Up and Coming Weekly is a weekly publication in Fayetteville, NC and Fort Bragg, NC area offering local news, views, arts, entertainment and community event and business information.
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NOVEMBER 23-29, 2016 UCW 21 WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM Understanding Loan Default by KATHERINE RETTIG Student loan default affects students nationwide and can lead to serious situations including wage garnishment, tax refund seizure and ineligibility for additional federal financial aid. What can student loan borrowers do to facilitate a smooth repayment experience and to equip themselves with the information and tools to avoid default? FTCC recommends the following steps for students with Direct Subsidized and Direct Unsubsidized Federal Student Loans and encourages individuals to learn about student loan repayment. 1. Know when student loan repayment begins. Students' loans enter repayment after a six-month grace period. The grace period begins as soon as students graduate, withdraw from school or are enrolled less than half time. The grace period begins when the first of the three situations described in the previous sentence happens. If students have not begun classes at least half time at an eligible college or university by the end of the six-month grace period, the loans are placed in repayment. Student loan repayment does not necessarily wait until a student graduates. 2. Identify the student loan servicer(s). If students borrow loans to attend FTCC, students do not send monthly loan payments to FTCC when loan repayment begins. The Department of Education has contracts with companies to service federal student loans. These companies are referred to as student loan servicers. The servicers facilitate student loan billing and repayment. While name recognition of servicers is important so that students open emails and letters from their servicers, students should know how to contact their servicers as well. The National Student Loan Data System, www. nslds.ed.gov, provides students with a list of all of their Federal Direct Student Loans. An FSA ID and password are used to access NSLDS; students are given the option to create an FSA ID and password if they do not already have one. Once students access the financial aid review in NSLDS, they can click on the numbers beside the individual loans to identity their servicers and find their contact information. Students should be aware that they could have multiple servicers if they have multiple student loans, so they may need to make payments to more than one servicer. 3.Be aware of multiple repayment options. If students do not request a specific payment option, their loan repayment will begin with the standard repayment plan. If the monthly payments under that plan are burdensome, student loan servicers can help guide students to better repayment plans. Multiple income-based plans exist which calculate a monthly payment that takes into consideration family size, annual income, and state of residence. Deferment and forbearance are two methods for postponing repayment. By calling student loan servicers or visiting their websites, students can determine which options they qualify to use to reduce or postpone monthly payments. 4. Reach out to FTCC for help. FTCC is here to help any of our students contact their loan servicer and to navigate the repayment process. FTCC's student loan repayment assistance can be contacted at defaultmanagement@faytechcc.edu. Be an informed borrower. Visit www.studentaid.edu.gov for more student loan repayment information. KATHERINE RETTIG, FTCC Financial Aid Technician. Contributing Writer. COMMENTS? Editor@upandcomingweekly.com. If student loans are a part of your college experience, be an informed borrower. Things we want you to know: Full applicable data speeds apply for the high-speed allotment defined by your Simple Connect Prepaid Plan and data speeds shall be slowed to 1X thereafter for the remainder of the billing cycle. No High-Speed Data applies for Basic Phone Plans. Up to 400MB of your data usage/month/line may be used while roaming. $10 Unlimited Talk & Text to Mexico and Canada: Simple Connect Prepaid Plan required, plus $10 available funds over plan cost before due date. Unlimited calling to Mexico and Canada only applies to calls placed from U.S. Cellular's licensed market areas. Roaming calls may incur additional charges based on rates and availability of local wireless carrier. Other restrictions and limitations may apply. Offers valid at participating locations only and cannot be combined. See store or uscellular.com for details. 4G LTE not available in all areas. See uscellular.com/4G for complete coverage details. 4G LTE service may be provided through King Street Wireless, a partner of U.S. Cellular. ® LTE is a trademark of ETSI. Limited-time offer. ©2016 U.S. Cellular Plus, you'll Never Run Out of Data with unlimited 1X on U.S. Cellular's network. 500MB 4G LTE Data Unlimited Talk & Text to Mexico and Canada, just $10 more a month A better value than Straight Talk Wireless and Verizon Prepaid $ $ $ TM