Ask: Financial aid officeThe FAFSA, start to finish
Course 1 · 6 lessons · 18 min to read
FreeStart lesson 1
Borrowing with care
Know which loans you are offered, how their interest grows, and how to borrow only what the year needs.
- 6 lessons, about 18 minutesRead them in order, or jump to the one you need
- Steps to try after every lessonShort actions for the week ahead
- Who to ask: Financial aid officeDecides your aid package and reads your FAFSA.
- Free, with no sign-inNothing to buy and no account to make
About this course
Student loans are the part of an aid offer that follows you after school, so they are worth understanding before you accept one. This course compares federal and private loans, explains how interest builds, and sorts out the three kinds of Direct Loan.
It then walks through accepting part of a loan, the counseling and promissory note every first-time federal borrower completes, and what repayment looks like once you leave school.
Syllabus
- 6 lessons3 to 3 min each
- 25 steps to trySpread across the lessons
- About 18 min in allAt an easy reading pace
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- Where each kind of loan comes from
- How the terms are set
- The protections that come with federal loans
- Choosing the order to borrow in
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- Principal, rate and the daily count
- When interest starts
- What capitalization does
- Paying a little while you study
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- Direct Subsidized Loans
- Direct Unsubsidized Loans
- Direct PLUS Loans
- Where the limits are published
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- Starting from your real costs
- Telling your school the amount
- Changing your mind later
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- What entrance counseling covers
- Signing the Master Promissory Note
- What to keep and check afterward
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- The months after you leave
- Finding your servicer and your balance
- Kinds of repayment plan
- If payments become hard
What the course covers
By the end you can
- Tell federal loans from private loans
- Follow how interest accrues and capitalizes
- Accept, reduce or decline a loan on purpose
- Find your servicer and your repayment options
Not part of it
- Loans, or a lender to borrow from
- A recommended amount to borrow
- Advice on a specific repayment plan
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