Smart Military Money
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Understand student loans' features to ensure you pick the right kind of loan for your education
Military members who want to attend college have several funding options available.
For qualifying service members GI Bill Benefits are available, but for those who do not qualify, loans are an option, too.
The reality is the military’s education benefits may not always cover all expenses. It isn’t uncommon for students to seek out loans to close any gaps.
The government offers the Stafford Loan and the Perkins Loan to undergraduate and graduate students.
The Stafford Loan has two variations:
Stafford loans are either subsidized or unsubsidized. Subsidized loans have the interest paid by the government while you are enrolled in school and nine months after graduating. The unsubsidized option accrues interest fees over the entire course of the loan.
Military members who can document an extreme financial need may also qualify for the Perkins Loan. Under this low-interest loan program, military borrowers are eligible to have all or part of their loans canceled.
There are other loan options available if federal aid still falls short. Private loans are available through lenders such as Sallie Mae or Chase.
Military members should remember that private loans depend on credit scores and have higher interest rates than federal aid.
An incentive for joining the military after gradation is the Military Student Loan Program.
The amount that could be repaid varies across the military branches:
It’s important for military members to understand the different program requirements set by each branch of military.
More information on federal student aid can be found at www.studentaid.ed.gov.
Photo thanks to Michael Oh under a creative commons license from Flickr.
8 Comments
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Thank you for another informative blog. Where else could I get that type of information written in such an ideal way? I’ve a project that I’m just now working on, and I’ve been on the look out for such information.
I never received any loan repayment from my GI Bill. Is there anyway for me to take advantage of this? I’m still paying my loans. My Reserve unit didn’t help me get any of my student loan repayments.
Definitely contact your local VA office and inform them of the situation. You may be able to recover some repayment depending on the time at which you served.
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