You Got Accepted To College...Now How Do You Pay For It?

As Youth Month continues and the school year approaches an end, many students (and parents) are already looking ahead to next fall and the tuition that comes with it.  If you or your student is headed to college, here are a couple tips on paying for it:

• Scholarships – This sounds like a no brainer, but make sure you look at all the scholarship options available that you may qualify for!  Your high school counselor is often a great first resource for a list of local scholarships, like Honor’s Community Commitment Scholarship for example.  Every spring Honor awards ten $1,000 scholarships to graduating seniors (we’ll be announcing winners soon!), and many other businesses or organizations may be listed at your high school with scholarship options, too!  Websites like scholarships.com or finaid.org/scholarships are also great resources.  You will be surprised what a little bit of effort and research can get you as far as scholarship options!
• Student Loans – There is approximately one TRILLION dollars of outstanding student loan debt in the United States.  $864 billion of that is federal student loans - that means it is backed by the government.  The other $150 billion is privately funded student loans - not backed by the government¹.  Federal student loans typically provide more benefits than private loans, such as fixed interest rates, no payments until the student is no longer attending class full time, and in many situations no required co-signer.  The Federal Student Aid website is a great resource when comparing federal loans to private and can save you time and confusion when determining the best option for you.
• Other Loan Options – Home Equity loans or personal loans through your local credit union may be another solution to assist with school expenses.  If you just need that little extra to help with your child’s textbooks, for example, a personal loan or home equity may be a good option.  Honor can help you with all of these options, and more information on which route will work for you is at our website.  You wouldn’t have the option to defer payments until your student graduates like the federal student loan, but you may qualify for a lower interest rate than another student loan option saving you money in the long run.

Hear Wild Bill and Honor's Scott McFarland discuss paying for college in this week's Mason Jar Monday here!

Comment on this post, or follow us on twitter @honorcu and use #askhonorcu to get involved! You can also comment with the topic you want to see discussed next week! It's your money, and we want to talk about things you care about!

¹ Source: http://www.asa.org/policy/resources/stats/