Graduate Financial Aid

January is here, which means a few things.

1) Resolutions…by now, many of you have abandoned your goals and aspirations to do things differently in ‘07. For those of you who have kept it up, congrats! I have kept up on my resolutions a bit - no 6am spinning (YET) but I am faithful at making my coffee, shopping less, and helping others with education financing.

2) Cold weather…I saw on CNN today, there was snow about 30 miles north of LA - so wherever you are, you’re probably in for a chill. Bundle up, dig out the ice scraper, stock up on soup and hot chocolate, and it’ll be April before you know it (yeah right…).

3) FAFSA TIME…Come January, you are able to start filling out the FAFSA form for the 2007-08 school year. While the process can be daunting, regardless of how many years of FAFSA paperwork experience you have under your belt, there are solutions out there. Graduate students really can take advantage of Stafford loan funds, but the FAFSA is requried to do this. Get help with your FAFSA - while you’ll still need to do the application online, there are many sites with helpful tips and tricks to making the process a breeze!!

It is January, which means second semester is about to begin. If you are the minority, you have your FAFSA renewed and your financial aid in order. But if you are the average Sally, you are in a bind, and next tuition bill is due any day now. This is when you turn to an Alternative Student Loan. Alternative loans can be approved instantly and you can have the check in your mail box within 5 days. Which is great considering Federal loans can take months to be approved. Graduate students often have a lot to juggle, more so than undergraduates…which means graduate students often turn to alternative loans to not only fund their education but also they can live comfortably while getting their education. Of course with any loan, you want to research all of your options, and you only should take a loan out if you absolutely need it.