Best College Loans

In order to satisfy the ever growing higher educational needs of our population, there are currently well over 3700 colleges in the Unites States. As time goes on and our population increases, there are more and more children reaching the age of college eligibility.

As the cost of living continues to spiral out-of-control, the cost of securing a college education has risen even more rapidly. With the interest rates on credit cards going through the roof, people who have taken college student loans find themselves in a dilemma.

The poor financial habits they practiced when they were young are haunting them some twenty years later. The best college loans have been difficult to find because of the financial crunch that we are presently experiencing in our economy today.

You might not think that the best college loans would be affected by the mortgage crisis facing us today, but, in fact, they are.

You must remember that the best college loans are meant to subsidize our college students as they meet the challenges of higher education. As the tuition costs skyrocket at a pace that outdistances the annual rise in cost of living, credit debt mounts.

Schools with the best college loans are acutely aware of this impending financial disaster that threatens to topple many of our bastions of higher learning. Despite the efforts of colleges to ensure that students receive the best college loans, the colleges will also suffer dire consequences if students can not afford a college education.

If there are no admissions, colleges will tumble even though they have tried to provide the best college loans.

The subprime mortgage crisis is threatening the stability of our student loan program, even the best college loans. Both private and government loans have been affected by this calamity as investors are being frightened off from the traditional securities investments that support even the best college loans.

Even though these best college loans are believed to be safe for investors because of the low interest rates, investors might put the student loan business on the precipice of a fall if they do not follow through with their regular investment practices. Without the availability of the best college loans, our prospective applicants will have no way of paying for their education. Thus, you see the vicious cycle spinning our higher education system into a state of crisis.

Thankfully, the Federal Government has taken serious measures to halt the subprime mortgage situation before the best college loans are affected by this crisis. In this manner, the Feds have adjusted the rates in order to protect investors. It is the fondest expectation of all concerned that investors will continue to support the traditionally reliable best student loans endowments.

Both the Federal Government and private lenders have responded to the potential crisis by making more middle and upper middle income bracketed students eligible for such best student loans as the Federally funded Stafford Loan. These Stafford Loans are considered among the best college loans because the interest rate on these loans remain relatively on the lower end of the lending tree spectrum, and they can never exceed an annual rate of 8.25%.

An incentive that makes the Stafford loans one of the best college loans on the market today is that the Federal Government does not start charging interest on these loans until the student is at least six months removed from the date of graduation. On this Stafford loan, the student may borrow up to $9000, depending on the grade level at the time of the application. These factors make the Stafford loan one of the best college loans available today.

On the private level, loans are based on accreditation requests. These loans can accrue serious interest payments for late repayments, but they can be some of the best college loans around. One of the best college loans on the private spectrum are the Astride Loans. These loans are advertised on television and on Internet websites as among the best college loans available to college students. They offer as much as $50,000 for college students and it is relatively easy to secure these loans.

The Astride Loans advertise themselves as one of the best college loans available today because you can "Learn now, and pay later." The operative phrase is pay later, because these loans must be paid by deadline or there are substantial late payment penalties assigned. If used correctly, the Astride Loans can be effective and one of the best college loans on the market today.

There are several best college loans that are both Federally and privately funded. How does your family become eligible for one of these best college loans?

You must keep in mind that all eligibility for best college loans is based on an annual calculation of family contributions to the education of the student. The expected family contribution can often make families eligible for the best college loans that might have had no expectation of such eligibility.

Here are a few steps that might increase your family eligibility for the best college loans:

o Obtain a free financial application for the best college loans at www.fafsa.ed.gov.

o All assets under $42,000 are protected by law from the expected family contributions on the best college loans. One strategy to reduce the contribution on the best college loans calculated at 5.64% annually on all assets over $42,000 is to set up a small business. This strategy will augment your chances for eligibility for one of the best college loans on the market today, because businesses are exempt from the financial aid calculations.

o If you still are having difficulty making the eligibility requirements for best college loans, you may consider giving your company some personal loans.

o If you are still not eligible for one of the best college loans, you have the option to appeal. At this point, you will need to demonstrate your need for one of the best college loans based on the financial aid criteria that you present.

o You can also give your assets to someone during the financial aid process for the best college loans. Just make sure that your assets are returned once the process is over. A friend once did this to gain eligibility for one of the best college loans by giving his assets to two cousins. It was like the "needles in the haystacks'' adage. He got one of the best college loans for his child, but lost all his assets because the cousins refused to return them to him.

The best college loans can be need based or non-need based depending upon the financial picture that a family presents. The need based loans differ significantly from non-need based in that the non-need based loans begin to accrue interest as soon as the loan is disbursed.

The best college loans on a needs basis are: o Federal Perkins Loan: One of the best college loans because the interest rates are remarkably low. However, the income eligibility requirements for one of these best college loans are strictly enforced. o Federal Stafford Loan: One of the best college loans because of the low interest rate and the generous amount of funds available for borrowing.

The best college loans on a non-needs basis are: o Federal Stafford Loan Unsubsidized: One of the best college loans except that the interest is effected at the time of the loan disbursement.

There are many other best college loans that are available now, and will be available in the future.