Ask Terry Questions College tuition

College tuition

By Terry Savage on July 12, 2019 | College Savings / Student Loans

Ms. Savage, we paid cash for my daughter’s first year of college. This is her Sophomore year. What other than FAFSA would be the best college loan to apply for? We live in Indiana, she attends Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN. She is also on the Deans List. Unfortunately I was not…. This is so confusing to me! please advise me of the best loan. Thank you for your help.

Terry Says

First step is to talk to the financial aid office at the college about your situation.   I’m hopin gthat you have money set aside for sophomore year, because most financial aid for 2019-2020 is already agiven out.  I don’t know why she didn’t fill out the FAFSA — Free Application for Federal Student Aid — but it is too late for this year.  That application is for Federal Student Aid, which is disbursed by the college.  The Financial Aid office will tell you about Parent PLUS loans, which are also federal loans but carry a higher interest rate — 7.08% plus a fee– for this fall.  You can still access those.

Here is a link to a page at Credible.com — an excellent website where you can search for private student loans.  Just remember, these will be a huge burden on you — or on her — depending who takes out the loans.  You could also search on Scholarships.com for free money that does not have to be repaid — but again it is a bit late for the school year that starts this fall.

Ask the school’s financial aid office to help you make a plan, because it would be a shame if she had to drop out after being such a good student.

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