• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

National Debt Relief

National Debt Relief - A+ BBB Accredited Business - Get Relief From Credit Card Debt, Medical Bills And Unsecured Loans

Talk to a debt counselor toll free:

800-300-9550

Get Relief From Credit Card Debt

Medical Bills and Unsecured Loans

  • Services
    • Debt Settlement
    • Debt Relief Benefits
    • Qualifications
    • Is Debt Settlement Right For Me?
    • Debt Help By State
    • Debt Relief FAQs
      • How Debt Relief Affects Your Credit Score
    • Free Budget Planner Worksheets
    • Free Debt Calculator
  • Options
    • Debt Relief
    • Bankruptcy
    • Credit Card Debt
    • Debt Consolidation
  • About Us
    • Who Is National Debt Relief?
    • Accreditations
    • Proven Results – Debt Settlement Letters
  • Contact Us
    • Apply Now
    • Contact Us
  • Client Login
  • Careers
HomeBlog Personal FinanceOff To College This Fall? Here’s How To Reduce Student Loans
Video Transcript

Free Debt Relief Quote

  • National Debt Relief, LLC BBB Business Review
  • McAfee SECURE sites help keep you safe from identity theft, credit card fraud, spyware, spam, viruses and online scams

Off To College This Fall? Here’s How To Reduce Student Loans

July 19, 2015 by National Debt Relief

Tweet
Share
Pin
Share
Reddit
0 Shares

young man holding empty wallet and booksIf you’re off to college this fall, congratulations! You’re about to embark on what will likely be four of the best years of your life. You’ll learn new things and meet new people that could end up lifetime friends. There’ll be challenges – no question about that – long nights of studying and irascible teachers that must be pacified. However, if you do the work and keep your nose clean then four years from now you’ll have college behind you and will be ready to start your career or move on to grad school.

The most important question of all

You’ve probably already answered the most important question of all, which is how you’re going to pay for your education. If you’re typical you filled out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) last January and you know whether you’ll be receiving any student aid or if you’ll be required to take out student loans to finance your education. If you were a really great student throughout high school or a gifted athlete you may have received a big scholarship, which is by far the best way to pay for a college education. For example, where we live there is a full-boat scholarship program available that will pay for the entire cost of all four years of college.

If you didn’t win a great scholarship you may have been awarded a work grant or a grant-in-aid. Both of these are good because, unlike student loans, the money doesn’t have to be repaid. These are usually subtracted from your tuition bills, making the cost of college more affordable.

If borrow you must

If the only way that you can finance your education is through student loans what you want to avoid is borrowing everything you’ll need to pay for your entire four years of college. Last year people graduated owing an average of more than $32,000 in student loan debts and many students were forced to borrow even more. If you start life after college owing $32,000 it could take you 10 years or more to pay off those loans. This is a burden that would not only affect you for those 10 years but possibly for the rest of your life.

Where it starts

The problem is that some college financial aid officers are not your friends. What they concentrate on is helping their schools. Some people call this the “used car salesman mentality.” These are financial aid officers who will create any kind of financial arrangements to ensure that you get into and stay in college. The problem is that this is a short-term situation but could end up hurting you over the long term.

The real cost

There is no question about the long-term impact of student loan debt. It’s not only crippling recent graduates it’s also lowering the growth of our economy. This is due to the fact that debt-laden students end up spending years after school struggling to repay their loans instead of buying a home or saving and investing. In addition, many people have become disenchanted by the whole idea of higher education. The question they are asking themselves, and that you might ask yourself, is it worth it. Should you really be running up $30,000, $40,000 or more in student loan debt to earn a degree that might not really help you get a job?

piggy bankKeep your loans to the very minimum

If you’re convinced that you do need a college degree for that “dream career,” the critical thing is to keep your student loans to the very minimum. This may come under the category of, well duh, but the less money you borrow the less you will have to repay.

Talk with your financial aid officer

Before you sign on the dotted line for a student loan be sure to discuss the alternatives with your financial aid officer. It’s possible that there is other forms of aid such as a work grant that could help you reduce the amount of money you will need to borrow. In addition, there might be scholarships available that you were never made aware of.

Get a job

Once you get settled into school you might get a part-time job. College towns almost always have openings in food service and retail. It could be tough to work, say, 20 hours a week while carrying a full course load but it is possible. If you get one of these jobs be sure to use the money to help pay for next semester’s costs. Jobs in food service and retail generally pay about $9 to $10 an hour, which might not seem like much. But if you were to work those 20 hours a week this would be around $150 after taxes or a total of roughly $2100 you would have available to apply toward next semester’s costs.

Graduate in four years

A second important thing you could do to keep those student loans to a minimum is graduate in four years or less. A mistake that many students make is changing majors in mid-stream, which almost inevitably leads to a fifth year of college. If you know what this year will cost you, try multiplying that number by five instead of four and you’ll see how much more debt you’ll end up with. The courses you take in your first year or two should help you decide on your major. But think this through very carefully before you declare because if you were to change your mind during or after your junior year you’ll end up piling on much more debt. You might also think about trying to graduate in less than four years. Of course, it would cost you more to take on maybe 18 credit hours for a couple of semesters instead of the standard 15. But if you got out of college just a semester early you’d more than make up the extra cost in what you would save in living expenses. Plus, this would give you an earlier start on getting a job vs. most of your colleagues.

Don’t switch schools

Do not switch schools unless it’s an absolute necessity. If you do this it will take you longer to graduate, which means you will graduate with more debt. One recent study showed that students that transferred to a new school ended up with about $3400 more debt than those that stayed put.

Finally, here’s a short video, courtesy of National Debt Relief, with good information about student loans and how to determine how much you may need to borrow.

Tweet
Share
Pin
Share
Reddit
0 Shares

Do you qualify for debt consolidation?

National Debt Relief

National Debt Relief

National Debt Relief is one of the largest and best-rated debt settlement companies in the country. In addition to providing excellent, 5-star services to our clients, we also focus on educating consumers across America on how to best manage their money. Our posts cover topics around personal finance, saving tips, and much more. We’ve served thousands of clients, settled over $1 billion in consumer debt, and our services have been featured on sites like NerdWallet, Mashable, HuffPost, and Glamour.

Follow National Debt Relief: Facebook Twitter Instagram Linkedin

Filed Under: Personal Finance, Student Loans Tagged With: avoiding student loan debt, paying for college without loans, personal finance

Primary Sidebar

Trusted By Our Clients

Excellent

Rated Five Stars Trustpilot star rating Trustpilot star rating Trustpilot star rating Trustpilot star rating Trustpilot star rating

based on 12,550 REVIEWS

"Best decision I've ever made!"

They really care about "you" and making your life easier. They answer all of your questions and are very detailed.

Trustpilot star rating Trustpilot star rating Trustpilot star rating Trustpilot star rating Trustpilot star rating

Kolbie P.

"Saved me from drowning in the debt."

I was up to my eyeballs in debt and National Debt Relief saved me from drowning in the debt.

Trustpilot star rating Trustpilot star rating Trustpilot star rating Trustpilot star rating Trustpilot star rating

Joanna W.
Canal Winchester, OH

"Helped me settle my debts that were choking me."

National Debt Relief helped me settle my debts that were choking me.

Trustpilot star rating Trustpilot star rating Trustpilot star rating Trustpilot star rating Trustpilot star rating

Bobbie A.
Charlotte, MI

"Taken a big weight off of my shoulders."

National Debt Relief has taken a big weight off of my shoulders.

Trustpilot star rating Trustpilot star rating Trustpilot star rating Trustpilot star rating Trustpilot star rating

Richard D.
Piffard, NY

"Stopped all collection calls."

National Debt Relief stopped all collection calls and are working with my creditors to settle my debts.

Trustpilot star rating Trustpilot star rating Trustpilot star rating Trustpilot star rating Trustpilot star rating

Patricia G.
Oran, MO

"Now I can see a light at the end of the tunnel finally."

I was in a tough spot, financially and emotionally. Now I can see a light at the end of the tunnel finally.

Trustpilot star rating Trustpilot star rating Trustpilot star rating Trustpilot star rating Trustpilot star rating

Susan W.
Valparaiso, IN

"I'm sleeping better knowing they are helping me to eliminate my debt."

I'm sleeping better knowing National Debt Relief is helping me to eliminate my debt.

Trustpilot star rating Trustpilot star rating Trustpilot star rating Trustpilot star rating Trustpilot star rating

Jodi W.
Springfield, OH
Trust Pilot Reviews

Free Debt Relief Quote

By submitting, you agree that the phone number you are providing may be used to contact you by National Debt Relief (including autodialed and prerecorded calls or text/SMS messages). Msg. and data rates apply. You are not required to opt in as a condition of purchase.

The sooner you call,
the sooner we can help:

800-300-9550

Recent Posts

  • Here’s Why You Need To File Your Taxes Early
  • Here Are The 6 Signs Your Future Spouse Is Bad With Money
  • How Will You Fall In The New 2019 Tax Brackets?
  • 5 Ways You Can Convince Your Spouse To Save Money Together
  • 6 Super Simple Tips to Get You Ready for Tax Season
  • 3 Strategies For Home Buying With Student Loan Debt
  • How To Strengthen Your Finances Before Another Recession
  • How To Get Started With Investing
  • Learn How To Send A Cease and Desist Letter To Creditors
  • How Furloughed Employees Finances Have Been Effected

 

FAQs about debt relief

AFCC disclosure

National Debt Relief, LLC BBB Business Review AFCC Top Ten Reviews Gold Top Consumer Reviews Trust Pilot
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Site
  • Disclaimer
  • Sitemap

© 2019, National Debt Relief, All Rights Reserved.

Please note that all calls with the company may be recorded or monitored for quality assurance and training purposes.
*Clients who are able to stay with the program and get all their debt settled realize approximate savings of 50% before fees, or 30% including our fees, over 24 to 48 months. All claims are based on enrolled debts. Not all debts are eligible for enrollment. Not all clients complete our program for various reasons, including their ability to save sufficient funds. Estimates based on prior results, which will vary based on specific circumstances. We do not guarantee that your debts will be lowered by a specific amount or percentage or that you will be debt-free within a specific period of time. We do not assume consumer debt, make monthly payments to creditors or provide tax, bankruptcy, accounting or legal advice or credit repair services. Not available in all states. Please contact a tax professional to discuss tax consequences of settlement. Please consult with a bankruptcy attorney for more information on bankruptcy. Depending on your state, we may be available to recommend a local tax professional and/or bankruptcy attorney. Read and understand all program materials prior to enrollment, including potential adverse impact on credit rating.