Most students will end up - Borrowing Money for college.

Question: Where should I start looking for a loan first?

Answer: Uncle Sam.
The federal government helps students borrow through direct loans,
by subsidizing interest payments, and by encouraging private lenders
to lend to students.

Which of these programs you qualify for depends on your school and
level of need. In virtually all cases, government loans are a better
deal than private loans, so max them out before borrowing elsewhere.

Q: How do I get started?

A: Fill out the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid)
form at the Department of Education Web site:

http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/

If you plan to attend next fall and haven’t yet filled out the FAFSA,
you may have missed some deadlines for state aid or aid from your
college. But it’s not too late to get federal aid.

FAFSA Deadlines:

Submit 2006-2007 FAFSA on the Web Applications by
midnight Central Daylight time, July 2, 2007.

Submit 2007-2008 FAFSA on the Web Applications by
midnight Central Daylight time, June 30, 2008.

State deadlines are normally much earlier than Federal deadlines.
To find your state’s deadline, select state deadlines.

You can always check the status of your application by calling

1-800-4-FED-AID  -  (1-800-433-3243)

or by accessing www.fafsa.ed.gov and clicking on
“Check status of a submitted FAFSA and print a Signature Page.”

Please wait at least 24 hours after you submit your FAFSA before
checking its status electronically. By applying electronically
and providing your e-mail address, you will receive information
about your application within a few days after it is processed.

The application processor must receive your completed application
no later than July 2, 2007. Your school must have your correct and
complete application information by your last day of enrollment
during the 2006-07 year or September 17, 2007, whichever comes first.

There are no exceptions to these dates.

Note also that various state and school deadlines may apply to you.
These deadlines are often early in the calendar year.
Check with your school’s financial aid office to make sure you are
aware of — and are able to meet — all student financial aid deadlines.

State deadlines are listed under “Check deadlines” on the FAFSA
on the Web site, on the front of the new FAFSA on the Web Worksheet,
and on the front of the paper FAFSA.

This entry was posted on Saturday, May 19th, 2007 at 1:36 am and is filed under Student Loans, Financial Aid. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.