I am forever grateful that my father and step mother set up a special savings account for both of my children for college. Living paycheck to paycheck hasn’t afforded us the opportunity to to put aside much money to help our children pay for college. Thankfully their college funds can help pay for at least two years of college.
Our daughter is currently in college. She graduates this time next year. She is already looking into what college to transfer to.
There are many factors she is considering when looking at colleges to transfer to – majors, college life, area, reviews from other students, and the biggest factor of all – tuition.
When I look at the cost of tuition I get stressed out. It truly is a major investment, just like a car or a home. You really have to explore all options to make the best decisions for your family.
Now that our daughter’s college fun from grandpa is running out we need to find other ways for her to afford her college so that she can finish up her Bachelor’s Degree, and ideally her Master’s Degree down the road too.
One of the things that bothers us about most student loans is that their terms are not something we are comfortable with. We want a student loan that has payment terms that we feel are best for us.
I recently learned about College Ave Student Loans. College Ave Student Loans is a leading online student loan marketplace.
The College Ave Student Loans parent page is loaded with a lot of valuable information about College Ave Student Loans, interest rates and how parents can save an average of $1,000 compared to Federal Student Loans. I’m all for saving money.
Another interesting thing that I like about College Ave Student Loans is that parents can get up to $2,500 direct deposited into their bank account. Those funds can be used to pay for other college expenses like books and dorm supplies. I can tell you first hand that college books are VERY expensive. Just one of my daughter’s books cost $300 – and it was a used book.
With most student loans, parents and students are required to start paying the loan back as soon as the student graduates. With the deferred payment and astronomical interest rates, students are looking at paying back hundreds of dollars each month. That is not that easy for a new college graduate to do.
A co-worker of my husband’s daughter is paying over $400+ per month toward her student loans. When I think about my daughter and how much she makes at her current job, there is no way she can afford that. It’s no wonder many college students end up back and home with their parents.
A unique thing with College Ave Student Loans is that parents and students can start paying the loan off right away. You do not have to wait until your student graduates from college. By paying off the loan while the student is in college you are saving a lot of money on interest.
College Ave Student Loans also lets parents/students to pick their own payment terms, making it easier and more convenient to pay back the loan. Repayment terms run from 5 to 12 years.
I was playing around with the College Ave Student Loans qualification tool and found that payment terms and amounts are very flexible. You could easily find something that works for you.
The tool shows you payment amounts for loans from $2,000 up to $80,000. I put in random amounts (thinking abut how much the colleges my daughter is looking into cost) and played around with the length of the loan and how much per month we could comfortably afford.
I found this to be a very valuable and eye opening tool.
If you have a child who heading off to college, and you are still up in the air about how you are going to afford the tuition and other expenses, I encourage you to check out College Ave Student Loans.
College Ave Student Loans also have no origination fees and lower rates than the federal loan for those with qualifying credit.
Let’s face it, paying for college is not easy, but knowing how much you can afford and how long it will take to pay it off makes the process a lot less stressing.
For more information visit the College Ave Student Loans homepage. From there you can you can access tools, loans, refinancing and more.
You can also check out College Ave Student Loans on social media. Their links can be found on the bottom right of their homepage.
Do you have a student in college? Do you have student loans? How are you dealing with them?
Do you have a student who will be attending college in the near future? How are you planning to help pay the cost of tuition and other expenses?
Kimberly
I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.