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Refinancing Student Loans Article
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Direct Student Loans – A Helping Hand
from:Direct student loans, also known as direct loans, are monitored by the William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan Program. These direct student loans are designed to help students that have graduated from high school and are continuing their education in colleges, universities or trade schools. Direct student loans are part of the Federal Student Aid program of the Department of Education and are not offered through private lenders or companies. The loan agreement is between the student and the Department of Education, without any agencies in the middle.
Students that want to apply for direct student loans must complete a FAFSA or Free Application for Federal Student Aid over the internet and submit all required information and documentation. In addition each student will also have to complete a MPN or master promissory note. This is the document that is the legally binding contract between the student and the Department of Education with regards to how the loan will be repaid as well as the specific terms and conditions of direct student loans. There is additional information available through the Department of Education website that details and fully explains all the terms and legal clauses in the master promissory note.
To be eligible for direct student loans the school must be part of the direct loan program and the student must be enrolled at least part-time. Not all students will receive subsidized direct loans, some will be unsubsidized. Typically students with very few resources and with greater financial needs will qualified for subsidized loans, which means that no interest will be charged on the loan while the student is in school or during the grace period or any deferment time.
Students that are dependent, or have parents that are able to help pay for schooling are eligible for lower direct student loans than students that are considered independent. Independent students may be students that have families of their own to support, have no living parents to assist with educational funding or students that are otherwise without financial support. Graduate students can also apply for direct student loans under the same criteria as applying for a Stafford loan, with some of this total possible being subsidized. Typically graduate direct loans have a limit on the total amount of the loan that can be provided interest free during school, grace periods and deferments.
Direct student loans have a fixed interest rate that is set every July 1st. These loan rates have a cap however there is also a loan fee that can be up to 4% of each direct loan. This fee is used to offset the cost of the program for future students.
Refinancing Student Loans News
Could Refinancing All Student Loans Be A Free Lunch For The Taxpayers ? - Forbes
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Wonkbook: The bad news Brits - Washington Post (blog)
Wonkbook: The bad news Brits Washington Post (blog) But those increases were offset by contraction in other categories, led by a 5.6% decline in credit-card loan balances." Victoria McGrane in The Wall Street Journal. 4) The Senate rejected both parties' plans to freeze the student loan rate. |
Photo Release -- Student Transportation Inc. Honors Employees With "Employee ... - MarketWatch (press release)
Photo Release -- Student Transportation Inc. Honors Employees With "Employee ... MarketWatch (press release) DANIEL ISLAND, SC, May 25, 2012 (GlobeNewswire via COMTEX) -- Student Transportation Inc., ("STI") (TOR:CA:STB) (NASDAQ:STB) , North America's third-largest provider of school bus transportation services, honored its employees with a company-wide ... |
Are We Facing a Student Loan Bubble? - The Bradenton Times
 The Bradenton Times | Are We Facing a Student Loan Bubble? The Bradenton Times Unlike the housing industry, almost none of the forms and disclosures for student loan lending are simplified or standardized. But just like home-buying and refinancing, it's a process that taps into a basic emotional narrative, one that Americans are ... |
Five proposals to solve $1 trillion college loan crisis - USA TODAY
 USA TODAY | Five proposals to solve $1 trillion college loan crisis USA TODAY Tuck graduated from the University of Arizona in 1996 with a master's degree in rehabilitation counseling and $44000 in student loans. She had every intention of keeping up with her loan payments, but after a series of low-wage jobs in her field, ... |