Student Debt 101

There are two kinds of federal Direct Loans that show up on your financial aid offer, and they look almost identical. One is subsidized, the other is...

Federal student loans are not all the same. The one that costs you the least is Direct Subsidized. The one that can quietly grow while you are still...

A student loan is not just a lump sum you pay back later. It is a contract with a clock attached. That clock starts ticking when money is disbursed...

If you’re staring at a financial aid offer, the words “subsidized” and “unsubsidized” might blur together. They are not the same, and the difference...

When you sign for a student loan, you are not just borrowing tuition money. You are borrowing against future paychecks. The type of loan you take...

Borrowing for school is not a personality test. It is a math problem, and the goal is to solve it with the smallest loan possible. That sounds...

Your financial aid award letter is not a bill, but it can feel like one. It arrives with big numbers and friendly words, and it’s easy to accept the...

Capitalization happens when unpaid interest is added to your student loan principal. That is the whole trick. You owed interest, you did not pay it...

Most people sign their promissory note the way they sign a lease — quickly, skimming, hoping nothing bites them later. With student loans, that habit...

Getting a student loan is not like signing up for a streaming service. It is a legal agreement that follows you for years, affects your rent, your...

Capitalized interest is the student loan term that quietly costs you the most money. It sounds like accounting jargon, but the idea is simple...

Your loan servicer probably put you on a plan automatically when you graduated or dropped below half-time enrollment. That plan keeps you out of...