Financial Decisions for Your College Education
What Student Loans Do You Need to Go to School in Wisconsin?
Unfortunately much of the excitement of college is stripped away once you begin tangling with student loans and financial aid “details.” So how can you find help? If you’re a college bound Wisconsin student, a parent, or out-of-state student pursuing a college or university in Wisconsin make one of your first bookmarks the Wisconsin Higher Educational Aids Board (WHEAB).
Financial aid information includes:
Begin with Your Federal Loans
Federal student loans trump state student loans every time:
- Affordable and low-cost
- Stafford Loans require no credit check
- Guaranteed against default
- Most widely available to borrowers
- Flexible repayment plans
- Prerequisite to most other types of student loans and aid programs.
The Stafford Loans are infamous among undergraduates and graduates and only when a grad student maxxes out his or her Stafford Loan borrowing limits does the Grad PLUS Loan become an option. And a key feature of the FFELP is the Parent PLUS Loan, a more affordable alternative for cash-strapped parents that might traditionally have turned to second mortgages or risky lines of credit.
Learn more about your federal student loan options.
Alternative Loans and Loan Repayment Programs Available in Wisconsin
Like many other states Wisconsin offers a number of incentive loan programs for students pursuing high need fields. The loans provide teaching and nursing students with a certain amount of loan money each academic year. When the borrower agrees to provide service in a high-need facility or region a certain percentage of the loan is “forgiven” for each year he or she works in that capacity.
Wisconsin loan repayment programs:
- Nursing Student Loan
- Minority Teacher Loan
- Teacher Education Loan
- Visual Impairment Teacher Loan
Does a Private Student Loan Make Sense?
Private loans for education can be had from nearly every lender and bank in existence, so proceed with caution. However, in many cases students must borrow private funds to make up for the shortfall in education costs. As valuable as the federal loans can be, most don’t meet the full cost of your education. Tips when shopping for private loans in Wisconsin:
- Be able to prove good credit or borrow with a co-signor.
- Avoid loans with pre-payment penalties.
- Avoid loans with high borrowing minimums.
- Only borrow what you need for your immediate education costs; avoid financing costly “extras.”
For more information on Wisconsin student loans and financial aid programs, visit the WHEAB website.