Since college costs only continue to rise, student loans are nearly a universal part of student life. If you know what you’re doing, you can get a great loan. This article has what you need, so read on.

If you want to get any student loan paid ahead of time, it’s a good idea to pay off the ones with more interest. If you base your payment on which loans are the lowest or highest, there is a chance that you will end up owing more money in the end.

Grace Period

It is important to know how much time after graduation you have before your first loan payment is due. Stafford loans offer six months of grace period. Perkins loans offer a nine-month grace period. Other loan types are going to be varied. Know exactly the date you have to start making payments, and never be late.

Prioritize your repayment of student loans by the interest rate of each one. Pay off the highest interest student loans first. Anytime you have extra cash, apply it toward your student loans. There are no penalties for paying off a loan more quickly than warranted by the lender.

Reduce the total principal by getting things paid off as fast as you can. As your principal declines, so will your interest. Hone in on large loans. After you have paid off the largest loan, begin paying larger payments to the second largest debt. By making minimum payments on all of your loans and the largest payment possible on your largest loan, you will systematically eliminate your student loan debt.

Take as many hours each semester as you think you can handle so you don’t waste any money. Full time is 9-12 hours, but you can go as high as 8. This will help reduce how much you have to borrow.

Stafford Loan

The Perkins Loan and the Stafford Loan are both well known in college circles. These are very affordable and are safe to get. They are favorable due to the fact that your interest is paid by the government while you are actually in school. Perkins loans have a rate of 5 percent interest. The subsidized Stafford loan has an interest rate that does not exceed 6.8%.

The cost of education these days is through the roof. Knowing that, entering into student loans without careful consideration can also negatively affect borrowers later on. Luckily, what you have just read will help you out tremendously.