This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Sallie Mae for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.
One of the big (sometimes scary) parts of beginning college is figuring out how to pay for it, and how to go about using that method of payment. FAFSA? EFC? Sometimes it seems like people are speaking another language, right? I remember thinking “Why is this so hard? I just want to go to school and pay it off later. I thought that’s what everyone did – so why does it seem so complicated?” There’s definitely a lot to research before making decisions regarding paying for college (even figuring out the language might take a few Google searches!) but most of us rely on loans of some kind, at some point in the college journey. At 18, I went to speak with my financial advisor to figure out student aid and to figure out what paperwork to sign and what to do. I was given the option of who to have my loan go through, and I really didn’t know much about any of the options at the time but was told that Sallie Mae is used by most students so I went with that. Since then, I’ve learned a lot more about Sallie Mae. If you’re curious about what Sallie Mae offers, visit the Sallie Mae college website to find useful tips and info regardnig student loans. The infographic below has lots of neat statistics about how we pay for college and our opinions on it.
At the time, most of what I was curious about then was my interest rates, when I would need to pay the loan back, and how much my payments would be. It’s definitely important to get those answers before signing anything, but regardless of the specfics, it’s a great idea to start paying on your loans while in school (though for me at least, I didn’t HAVE to). There are several Ways to Pay for College but even if you’re just babysitting on the weekends, putting $25 a month onto your student loan adds up over the course of your college years and can help you graduate with less debt. Even students without income at all can cut costs by using coupons, switching cell phone plans, or selling old clothing to make a few bucks here and there to slowly but surely start paying onff those Student Loans.
Also, sometimes students get approved for loans that they don’t really need to cover the cost of college. You don’t have to accept any more than you need, so having less debt to begin with is smart, of course!
If you or your child are headed off to college this fall (or even next fall!) , definitely do your research surrounding student loans. You won’t regret being knowledgable about the process.
Hi there! I am Emily Evert, the owner of Emily Reviews. I am 28 and live in a small town in Michigan with my boyfriend Ryan and our two pugs. I have a large family and I adore my nieces and nephews. I love reading memoirs, and learning about child development and psychology. I love watching The Game of Thrones, Teen Mom, Sister Wives and Veep. I like listening to Jason Isbell, John Prine, and other alt-country or Americana music. I created Emily Reviews as a creative outlet to share my life and the products that I love with others.
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