Student Loan Primer - Student Loan Blog by studentlsc.com

Awareness!

I recently spoke to a parent who expressed her concern to me that their high school guidance counselor offered very little assistance in understanding the FASFA and SAR forms.  Unfortunately this problem is far to common and there are very little services available to educate borrowers.  After reviewing the SAR (Student Aid Report) with her, we discovered that they were actually eligible for Unsubsidized Stafford Loans even though her school told her it was best to use Private Student Loans offered by the lenders on their ‘preferred lender list’.  The major concern here is that many colleges have been recently caught red handed receiving ‘gifts’ or ‘kickbacks’ for channeling applications to specific lenders.  This deflates the customers ability to shop around and get the best deals, and these large lenders are taking advantage of the lack of awareness in the industry.  My goal here is to offer you unbiased information allowing you to make the absolute best decisions for you and your family.  Please make sure you are making educated decisions when it comes to paying for your college tuition!