Getting Help Paying
For Your Online Courses

Not having to travel to a school will help you get a more affrodable education online. But a full undergraduate degree will still cost many thousands of dollars

As online schools have developed, various government agencies have stepped in to help students get online college courses with financial aide. The most important government student loan programs are:

Federal Stafford Student Loan or “FEEL” loans. (Both The Federal Family Education Loan and the Direct Loan programs fall under this heading). – Covers the interest you pay on qualifying loans from any private lenders. Over the period you replay a big college loan, getting the interest covered by these programs can save you many thousands of dollars.

Federal PLUS Loan Programs – Lends money not to the student, but to his or her parents, and requires them to begin repaying the loan as soon as the student begins school.

Federal Perkins Loans – Which give money to the schools, which the schools will then lend directly to you. It’s required that you start repaying nine months after you graduate.

Federal Pell Grants – These are outright grants, based on need, that do not need to be repayed. The maximum grant, however, is less than $3,000 per year.

All federal student loan programs require you to fill out a “Free Application for Financial Student Aid” (FAFSA), a long online form that requires a very considerable depth of financial information on you and any assets you may have.

Remember that while loans and grants can help you get a more affrodable education online, not paying lenders back on schedule can quickly get you into credit trouble, and have collectors pursuing you.

Help on figuring out the cost of online degrees.