Focus on Financial Aid

A number of folks have asked recently about what their financial aid options are if they’re unemployed. Briefly, you have two major options:

1. Deferment. Economic hardship deferment is an entitlement, which means if you qualify, you get it, up to 36 months of no payments on your federal student loans. Note that this does NOT stop interest from accruing – the clock is still ticking every day you’re in deferment.

2. Forbearance. After deferment runs out, some lenders may grant you forbearance, up to 12 months at a time, at their discretion. Lenders do NOT have to grant you a forbearance.

There’s a third trick with federal student loans you can do – consolidate your student loans after your deferment runs out. Consolidation pays off the previous loans and creates a new, single loan which then qualifies again for a new economic hardship deferment. There’s a significant downside to this – all the interest that accrued on your previous loans is capitalized into one giant new balance that then begins to collect interest of its own. This can make what you owe significantly more, so use this option as a very last resort.

Scholarship Update

Little People of America, Inc., is a nonprofit organization that provides support and information to people of short stature and their families. Membership is offered to those people who are usually no taller than 4′10″ in height.As part of our service to people with dwarfism and the community at large, LPA offers educational scholarships to prospective and current students attending college or vocational school in the Unite States. Awards can range from $250 to $1000 (sometimes more). A scholarship committee, headed by LPA’s Vice President of Programs, will selectively review all scholarship application packets.

Details at our free college scholarship search site.

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