Pay for College with Loans from Tennessee

Information and Online Applications

Every state should have a resource this good. The Tennessee Student Assistance Corporation’s (TSAC) “College Pays” website dishes up all the information any student could need to plan a wise track to college. Here are some of the resources you’ll find:

  • College planning tools and resources
  • Information on state scholarships and grants
  • Applications
  • Guidance for repaying your student loans
  • Information for partner lenders
  • Resources for parents
  • State and federal student loan resources

Student Loan Best Strategy

The federal student loan programs may not cover all your educational expenses, but they are low-cost, affordable and available to every American student. Because they offer some of the best borrower benefits they are a standard first step in every financial aid strategy.

  • Stafford Loans
  • Parent PLUS Loans
  • Grad PLUS Loans

Apply for Federal Loans

The application often seems to be where most students get hung-up. Each academic year more than 2 million students fail to file the FAFSA, the federal application for aid. Truth is the document is not easy to complete BUT if you try you can find plenty of assistance with it, including high school career and guidance counselors and college admissions officers. Many communities sponsor annual seminars for the express purpose to help local parents and students overcome fears of the FAFSA and college financial aid.

You can find the FAFSA on the web.

Finding a Private Loan You Can Live With

Tennessee colleges and universities don’t cost any less than other schools so it’s just as likely that you’ll require auxiliary funding. Best advice is to shop carefully for a lender, and choose one that is reputable and well-known in the student loan industry. However, the choice is completely up to you. Don’t expect college financial aid personnel to guide you.

Tips for choosing a private student loan:

  • Before you sign anything understand all the terms of the loan.
  • What is the interest rate? If it’s variable, what is the limit?
  • Avoid loans with penalties for early repayment.
  • Avoid loans with a high minimum borrowing amount.
  • Know what the total cost of the loan will be; and this is not how much you need to borrow. Total cost is what you will pay out in the end with interest rates figured in and life of loan.
  • Avoid financing in extras like computer and textbooks.
  • Ask to know about any hidden fees.

Most students cannot do college without a private loan, but if you don’t have to break the bank to do it, then don’t.

For more information on planning for college in Tennessee visit the College Pays website.