Announcements and News
Quarterly STATEments Volume 1, issue 2
Recently, a number of NC State students and families have received letters in the mail soliciting money to apply for scholarships and financial aid.
NC State’s Office of Scholarships and Financial Aid would like to remind you that you should never pay to apply for scholarships, grants or any type of financial assistance. Please contact us immediately if you have any questions regarding mailings or emails that ask for you to pay money in order to receive a scholarship. Our staff is always available to help direct you to free scholarship search resources and to assist you in the process of applying for federal, state, and institutional aid. Our Scholarship Resources web page is a great way to search for outside scholarships and grants.
In addition, always go to www.fafsa.ed.gov to submit your Free Application for Federal Student Aid. NC State does not require any applications that charge a fee to apply for financial aid.
The letters and emails you receive may claim an affiliation with NC State, but our university does not use or work with these companies. Again, if you have any doubt please check with our office.
Choosing to borrow an educational loan, whether a Stafford loan, a PLUS loan or a private loan, is a decision that you should consider seriously before entering into a loan agreement. Loans can be a wonderful way to make attending college possible, but many students enter into loan agreements without fully understanding the consequences of their decisions.
First, is this the best loan for me?
Federal loans, including Stafford loans, PLUS loans, and Perkins loans, are generally the best options and should be your first consideration. The maximum interest rates and fees on these loans are set by federal law, so the terms and conditions for these loans are clearly defined and will not change over time.
Private loans, also known as alternative loans, offer another type of loan. Sometimes students choose to borrow private loans because they believe it’s a simpler option. You don’t have to fill out a FAFSA in order to borrow, the funds are sometimes sent directly to you, and our office may not even have to certify the loan. But you will pay a price for that convenience – in the form of very high interest rates and high loan fees. Often, students commit to these loans without even knowing the interest rates or repayment terms. Before you apply for a loan that you don’t fully understand, contact our staff to see if there might be better options for you.
How much should I borrow?
You should never borrow more than you absolutely need to attend school. While the Office of Scholarships and Financial Aid cannot certify a loan that exceeds the estimated cost of attendance figures used for all students for financial aid purposes, many students find they can live even less expensively than that. Look carefully at your spending habits to see if there are things you can do to save money. Are you really using all of the meals you’ve purchased with your meal plan? Are you looking for ways to save on books and supplies? If you’re living off-campus, are there less expensive housing options that you could consider? Are you taking advantage of the free & inexpensive weekend activities you can do on campus?
Loans must be repaid when you’re no longer enrolled in school, and you need to be very honest about your ability to repay student loan debt based on what you anticipate your future annual income will be. Check out the “Loan Payment Calculator” available on FinAid.org to see what your monthly payments might be at various borrowing levels.
Questions about loans? You’re always welcome to contact our staff with any questions you have as you make these important decisions.