As we move into a new decade, it is important to consider what your education will cost you. There are many reasons for this and can vary from person to person. Some people may be looking at getting their degree because they want to advance in their current career, while others may be looking at the long-term opportunity to get an advanced degree or certificate that could potentially exponentially increase their earning power. Whatever the reason, it’s never too early to start thinking about how you’re going to finance your education in 2021.
This post covers easy ways to finance your education in 2021, which include;
1. Getting a scholarship
Getting a scholarship is one of the most popular ways to finance your education, as it doesn’t usually require repayment. Some examples are academic scholarships, which may be based on GPA or SAT scores, and athletic scholarships for athletes who showcase their skills at various universities during recruiting events.
Scholarships are determined by the college, which means that you should be proactive about applying for them. The best way to do this is to research scholarship opportunities and find ones that match your academic interests or lifestyle preferences to increase your odds of getting one. In addition, there are also scholarships available through private organizations.
2. Student prizes
If you’re a student looking for easy ways to finance your education, consider entering some of the many competitions geared towards students. These could range from beauty pageants and academic contests.
Students can also enter essay or photography competitions sponsored by companies such as Microsoft.
Some companies offer a scholarship to the top three finalists in their essay or photography contest. The only requirement is that you are currently enrolled as an undergraduate student and at least 18 years old. One of these scholarships may be enough for your entire education, so it’s worth entering if you’re eligible.
3. Getting an online loan instead of a student loan
One of the easiest ways to finance your education in 2021 is by taking out an online loan. This type of loan should be taken as a last resort, but some people may find that they’re unable to get any other form of financial aid because their credit score isn’t high enough or they don’t have any assets (for example).
The good news is that some loan providers like CashFlex offer online loans for students without a credit score requirement and can be applied through an easy process in just under five minutes. No paperwork or faxing is required.
Online lenders don’t rely on your credit rating to approve the loan application, so it’s worth considering.
However, there are some downsides to taking out an online loan for your education as well; the APR rates can be much higher than what you would pay with a student-loan provider, and they may also require collateral such as a car or house to ensure that the person takes out payments on time.
4. Part-time jobs
If you don’t want to take out an online loan to finance your education, there are other ways that you can earn some money. One of these is getting a part-time job on-campus or off-campus during the school year and summer break.
This could be anything from being a peer tutor for students who need help working in the campus cafeteria.
The bottom line with part-time jobs is that you need to do your research beforehand without letting any opportunity slip away.
5. Student grants
There are also some student grants available for students to apply for that can help with tuition or living expenses. These could be either merit-based, need-based, or a combination of both.
The first step in applying for these grants is to fill out the form and see if you’re eligible. You’ll know that you are once your financial aid award letter arrives with a list of scholarships, loans, or other types of student-aid available to you. This can take some time, so it’s important not to wait until the last minute.
Conclusion
Financing your education in 2021 is easy. With different ways available, it’s a good idea to get started early and figure out which one is best for you. To do this, we recommend researching scholarship opportunities and what other types of financial aid may be offered to you.
Can You Get a Business Degree in 2 Years?
Earning your business degree can put you on the path toward becoming a manager or running your own company. You may not be interested in an undergraduate degree, but you still want to further your education by attending college and earning at least an associate’s degree. There are some cases in which you can earn a bachelor’s in business in two years, but this would require transferring credits from a previously earned degree into a new program. For people with no past experience, two years of study will allow you to earn an associate’s in business administration or applied business.
How Much Does an Associate’s in Business Cost?
Tuition varies from state to state and college to college, but you’ll find that two-year degree programs are more affordable in terms of both cost and time. This makes them appealing for someone who wants to advance their education without going into serious debt or losing years to rigorous study. An associate’s typically costs half the price of a bachelor’s, so anticipate a total cost of approximately $8,000 to $20,000. There are options for paying for your degree that make it a manageable expense. You can use a student loan payoff calculator to compare private student loan rates and see how much you’d have to pay per month with each before making any final decisions.
Applied Business Associate’s Degree
An AAB degree allows you to choose from a variety of different disciplines to align your education with your career goals. Some of the most common specializations are human relations, financial management, marketing and accounting. You could also pursue an AAB with a focus in paralegal studies if you’re interested in working in law. The benefit of an AAB is that it qualifies you for entry-level work upon graduation and can easily be transferred into a bachelor’s program if you want to earn a four-year degree later.
Associate’s in Business Administration
If you’re more interested in business principles and management skills, then an associate’s degree in business administration could be a good fit for your career path. An ABA introduces students to the fundamentals of business with a strong emphasis on project management and communication skills. Just like an AAB, ABA degrees can be used as a stepping stone toward undergraduate programs either immediately upon graduation or after you’ve begun working.
Why Earn an Associate’s Degree?
The purpose of associate’s degrees is to build hirable skills in a short period of time, making you a worthy candidate for a number of positions or providing you with the knowledge you need to confidently pursue your professional goals. You are able to secure a job in a field you enjoy while earning a salary that allows you to provide for your family and gain financial stability. In today’s highly competitive job market, you need every credential possible to stand out. Earning a two-year degree shows future employers that you’re dedicated to the field and have taken the time necessary to develop the skills it takes to succeed.
How to Choose a Field of Study
Determining what field of study you are going into is an extremely difficult decision. Not only are you likely deciding while you’re young, but there are also many factors to consider. Additionally, you likely have several schools and majors to choose from, further complicating the process. For example, do you want to go to an out-of-state college to become an occupational therapy assistant, or do you want to attend an in-state school to learn how to become a teacher? So how exactly can you narrow down your decisions and ensure that your final choice sets you up for future success? Here’s how to choose a field of study.
Follow Your Passions
One of the best pieces of advice to follow when trying to choose a field of study is to simply follow your passions. Many people say that you should enter into a field with lots of job opportunities that provides you with a high salary, but that isn’t always the case. You have to actually enjoy what you’re doing for a living. If you choose a path you’re not interested in, finding the motivation to study and earn your degree will be extremely difficult. Even if you pull it off, you’ll have to work the rest of your life in an industry or field that you don’t even like. A common saying is, “When you love something, it doesn’t feel like work,” implying that you’ll have a much easier time holding a job you enjoy doing. Before you choose a field of study to enter into, make sure that it’s one that you have an interest in or are passionate about.
Analyze Job Prospects
Although choosing something that you like doing is important, you also can’t completely neglect the money aspect of a career either. College is expensive, and for most people, it will leave you with thousands of dollars in debt. That debt needs to be repaid, regardless of what field you enter into. If you enter a field of study that is extremely difficult to find a job in or doesn’t pay that well, then the investment you make into college won’t really be worth it. You may love art, but if you’re not confident in that study’s job market, then you may be better off pursuing another one of your interests. Choosing a field of study is all about finding a perfect balance that allows you to enjoy what you’re doing but can also set you up for future success.
Look at Potential Programs
When choosing a field of study, it’s extremely important to look at potential programs and what they offer. For example, if you’re passionate about biology and medicine, you may find schools that offer a fast-track to medical school. Alternatively, those fascinated by business and marketing may find schools that allow for a completed bachelor’s degree and an MBA in just five years. Finding a program that can help you build a career and establish a professional network is extremely important and can set you up for future success. If you find a really great program that aligns with your interests and has plenty of great opportunities, then you should strongly consider entering that field of study.
Make an Educated Decision
Perhaps the biggest mistake that a prospective student can make is deciding on a field of study based on extraneous conditions. For example, you shouldn’t choose a field of study and program simply because the university is located in a beautiful town with great weather. You also shouldn’t choose a school or field of study based on things like athletics or parties. When deciding what university to go to and what field of study to enter, you should solely look into your interests and your future. Any outside influence from extraneous factors could lead to you making a bad decision that will be costly to correct.
Student Loans Repayment – Can I Get Debt-Free More Quickly?
Almost every student these days has at least some student loan debt. Yet, all too often, graduates get a shock when they see the amount they owe once their college education is over. Having to pay back student loans can end up holding you back when it comes to furthering your career or doing the things you’ve always wanted to. It can also stop you from taking risks with your career that could further your goals.
With this in mind, tackling your repayments quickly is pretty important. In fact, it should be a top priority once you leave college. So, here is some advice about how to get debt-free more quickly.
Consolidating Your Federal Student Loans
If you’re asking how do I pay back my student loans more quickly, the first thing to consider is consolidating your federal student loans if you have your loans at several different banks. This probably won’t apply if your loan is a more recent one, but if your classes began a few years back, consolidating your various loans could make you eligible for some student loan forgiveness programs while making it simpler to pay a single monthly payment. You’ll also get the chance to reduce your monthly payments and get an extension on your loan term. This is something that could prove to be extremely helpful if you aren’t earning as much as you’d anticipated now that you’ve graduated.
Draw Up Your Payment Plan
Make sure that you’ve created a payment plan that will cover not only student loan debts but also any car loans and credit card debts. You should prioritize those debts based on how much interest you’re paying and any tax advantages you can gain. That means usually, you should put federal student loans at the end of the list since their interest rate is typically lower, and put private student loans higher up on your list of priorities. This will help you to focus your effort and get out of debt more rapidly.
Set Your Budget
As soon as you’ve got your first position, you’ll have to set up your budget to limit spending. This will give you more money to put towards your student loan repayments. When you are earning a steady income, you must establish a budget that is realistic and that enables you to save money while also paying off your debts. Although you may be tempted to overspend now you’re in employment, it’s important to make sacrifices now so that you can enjoy having more income later.
Find More Money
Check your budget and see where you can make any further cuts, or see if you have any items that you can sell. Any money that you make, you can put towards paying some more off those loans. Using Craigslist, Facebook Marketplace or eBay could be a good way to sell on anything you no longer want or need.
Take A Second Job
If your student loan debts are very large, taking on another job could be an effective solution. Jobs that offer tips could be a good option for helping you pay those loans off quickly, but freelancing or being a tutor could also help you earn more.
Apply For An Income-Based Repayment Program
If you’re really struggling to meet your payments, you should m make an application for an income-based repayment program. This will base how much you pay on how much you’re earning. You’ll need to make an application every year, and if your income goes up, so will the payment. Under this program, if you continually make your payments on time for thirty years, the remainder of your federal student loans will be eliminated.
Benefit From Loan Forgiveness Programs
The fastest, most effective way of paying off your student loan is to have it completely canceled. If you’re working as a teacher, you could be eligible to get your student loan debts wiped out after 5 years. If you’re working for a non-profit organization or the government, it’s possible you could qualify for similar programs. AmeriCorps and Teach For America also offer programs that help to pay off student loans. If you’re working in a rural or inner-city hospital, you may also find you’re eligible for a forgiveness program.
Take this advice, and you’ll be able to make some headway in paying off your student debt much more rapidly. Then you can begin to focus on saving for all of the other things that you need in your life.
Everything You Need to Know Before Choosing to Default on Your Student Loan
Once you take out a student loan, the only way out is to repay it. Defaulting on the loan will only bring negative consequences to your financial life. However, is it possible for borrowers to default and get a reprieve for their actions?
Some people believe it’s possible. In fact, a sizeable number of borrowers have already defaulted on their loans as a way of protesting the worsening student loan crisis. Others have done it hoping to clear the debt through bankruptcy. Regardless of the reason, defaulting on loans come with serious negative consequences, which is why it’s crucial to understand you are about to get into before going down this road.
This article examines the student loan crisis, what protesters are saying about it, and how defaulting on your loan can affect your finances.
Do the Pros of Defaulting Student Loans Outweigh the Cons?
Student loans are at an all-time high—$1.56 trillion—and this is from about 45 million Americans. However, Forbes says at least 1 million graduates default on their federal student loans every year. On the other hand, Brookings Institution predicts that around 38% of those who enrolled in college between 2003 and 2004 will default their loans by 2023.
This begs the question, at what point is one considered to be a defaulter or a delinquent? For federal student loans, delinquency occurs after missing a single payment and becomes defaulted 270 days after the missed payment. For private lenders, the rules vary. However, the timelines are much shorter. For instance, you’ll be considered a defaulter on a CommonBond student loan three months after missing a payment
Many borrowers who end up defaulting on their loans do so because of financial constraints. This is in addition to a lack of basic money management skills. Having said that, some borrowers make a conscious decision to default as a way of protesting the industry. According to Lee Siegel, the increased default rate is an indication of the need to change the current system of higher education and lending. The author adds that this move would expose the Department of Education and the collection agencies as greedy vultures.
He continues to say that this may force the Congress to think of a certain universal education tax which would make college education affordable. Siegel and millions of Americans consider the student loan system to be an immoral one. In fact, several student loan activists label this as “economic terrorism.” According to them, a mass default seems to be the only way out.
However, as much as a mass default would attract massive attention, its feasibility is questionable. This is because to default means putting the borrowers’ finances at risk; in fact, their finances will take a serious hit.
Student loans aside, some borrowers default on other payday advance loans to wipe their debt by reaching a settlement with the lender. The latter is difficult to achieve with a student loan, but that’s not to say it’s impossible.
If you choose to reach a settlement, some debt collectors and private lenders may agree to settle should you default. A collector may agree to a certain reduced sum if you have a private student loan.
However, there’s only so much time for a private lender to seek legal action. In fact, the lender cannot seek legal redress to collect once the statute of limitations expires.
While defaulting on private student loans might seem like a great idea, chances are you’ll have to make several appearances in court. Even worse. you may not get a favorable outcome. It’s wise to seek alternative strategies such as repayment assistance, forgiveness, or student loan discharge.
Why Defaulting on Student Loans May be a Problem
It doesn’t matter what your thoughts are about college costs or the student loan industry at large, you’ll have to deal with numerous negative consequences should you consider defaulting. Remember, private lenders can sue you and demand full repayment.
On the other hand, the federal government has several ways of collecting. They include:
- Blocking you from ever receiving financial aid in the future.
- Preventing you from selling or buying real estate.
- You can lose eligibility for forbearance, deferment, or any other repayment plan.
- Demanding full and immediate interest and balance repayment.
- Suing you for any costs associated with the collection process.
- Garnishing your wages, Social Security benefits, and tax refunds.
These are just some of the methods the federal government may use to pursue you. In addition to these consequences, your credit will take a massive hit due to the lender reporting your missed payments to credit bureaus. This will stain your credit for at least seven years and will affect your financial future, considering the poor credit status you’ll get from this situation. Loans will carry high-interest rates, that is if you can qualify in the first place.
Also, if a cosigner helped you to get the loan you defaulted on, their credit will suffer negative consequences.
Therefore, before you take the step to default on your student loan, take the time to understand the negative consequences of waiting on the other side. This applies to both you and anyone else on the debt.
Strategies to Use to Repay Your Student Loan
No one defaults on purpose, especially with the knowledge of the negative consequences that will follow. The problem is finances are probably tight, which means paying bills and keeping up with monthly payments is almost impossible. Are you already a defaulter? Consider loan consolidation or refinancing. Research different student refinance rates that meet your needs for terms and rates to help you get back on track with your payments.
On the other hand, if you’re still paying off your loan, but having a difficult time, consider various strategies to help manage your debt so as to avoid missing payments. If you have a federal student loan, take a look at these repayment plans:
- Extended repayment – This plan lowers your monthly paymenhttps://studentaid.ed.gov/sa/types/loansts, which means your repayment period will go up to 25 years.
- Income-driven repayment plans – With these plans, you can adjust your monthly payment to 10, 15 or 20 percent of your discretionary income.
- Graduated repayment – This plan will lower your monthly payments and later increase them and spread them throughout 10 years.
- Forbearance or deferment – This will only be possible for those who qualify. For instance, you could be going back to school or be in great financial hardship.
Pausing or lowering your monthly payments gives you more room to breathe financially. As a result, there’s no need to worry about defaulting on your student loan or denting your credit.
Federal student loans offer multiple options for repayment options. However, private lenders don’t offer such flexibility. Nevertheless, you can still find some who can let you pause your payments through forbearance or deferment. It’s important to first consult your lender on whether they allow such benefits before defaulting.
Student loan refinancing is also a worthy consideration, regardless of the type of loan—federal or student. By refinancing, the lender may lower the interest rate, thereby saving you money. Furthermore, you also have a chance to choose new loan terms.
Keep in mind, this option is only available to borrowers with solid credit. If you don’t have it, consider getting a cosigner. In addition, you’ll lose federal protections if you choose to refinance federal loans, a risk you may not be ready to take.
Regardless of which loan you’re repaying at the moment, there are ways you can use to repay them. They may be burdensome or seem unfair, but managing your debt will help you overcome this burden fast and without going into default.
Simple Help and Information For Consolidate School Loans
If paying off several financial loans every month is actually making the life unhappy, consolidating student education loans could alleviate you from your fiscal problems. Consolidating into a single loan plan will significantly simplify your financial situation, making life easier for you. All you have to do is comprehend a little about these education loan consolidation plans, which will help in making a smarter choice on whether or not debt consolidation meets your requirements. For graduate students who hold several student education loans, debt consolidation can considerably lessen the number of their monthly obligations. So how exactly does it work? It’s really quite simple: by bringing together their financial loans, students can stretch out the money they owe over a lot more years as compared to their current financial loans allow.
For instance, their current lending options may have settlement agendas of five to ten years, while with debt consolidation they can easily loosen up their debts over 3 decades. Doing this will certainly bring down the monthly obligations they need to make.
Take a Look at Your Existing Student Education Loans
In case your existing financial loans are issued by the federal government with a minimal rate of interest, bringing together your student lending options may not be what’s right to do. Private loan providers provide the majority of the consolidated education loan plans, and this signifies a higher rate of interest when compared with college loans provided by the government. Once you try to combine your government school loans, you could miss out on money, and your loan repayments could also get increased. It is really an essential thing to think about when you’re looking at how you can consolidate school loans.
Consolidate Student Education Loans with Your Current Loan Provider
If you currently have existing lending options with a consolidating student loans, you’ll be qualified to receive education loan consolidation through the same loan company. Talk about the perfect choices for your particular scenario with your loan provider; your loan provider could provide you with a refinanced loan plan with a lower rate of interest or combine several financial loans for you, regardless of whether you hold all the lending options or not.
There are plenty of benefits to coping with your current loan provider, for example, you realize the lending company good enough to know all the conditions and terms and loan companies tend to prefer existing clients if they have a great reputation on-time obligations in the past. Of course, if you will have a great on-time payment background, your loan provider could be more than pleased to provide you with a hassle-free education loan consolidation at a good rate of interest.
Search for A Minimum Balance Rate
While you go about learning how to consolidate student education loans, become familiar with that most loan companies only provide education loan consolidation plans for people with outstanding education loan debt that is higher than $7,400. When you’re looking to combine college loans, ensure that you carefully consider the minimum balance prerequisite before investing your time and efforts studying the entire application process.