Loans and Scholarships

Loans and Scholarships

cost-of-college

I know that Halloween is a month away, and I don’t mean to scare anyone just yet about the topic of “loans.” When I first started hearing that word and understanding what it was, I got a negative impression out of it, especially when people emphasized that they still owe money after years and years. For my first two years of college, I had that mindset and I did not borrow any money. However, this year is my first year taking out loans and I can finally say that loans aren’t that bad (or even scary).

The unsubsidized loan is a wonderful thing because it is a loan that does not acquire interest as long as you stay in school. This means that you owe money that you know you need to pay off; there is no surprise in this loan. This loan also works in your favor because it is based off of your income taxes as well- it isn’t the same reward amount for everyone. This means that the rewarded amount should have some representation of your (or your family’s) earnings.

The subsidized loans are different in that in addition to the amount of money borrowed, there is interest included and factored in.

In my opinion, thus unsubsidized loan is worth taking out because it will allow you to be more responsible and pay off the money yourself, as opposed to using your parent’s money to pay off tuition and other fees. Also, you know in the future, you will have a job and save money, so there’s certainty that you will be able to pay the loan off eventually to its entirety.

Scholarships!

In my experience, I haven’t be so successful in receiving scholarships through external sources because they are based off of specificity or given out randomly (like Scholarship Points). The chances/likelihood of getting a scholarship are not high. However, internal  scholarships within your [high] school or through Loyola are much more likely. These scholarships range from academic standing to whether or not you attended Catholic school.

Here’s a link to the LUC info on these scholarships:

http://www.luc.edu/finaid/scholarships/undergraduate/

All in all, I wouldn’t worry so much on taking out loans and I would encourage you to be on the lookout for scholarships you think you can do/apply for. Remember, it doesn’t hurt to apply for them! It can only work in your favor.

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