Student Loans For Single Mothers
The first thing to do when looking for student loans for single mothers is to fill out a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), which is an application when lets you apply to all federal loan and grant programs. This is most important as it will allow you to apply to loan programs like the Stafford and Perkins loan programs which offer student loans in the unsubsidized category, which essentially means need-based which a situation like being a single mother provides excellent documentation of. Not only will this allow you to apply for grants for single mothers, it will also present the opportunity of possibly being eligible for obtaining federal grant programs which are money that you never have to pay back. After you have mailed in your FAFSA, you will then get back what is called an Expected Family Contribution (EFC) sheet which calculates how much financial help you are going to receive if any, which the EFC will calculate the contributing factors and dictate how much federal financial aid you will be eligible for. This is where student loans for single mothers with bad credit come in as well as federal loan programs are not credit based, which means credit doesn’t dictate eligibility.
It should also be known that you should fully exhaust federal student aid before resorting to private assistance as federal student loans come with lower interest rates which are fixed rates, meaning they don’t ever change and much better repayment options. If you have run out of federal student aid and still are looking for student loans for single mothers, private loans cover the rest of whatever federal assistance didn’t cover, but they come with higher interest rates and much less lenient repayment terms, but if you really need a private student loan then the first provider to go through would be credit unions who have been known to offer student loans with comparable interest rates to that of federal loan programs as well as come with other perks like interest rate discounts for good grades. The main thing to keep in mind if you have to apply for private student loans for single mothers is the fact that that interest rates are dictated by your credit score, which if you are a bad you will want to try and find someone who has a good credit score to co-sign for you which will allow you to enjoy much lower interest rates than applying with a bad score.
There are also more career-oriented programs that offer grants and student loans for single mothers, so depending on what career you are looking to go into, you will want to search the internet for loan and scholarship programs for your profession, like for example if you are looking to become a nurse then you can search “nursing school student loans for single mothers”. If you do not have a computer at your home, then you can use the library to start your search as they provide free internet access to library members, which you can become a member for free.
Alternatives For Student Loans For Single Mothers
Another resource that you can utilize before taking out a single mom student loan is to talk to your employer if you are working and ask them if there are any programs for employees going back to school. Often times a benefit provided to employees is tuition help and/or scholarships, which if you are looking to go into the same field as the job you are already working in, but advance to a higher position, you can let your employer know this as they will be more inclined to provided financial assistance to make you a more valuable resource on the workforce than hiring a new person.
If you are unable to work while in school but still have the desire to do so, a great program to consider is the Federal Work-Study Program (WSP), which allows you to work a job that is similar to the profession that you are studying to go into, which the employment is arranged by the college. This will help you earn money in which the money you earn will go towards paying your tuition, leaving you with a lot less debt to have to pay off when you graduate. This federal program can save you from even having to take out student loans for single mothers or limit the amount of money that you have to borrow, which you can learn more by inquiring about it through your schools administrations office.
When you attend the administration’s office at your school, you can also make a free appointment with a counselor who may be able to help you find both local and national programs that offer student loans for single mothers, as well as just explaining your situation can come with certain tuition discounts.
It should also be known that when searching for private student loans for single mothers, you will want to go through a provider who specializes in student loans, and not takes out a generic loan as these will just come with much higher interest.