Alfred Said:

Do i need to have a job to apply for a student auto loan?

We Answered:

Hey Kid, those three below do not send anything to their e-mail address. If they were a legitimate company they would not be using yahoo email accounts, they would have their own website and an email account for that site. Just a heads up, also follow my advice for your other question.

Peter Said:

How can I apply for a student loan?

We Answered:

change your college, and country too. then you'd need no loan :) You should check out universities @ Norway, Sweden or Finland, as the education is free for International Students like from India. So this would save you from spending lots of money or getting trapped with Education Loan. Just compare it with 25 lakhs tuition fee required to do masters in Australia. So you save 25 lakhs!!

Again, do check the official websites, like for Norway it is http://www.studyinnorway.no

Claudia Said:

applying for a student loan online or in person?

We Answered:

They need your parents' information for the FAFSA, the federal government form's that determines what you/your parents "should" be able to pay for your education. You can't fill out the FAFSA as "independent" if you're under 24 and don't meet specific requirements (like being married, having a child, attending grad school, etc.). This is because the federal government believes that parents have primary responsibility in paying for college, so whether or not you qualify for grants and subsidized loans is based on your parents' income. It's bull in a lot of cases, such as when parents can't or won't put anything toward their kid's college, but there's no way around it.

That said, it has no bearing on the loan itself. Your mom will only be responsible for your loan if she co-signs for it, and that's only necessary if you need a private ("alternative") loan and don't have the credit to be approved or get a decent interest rate.

As for your original question, you should wait until your FAFSA is processed and discuss it with a financial aid counselor. You may be approved for grant money or one or two federal loans. You'll be approved for a subsidized loan if you qualify, and can also take out an unsubsidized loan whether you qualify for the other or not.

At that point, your counselor will tell you how much grant money you'll receive (if any), the amount of your subsidized loan (if any), and the amount of an unsubsidized loan. You can choose to take out all or part of the loan funds for which you're approved. Then you'll have to weigh this against your cost of attendance. (It's best to let your counselor walk you through the process of accepting the federal loans. You'll have to do entrance counseling, etc.) If this isn't enough money to pay for your school, you'll need to apply for a private loan to make up the difference. You can usually take out more than you need, to pay for living expenses, a computer, transportation, etc., but keep in mind that you'll have to pay it back.

If you feel comfortable comparing interest rates and so forth, you can choose a lender and apply for your private loan online (although you may well need a cosigner). But your counselor can help you explore these options, too.

Edit: With subsidized loans, the government pays the interest while you're in school. With unsubsidized, they don't. You can either choose to make monthly interest-only payments while you're in school, or the interest will be added to your principal when you graduate.

The federal loans are Stafford loans. The maximum you can borrow in a year is $3,500 subsidized and $2,000 unsubsidized (or $5,500 subsidized and $2,000 unsubsidized if your school classifies you as a junior/senior). If you only qualify for an unsubsidized Stafford loan (i.e., your parents' income plus yours is too high for grants or a subbed loan), then you will almost definitely need to take out a private loan, since $2000/year for tuition is not likely to get you very far.

Joan Said:

Do you apply for a student loan, then register for classes? Or vice versa?

We Answered:

First you get an unconditional offer of a place.

Then you apply for the loan.

Lastly you register for classes.

This is how you do it in the UK.