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Best College Loan Advice: 9 Tips for Borrowing for College

College loans. Yes, that time has arrived when parents of returning and new college students start thinking Pile of moneyabout applying for college loans. It's also crunch time for graduating college students, who must begin repaying their college loans.

Unfortunately, many families get into trouble when they start shopping for college loans. When the college admission process is over, many parents are so relieved that they fail to do their homework before choosing college loans. College graduates also don't give much thought to how they will tackle their college debt.

To help out families, who must borrow to pay the college, I've assembled some of my past college blog posts on student loans. Some of the posts will help you pick the best college loans and others will help those who must soon begin repaying their student loans.

College Loans: How Much Should Parents Borrow?
There is no one right answer, but you will find links in this post to calculators that can help parents determine what level of college debt they can handle.

College Debt: Don't Borrow More Than $27,000
Students should limit their borrowing to federal loans only, which are safer and offer more protections than private student loans.

Find the Right Student Loan
Federal loans are your best bet, but unfortunately many families gravitate to private loans because they don't understand the difference.

The Soaring Popularity of College Student Loans
In the early 1990s, only one out of every three college students took out college loans, but now well over half do.

Shrink Your Student Loan Payments Now
There are federal student loan repayment opportunities that can dramatically shrink the monthly tab of eligible borrowers.

400 Colleges in the Student Loan Hall of Shame
Don't attend a college that has a high student loan default rate. Here's how to find those default rates.

5 Things to Know About Repaying Student Loans
If you are struggling as you attempt to repay your student loans, here are some options.

Student Debt: A $400,000 Mistake and The Horrors of Defaulting on a Student Loan
Be extra careful about repaying student loans on time. The penalties can be astronomical.

Lynn O'Shaughnessy is the author of The College Solution, an Amazon bestseller, and she also writes for TheCollegeSolutionBlog.com. Follow her on Twitter.

College loan image by aresauburn. CC 2.0.

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