Loans

1. Why do I care if my loan is subsidized or unsubsidized?
A subsidized loan is better as you do not have to pay any interest on your loan amount. The federal government pays it for you. If you receive an unsubsidized loan, you may defer payment of the interest until you start paying the loan back but you are still responsible for paying the interest your loan earned while you were in school.

2. How can I pay it back?
Most loans do not have to be repaid until after you've finished your education. In addition, there is often a grace period granted which is desiged to allow sufficient time for graduates to find a job in their desired profession and get a little settled into their new career before having to pay it back. When the grace period ends, you may be able to get an extension if you have difficulty finding a job or you must then start making monthly payments. Most loans take years to finally pay off.

3. What is a consolidated loan?
A consolidate loan is an option if you have more than one loan. The option allows you to combine the total amount owed and put them under one interest rate. This can be very helpful if you are paying monthly payments on several loans and want to combine the payments into one amount that you pay once a month.