest varies depending on the type of loan.
- The first type of student loan that an individual can receive is a subsidized loan. A subsidized loan is a student loan in which an organization (typically the U.S. Government) agrees to pay the interest that an individual’s loan would normally accrue while he or she is in college and defer the individual’s loan payments until he or she is out of college.
- The second type of loan that an individual can receive is an unsubsidized loan. An unsubsidized loan is a student loan in which the U.S. Government or a private organization requires the individual to begin making payments within 30-90 days after the loan is issued or agrees to defer the individual’s payments until he or she is out of college on the condition that the individual will pay the interest that the loan accrued while he or she was in college.
- Finally, it is important to remember that there are a number of different organizations that offer student loans, and there are a number of different places where you can obtain student loan consolidation that you might be are eligible to receive. Some of the best places to find more information include the U.S. Department of Education’s Studentaid.ed.gov website, local banks, and the school that you are planning to attend.