How to manage your student loans before they follow you to your graveyard. By: Tyrese M.

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Most people need to take out student loans, so if you are in that boat don’t worry there are others who feel just as terrified as you :). I would like to give you some tips on how to handle these loans. My first suggestion would be to actually determine that you need to take out any loans. Look at the financial aid offer from your school, excluding loans, and also look at any outside scholarships you may have received, then total the amounts and compare it to the estimated cost of tuition, housing, and all the other expenses you will have at your school of choice. Sometimes, such as in my case, you will find that you don’t even need to take out any loans. My second piece of advice would be to focus on taking out federal or government loans because they are more advantageous and easier to manage than private loans, and banks can be real shady. These government loans should be offered to you through your school in your financial aid award package. What is so great about these types of loans is that they have particularly low rates of interest, you don’t have to pay them back until like 6 months to a year after you’ve finished your schooling, and you have a lot of options when it comes to repayment.