Spouse Tip of the Week - Can You Afford to Pay Off Your Education Loans?
Source: Military Community and Family Policy (MC&FP) Weekly eNewsletter
Before you accept a financial aid offer from the school of your choice, compare student financial aid information from different sources. To help you, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and the Department of Education have developed two simple online assistants.
Know Before You Owe — A Financial Aid Shopping Sheet "Thought Starter"
The Department of Education is developing a new tool to help schools communicate important details about their student financial aid offers. This tool helps students understand the costs, risks and benefits of student loans prior to accepting them. The following information on How to Pay for College is presented in this user-friendly tool:
How Much Will It Cost You Each Year?
- total cost for one year of full-time attendance (tuition, books, fees, housing, meals, supplies, and transportation) minus
- total grants and scholarships for one year (federal, non-federal, other)
- equals what you will pay each year
What Are Your Loan and Work Study Options?
- Perkins loans
- subsidized Stafford loans
- unsubsidized Stafford loans
- federal work study
- private student loans
After Graduation, How Much Will You Owe?
- total federal loan debt (including estimated monthly payments) plus
- total private loan debt (including estimated monthly payments)
- equals your total loan debt (including total estimated monthly payments)
How Does Your Cost Compare?
- four-year public school average
- four-year private school average
- your school of choice cost per year average
- your cost per year
Student Loan Default Rate: Percentage of students from your school of choice who defaulted on their federal Stafford Loans within the first three years of repayment
- shows percent of defaults from your school of choice along a continuum of low, medium, and high
Graduation Rates: Percentage of students who graduated within six years
- average graduation rate at your school of choice
- average graduation rate at four-year private schools
Retention Rates: Percentage of non-graduating students who re-enrolled the following year at your school of choice.
- average retention rate for your school of choice
- average retention rate for four-year private schools
Name of your school of choice, financial aid office mailing address, phone number and email address.
Student Debt Repayment Assistant
This tool helps students compare and understand education loans, the costs (and debts) accrued through education loans, and their ability to repay their debts once they start working in their new career field. Here’s what’s inside this helpful tool:
National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS) – Department of Education’s centralized database that provides students with a list of the federal student loans and grants they currently have.
Questions about:
- your current income
- your current monthly loan payments
Before making a final decision about which school to attend and which financial aid package to accept, check out:
Department of Labor Career OneStop Salary Information
This website has current and projected salary information for a full range of occupations by career field and geographic location in order to show differences in earning power for the same job across America — a key factor which impacts student ability to pay off education loans within required timelines.
Remember, interest rates on all types of loans need to be affordable — short- and long-term. Use online calculators to determine the impact of interest rates for each education loan you accept. Shop around for the lowest interest rates and best repayment plans you can find before you sign a loan application.
Military OneSource can provide additional career and education coaching and referrals to other helpful resources: (800) 342-9647. For self-help, visit their Spouse Career Center in the Career and Education webpages.
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