We encourage students and parents to borrow only what they need and are comfortable with repaying. Determine your estimated expenses and subtract any grants, scholarships or other resources, such as savings or earnings from work. The difference is the amount you may need to borrow in a student or parent loan. As you are borrowing funds each year, be conscious of your total loan debt in relation to your future payment obligation and reevaluate every time you borrow.
The best loan to borrow
When making the decision to borrow a particular type of loan, consider the following questions:
- What is the maximum and minimum I can borrow in this program?
- What is the interest rate?
- How much is the interest payment?
- Who is responsible for paying the interest while enrolled in school?
- If the interest is the responsibility of the borrower, does the interest need to be paid quarterly, yearly or at graduation?
- When does the borrower need to begin repaying the principal balance of the loan?
- What is the minimum monthly payment of the loan?
- How long can I repay the loan?
- Can I make payments on the loan before it is due and pay the amount off earlier without penalty?
- What are the choices if my income changes when I'm repaying the loan?