Education Loans - Road to a Bright Future
Education loans are very important for students pursuing higher
education. The tuition fee of professional education is very
high. Apart from tuition fee, there are several other expenses
that students have to bear, i.e. cost of living that include
hostel charges and food. For parents of many students, it is not
easy to bear all these expenses. Therefore, students have to go
for an education loan.
In the UK, education loans are provided by Student Loans
Company. Student Loans Company is owned by the British
Government and provides financial assistance to eligible
students. To get a loan from Student Loans Company, students can
apply through their local education authority in England and
Wales. Students of Northern Ireland can apply for a loan through
the Student Awards Agency for Scotland or their local education
and library board.
Government offers graduate loans to graduate students to help
them cover their expenses. Graduate loans are of two types -
Stafford graduate loans and Perkins graduate loans. Stafford
graduate loans are given to all students regardless of their
financial position. Such loans are further subdivided into two -
subsidized and unsubsidized. In case of subsidized loans,
students do not have to pay interest whereas interest is payable
by students on unsubsidized loans. Perkins graduate loans are
offered to students whose financial position is not sound.
Besides government loans, students can take out a loan from
banks, financial institutions or private lenders. You can take
out a personal loan to finance your education. Personal loans
are usually unsecured and therefore, they carry high rates of
interest. If you own a house, you can take out a homeowner loan
to finance your education. Homeowner loans are secured loans and
carry low rates of interest. Homeow
ner loans offer all the advantages of a secured loan - low
rates of interest, small amount of monthly payments, flexible
repayment terms, etc. You can also take out a home equity loan
to finance your education. Home equity is the present value of
your house minus the unpaid mortgage balance.
You do not have to start repaying your education loan until you
finish your course and start making a living. Once you get a
job, you are supposed to repay your loan as per the terms and
conditions.