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Consolidating Federal Loans With Private Loans

When you are in school, borrowing money…you aren’t very concerned with where the money is coming from. You are more concerned with making sure your tuition is paid for every semester…some how, some way. What a lot of student do not realize is that loans that come from the Federal gov’t cannot be combined with private school loans when you graduate. Actually, to revise that a bit…they can be combined all together, if you pay off your Federal loans with a private loan…which is never something I would recommend. The whole point in taking out Federal loans is because they are better loans to owe than private loans…so what would that accomplish if you forfeited that Federal loan status, just so you had one monthly payment per month? You would end up paying MORE in the long run, and you would also lose many benefits that Federal loan carry…for example:

1) loan forgiveness should the borrower become deceased
2) the ability to consolidate at a FIXED interest rate
4) many deferment and forbearance options

So, if you are a college student borrowing both Federal and private school loans…keep in mind that when you are done with school…you cannot consolidate all these together. You will always have 2 monthly payments. You can consolidate all your private loans together…and all your federal loans together….but they will always remain 2 separate types of loans. For more information about both types of consolidation, you can visit: Student Loan Consolidator

Federal Student Loan Consolidation - Where Are You Hiding?

If you’ve recently tried to consolidate your federal student loans, you may have found it difficult to locate a company willing to help. Some of the biggest lenders in the market are temporarily not offering federal loan consolidation. So what does that mean for you?

Before we discuss your options, lets first look at why so many lenders have stopped offering consolidation. Two different issues are causing the consolidation pause, legislation and credit markets.

Back on October 1, 2007, legislation was passed which contained provisions aimed to shrink the profit margin lenders were getting on federal consolidation loans. The smaller margin allowed for much less profit with zero room for lenders to offer discounts and borrower benefits. It’s important to understand, prior to the October 1st legislation, lenders were taking portions of their own profits and returning it to their borrowers in the form of rebates, interest rate discounts and cash back. Granted, the borrower benefits were a great marketing tool and attracted droves of borrowers to specific programs - but they still helped the borrower save money. Although these changes had a negative impact on many FFELP lenders, the legislation did contain great provisions that would lower interest rates on federal loans over the next several years.

Next we have the credit market crunch - an indirect result of the sub-prime collapse. In order for a lender to consolidate a borrowers federal student loans, that lender has to pay-off the borrowers previous lenders. This requires that the lender have capital available. Now, there are a number of different ways that a lender can do this, (which we won’t get into during this blog) the most common is securing a line of credit with a bank or outside funding source. The outside funding source provides the line of credit with the notion that the lender will be able to package up a bunch of federal consolidation loans and sell them to other investors (securitization). At which point the lender will replenish their line of credit, and be able to write more consolidation loans. For many lenders out there right now, they are not able to secure a funding source, and therefore not able to write consolidation loans. From an investment standpoint, there is a feeling that federal consolidation loans are no longer valuable. I said feeling, because I don’t believe this to be completely true or do I think it will stay this way for too long.
So, the smaller profit margins, coupled with the shaky credit markets have caused a ‘pause’ in the federal consolidation market. And yes, it is a bit more complicated than what I just described, but you get the basic idea of what’s going on.
Now, you need to consolidate your federal loans, but you have no place to go? The Department of Education is still helping borrowers consolidate their federal loans. However, I would wait until after July 1, 2008. For those of you who still have variable rate Stafford and PLUS loans (taken out prior to July 1, 2006), it looks like your interest rate MAY be going down. Not a definite - just a maybe.
Just to point out, the above changes and the federal consolidation pause have not and will not affect private student loan consolidation.

I will be posting more on this topic in the coming weeks - please send along all your questions and comments.

Private student loan bankruptcy protection denied

Private student loan bankruptcy protection denied

In the Higher Education Act Reauthorization (HR 4137) currently moving through Congress, an amendment by Representative Davis of Illinois would have extended some bankruptcy protection to students holding private student loans. Unfortunately for students, the amendment was voted down after strong opposition from banks and financial institutions.

The argument against the bankruptcy protection amendment was that its inclusion would ultimately make private student loans more expensive as lenders would need to increase rates and fees to cover loans that were in default and discharged in bankruptcy.

The Financial Aid Podcast has also done an analysis piece on this legislation.
The short version? For now, private student loan consolidation remains the best avenue for making private student loans more affordable.

End of year student loan consolidation tax deductions

As 2007 wraps up, make sure you’re taking full advantage of your student loan payments by noting the interest you’ve paid this year on your federal student loans. As long as your income is below a certain level, interest you’ve paid on your student loans is tax deductible on your federal tax return.

If you’ve paid less than $600 in interest, your student loan lender is not legally required to send you a 1098-E form in January for interest you’ve paid. You will need to request it.

Consolidated student loans are eligible for the interest deduction as well.
Consult IRS Publication 970 for details about education tax incentives

Student loan consolidation: a balanced perspective

I was speaking in the office break room with our director of student loan consolidation, Jon Rudy, about how we’re marketing our federal and private student loan consolidation products. We’re in agreement, as we frequently are, that student loan consolidation has a vital role in the education finance process.

Where I think a lot of student loan companies get hung up is on the idea of saving money for students. Student loan consolidation does not save you money over the long term if you only make the minimum payment, because at the bare minimum payment, you’ll be paying off your loan longer.

Think of it this way. If you rent an apartment, over a period of time, you’ll pay a certain amount for rent. If you rent that apartment longer, it costs you more money. If you rent a smaller apartment for longer, it will still probably cost you more money than a larger apartment for less time.
A loan is nothing more than a money rental. You’re renting money from a lender, and the interest you pay is the rent.

What student loan consolidation does is agree to reduce your rent, trading off with renting the money for a longer period of time, if you make the minimum payment.
Our perspective as a company is that students just out of school need to take a few years to get on their feet in their careers and personal finances. During that time period, a reduced monthly payment is just the thing they need. After a few years, when presumably they’re making good use of their education and degree, we strongly recommend that students step up and make more than the minimum payment, ideally making a payment that’s a little larger than the original, unconsolidated loan payment.

Because there are no early repayment penalties, they can effectively get on their feet financially and then be done with the loan in the same amount of time as if they hadn’t consolidated.

Does student loan consolidation save you money? Not necessarily. Does it reduce your monthly payment? Yes, absolutely. But more than anything else, student loan consolidation helps to buy you some time in the first years after school.

Money Saving Tips For The Holidays

Doesn’t it seem like we were just talking about this? I swear the years go by faster and faster now…

Anyway, for all you students and recent grads out there, the holiday season can be a wallet draining time. In the spirit of saving money, Student Loan Network has pulled together a crafty list of holiday money saving tips and ideas, designed to stretch your hard earned cash a little further this year.
Have any holiday shopping tips or ideas of your own? Feel free to comment back and I will post your ideas (with your permission of course) so others can gain from your knowledge.

Student Loan Repayment Begins

That’s right - you can’t hide from it anymore. If you graduated this past spring, the chances are your grace period is over and you have to start paying back your student loans. This is not the end of the world for you, just the beginning of a long relationship with your loan servicer. (Technically, the relationship started 4 years ago…but who’s counting)

You have some options. First and foremost, examine your monthly budget, and include your new student loan payments. If you can afford to make the payments, don’t defer or put your loans into forbearance just to save money. When you put your loans into forbearance or deferment, interest will continue to collect on your none-subsidized federal loans, which gets capitalized once you go back into repayment. This basically means that your total payback amount will increase. Not to mention, deferment and forbearance are intended to be used during financial hardships. If you use them up now when you can afford to pay, you won’t have them in the future when you may actually need them.

Still, you can afford the monthly payments, but now you have much less cash lying around. Consider consolidation - you can cut your monthly payment nearly in half. And, there is no penalty for extra or early repayment. So, when you claw your way to the top of the corporate ladder, and land that high paying fluff job, you can payback your remaining loan balance without being penalized.

Finally, don’t forget to consolidate your private student loans. They’re probably going into repayment right about now as well. And if you have a lot of private student loans like me, then consolidating those will also help that monthly budget stay fit. Just like federal consolidation, private consolidation will combine all of your private student debt and lower your monthly payment, without any penalties for extra or early repayment.

RESP Bill Misses Mark

RESP Bill Misses Mark Students and Faculty Call on MPs from all Parties to Defeat RESP Bill

Canadian Federation of Students and Canadian Association of University Teachers

Thursday, March 13, 2008OTTAWA--

Students and faculty are united in condemning proposed changes to the Registered Education Savings Plan (RESP). Liberal MP Dan McTeague’s bill to increase permissible RESP contributions and make them tax deductible will do little to make postsecondary education more accessible for most students and their families.

"This bill is a bad use of scarce resources and it will cost about $1-billion a year." said Amanda Aziz, National Chairperson of the Canadian Federation of Students. "Reducing tuition fees and increasing need-based grants would be a far more equitable way of providing assistance to students."Recent research from Statistics Canada suggests that families earning over $80,000 per year are the prime beneficiaries of the current program. Under the proposed changes, the yearly contribution limit will be raised to $5,000 from $2,000 and the amount will be tax deductible.

According to Aziz, wealthier families will be the primary beneficiaries of the changes.James Turk, the Executive Director of the Canadian Association of University Teachers, also criticised the proposed bill."We need an increase in core funding for colleges and universities and a renewed investment in basic research through the granting councils," Turk said. "It is very disappointing to see that all of the opposition parties voted for this ill-conceived bill, and we will work with students and other partners to see that it is defeated.

"CAUT and CFS will be joining forces to lobby against the bill in the Senate as well as urging support for a provision in the Ways and Means section of the Budget Implementation Act that voids the bill.The Canadian Association of University Teachers represents over 57,000 academic staff at Canadian colleges and universities.Founded in 1981, the Canadian Federation of Students is Canada’s largest student organisation, uniting more that one-half million students from ten provinces.

Graduate students welcome increase in graduate scholarships

Graduate students welcome increase in graduate scholarships


National Graduate Caucus

Tuesday, February 26, 2008

OTTAWA-- The announcement of new scholarship money for graduate students will increase access to graduate research positions in Canada and will allow more graduate students to conduct innovative research.

“Graduate student research in Canada is under-funded, and this budget takes small steps to address that,” said Graham Cox, Chairperson of the National Graduate Caucus of the Canadian Federation of Students, “Graduate students play a large role in both basic research and faculty renewal—two cornerstones in maintaining healthy public universities.”

The government announced an additional 500 Canada Graduate Scholarships available for PhD students, providing $50,000 per year for up-to three years of study. In addition, 250 scholarship holders will now be able to get funding to study abroad for one semester.

Budget 2008’s investments in the granting councils were slim and unbalanced. Although the majority of graduate students (53%) carry out research in the social science and humanities, scholarships announced in the budget favour science and technology research areas over the social sciences and humanities by more than five to one.

“The Conservative government has to get past the idea that it has a role in meddling with the university research agenda. Intervening by setting the priorities for independent research goes against the principles of academic freedom and scholarly inquiry,” said Cox.

The National Graduate Caucus is Canada's voice of graduate students, uniting over 60,000 graduate students from all ten provinces.

Federal Budget Delivers National System of Student Grants

Federal Budget Delivers National System of Student Grants

Replaces Unaccountable Private Foundation

Canadian Federation of Students

Tuesday, February 26, 2008

OTTAWA-- Students welcomed the creation of a national system of grants, announced in today’s Federal Budget. The grants program is being introduced as the Millennium Scholarship Foundation mandate comes to an end.

“The government has taken a positive step towards improving access to post-secondary education,” said Amanda Aziz, National Chairperson of the Canadian Federation of Students. “By implementing a national system of grants, the government has responded to a long standing call by students and their families.”

The 2008 budget provides $350 million for grants to low- and middle-income students starting in 2009, with the total funding rising to $430 million by 2012. The grants will be $2,000 (low-income) and $800 (middle-income) per student per year and provide grants to approximately 245,000 students per year.

The Canadian Federation of Students has been calling for an accountable and transparent replacement for the Millennium Scholarship Foundation since the Foundation’s creation in 1998.

“Today’s announcement marks the end of Canada’s tenure as one of the few western industrialised nations without a national system of grants,” said Aziz, “it was long overdue.”

Founded in 1981, the Canadian Federation of Students is Canada’s largest student organisation, uniting more that one-half million students from ten provinces.

Post-Secondary Education Suffers in B.C. Budget

Post-Secondary Education Suffers in B.C. Budget
Students Decry College Deficits, Tuition Fee Hikes, and Cuts to Student Aid

Canadian Federation of Students-British Columbia

Tuesday, February 19, 2008

VANCOUVER-- College and university-college deficits, $32 million in tuition fee hikes, and $20 million in cuts to student financial aid Budget 2008 is a dismal picture for students and post-secondary institutions.

“British Columbians need a strategy to address the skills shortage in BC," said Shamus Reid, BC Chairperson. “Cutting student financial aid, increasing tuition fees, and putting colleges into deficit situations worsen the long-term economic outlook for British Columbia, particularly low-income and rural British Columbians."

Ignoring post-seducation is a senseless strategy when the government is trying to convince British Columbians it cares about combatting climate change through research, innovation, and better business and individual practices.”

Government revenues from tuition fees increases by $32 million to $989 million with Budget 2008, accounting for 2.5% of all government revenues. Student loan disbursements are budgeted to decline by $20 million (7.4%), as participation from low and middle-income students continues to decline. Per-student funding will also decline for yet another year by over 3%, and BC colleges are projected to run a collective deficit of $14 million, increasing to $30 million in two years.

“This government will take any opportunity to package a tax cut as a strategy to meet BC’s needs,” said Shamus Reid, BC Chairperson of the Canadian Federation of Students. “Last year it was supposedly housing and this year it’s climate change, but the story remains the same: corporate tax cuts while public services, like post-secondary education, continue to decline.”

Tuition fees in BC are more than $600 above the national average, and student debt in the province is highest in Canada outside the Maritimes, at $27,000.

Victory for Canadian Federation of Students’ Grants Campaign

Victory for Canadian Federation of Students’ Grants Campaign
Federal Government Must Directly Administer Grants Programme

TORONTO--

Ontario students are pleased that the beleaguered and ineffective Canada Millennium Scholarship Foundation will be wound down. Students have been lobbying the federal government to replace the Foundation with a national system of need-based grants administered through the Canadian Student Loans Program.

“Allocating money for a Canada Student Grant Programme is a step in the right direction,” said Jen Hassum, Chairperson of the Canadian Federation of Students–Ontario. “Students are pleased that a private, third-party foundation will no longer be passed off as the government’s strategy for addressing student debt.”

Though today’s budget allocated money for grants, students caution that the mistakes of the Millennium Scholarship Foundation must not be repeated. For years, tens of millions of federal student financial assistance dollars did not make it into students’ pockets because the Province of Ontario ignored its gentlemen’s agreement with the Foundation.

“The federal government has a responsibility to improve accessibility and reduce student debt,” said Hassum. “Grants for students must be administered directly by the federal government. If delivery of this programme is left up to the provinces, we risk repeating the same mistakes that were made with the Millennium Scholarship Foundation.”

Students to Colleges: “Obay” the Law

Students to Colleges: “Obay” the Law
Ontario’s Colleges Must Stop Charging Illegal Ancillary Fees Now

TORONTO--

Today, in reaction to the announcement that Colleges Ontario is responsible for the Obay viral advertising campaign, students are calling on Ontario’s public colleges to “obay” the law.

All 24 public colleges in the province have continued to charge ancillary fees that are prohibited by the Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities, even in the wake of a class action lawsuit that was launched to stop the illegal fees. In June 2007, two former students, acting as representative plaintiffs, filed the lawsuit against Ontario’s colleges to end the collection of tuition-related ancillary fees and secure $200 million in compensation for current and former students.

“It’s ironic that Colleges Ontario has chosen to market itself this way,” said Jen Hassum, Chairperson of the Canadian Federation of Students–Ontario. “If the colleges want to talk about obeying anything, students ask them to explain why they refuse to obey the law.”

Ancillary fees are charged in addition to tuition fees. Legitimate ancillary fees are for certain purposes such as student centres, athletics facilities, extended health and dental insurance, or other services that are supplementary to the basic operations of a college or university. However all of the public colleges in Ontario are charging prohibited, tuition-related ancillary fees for information technology, academic buildings or student support—items that are funded by tuition fees and government capital or operating grants.

Internal government documents acquired through requests for access to information show that the college presidents have been reminded many times by the Ministry not to charge these prohibited ancillary fees.

“Even Premier McGuinty, as an opposition critic, correctly called prohibited ancillary fees nothing more than back-door tuition fee increases,” said Jen Hassum. “The direct effect of unaffordable tuition and ancillary fees is that they discourage many from pursuing post-secondary education at all.”

Students Applaud Leadership of Federal Government

Students Applaud Leadership of Federal Government
Canada Student Grant Program Established in Federal Budget 2008

Canadian Federation of Students-British Columbia

Tuesday, February 26, 2008

VANCOUVER-- Students applauded the creation of Canada’s first-ever national system of grants, announced in today’s Federal Budget, capping several years of lobbying efforts. The grants program is being introduced as the Millennium Scholarship Foundation mandate comes to an end.


“The government has taken a positive step towards improving access to post-secondary education,” said Shamus Reid, BC Chairperson of the Canadian Federation of Students. “By implementing a national system of grants, the government has responded to a long standing call by students and their families to reduce student debt.”



The 2008 budget provides $350 million for grants to low- and middle-income students starting in 2009, with the total funding rising to $430 million by 2012. The grants will range from $800 to $2,000 per student per year and will be provided to approximately 245,000 students per year.


The Canadian Federation of Students has been calling for an accountable and transparent replacement for the Millennium Scholarship Foundation since the Foundation’s creation in 1998. Average student debt in BC has risen from $18,500 in 2001 to a record-high of $27,000 this year as a result of high tuition fees.

“Today’s announcement marks the end of Canada’s tenure as one of the few western industrialized nations without a national system of grants,” said Amanda Aziz, National Chairperson of the Canadian Federation of Students. “This decision is long overdue.”




Alternative Budget challenges Feds: Stop cutting taxes, start solving problems

Alternative Budget challenges Feds: Stop cutting taxes, start solving problems


Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives

Monday, February 25, 2008

OTTAWA-- The Stephen Harper government needs to give up its tax cut addiction and invest in solutions to pressing problems facing Canadians, says the 2008 Alternative Federal Budget (AFB), released today by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives.

AFB 2008 calls the minority government on its irresponsible $190 billion tax cut giveaway (made in two short years) and presents a budget that addresses environmental and economic sustainability – without plunging Canada into a fiscal deficit.

“Our budget tackles climate change and confronts the financial insecurity many Canadians struggle with. It will make it easier for Canadians to get to work each day and give better opportunities to our children. In other words, we address things this government chooses to ignore,” says CCPA Senior Economist Marc Lee.

“The Conservatives’ answer to everything is a tax cut, but that ideological mindset has led this minority government to squander a huge fiscal surplus. We need to take back those tax cuts and put them to work for all Canadians. Canada is facing big problems – and they require big solutions.”

AFB 2008 works within the context of healthy fiscal surpluses and the looming threat of an economic downturn to deliver a socially and fiscally balanced budget that Canadians can count on – in good times and bad. It also makes this the year of poverty reduction.

“In 1989 our federal Parliament unanimously agreed to wipe out child poverty by 2000,” says CCPA Senior Economist Armine Yalnizyan. “It is now 2008 and child poverty rates are the same as they were in 1989 – yet we have tremendous fiscal capacity to do more.

“The AFB offers a do-able, affordable poverty reduction strategy in an era where Canada can well afford to lower intolerably stubborn poverty rates among our First Nations, women, visible minorities, new Canadians, young families raising children, and seniors.”

The AFB is coordinated by the CCPA and is the result of collaborative deliberations by representatives of a wide spectrum of civil society organizations. It puts Canadians’ long-term interests ahead of short-term political gain, ensuring our national investments benefit the majority and strengthen our nation economically as well as socially.

Student Loan In Canada

Student Loan In Canada

Government Loans

Canadian citizens, permanent residents of Canada, and protected persons (including convention refugees) are normally eligible for loans provided by the federal government, through the Canada Student Loans Program (CSLP), in addition to loans provided by their province of residence.

Loans issued to full-time students are interest free while a student is in full-time studies. Students receiving a CSL for the first time on or after August 1, 1995 are eligible for up to 340 weeks (approx 6.5 years) of interest-free assistance. Students in doctoral programs are eligible for an additional 60 weeks, up to 400 weeks (approx 7.5 years). Students with permanent disabilities and students who received their first CSL prior to August 1, 1995 are eligilbe for up to 520 weeks of assistance (10 years).

As the length of North American graduate degree programs often exceed this 400 week maximum, students considering graduate study are advised to think carefully before taking out student loans. For example, an honours BA from a Canadian University takes four years, assuming satisfactory progress. MA programs in Canada very in length from 1-3 years, with two years being the average minimum. A PhD, takes on average, 5 years to complete, although many students take significantly longer than this. Assuming a graduate student completes an honours BA (4 years), an MA (2 years), and a PhD (5 years), one can expect to be in university for at least 11 years. This is significantly longer than the 400 weeks maximum allotted to complete a degree by the National student loan program, and graduate students can easily find themselves in a position where they are required to repay their student loans while enrolled as a full-time student.

Funding is available for part-time students through the CSLP (provincial student loans are not available). Part-time students must make interest payments while in study and begin payments of principal and interest when they cease to be a part-time student. Grants may supplement loans to aid students who face particular barriers to accessing post-secondary education, such as students with permanent disabilities or students from low-income families.

Students must apply for the Canadian and provincial loans through their provincial government. The rules for what determines your province of residence vary, but normally it is defined as where you have most recently lived for at least 12 consecutive months, not including any time you spent as a full-time student at a post-secondary institution. In most cases, the province of residence is the province one lived in before becoming a post-secondary student.

Canada Student Loans (CSL) of up to $210 per week of full-time study or 60% of the student's assessed need (the lesser of these) can be issued per loan year (August 1–July 31). Loans issued through provincial programs will normally provide students with enough funding to cover the balance of their assessed need. Part-time loans of up to $4,000 can be made, but a student cannot be more than $4,000 in debt on part-time loans at any one time. All Canadian students may also be eligible for the Canada Millennium Scholarship Foundation Bursary (CMS Grant), and other grants provided by their province of residence.

For example, students in British Columbia may be eligible for a maximum of $14,300 combined loan and grant funding per year.

Students in professional programs

Most charter banks in Canada have specific programs for students in professional programs (e.g., medicine) that can provide more funds than usual in the form of a line of credit, sometimes with lower interest rates as well. Students may also be eligible for government loans that are interest free while in school on top of this line of credit, as private loans do not count against government loans/grants.

Loan Administration and Repayment

The Canada Student Loan (sometimes referred to as the National Student Loan) is administered by National Student Loan Service Centre under contract to Human Resources and Social Development Canada (HRSDC). Students have the choice of opting for a fixed interest rate of prime interest rate + 5%, or a floating interest rate of prime interest rate + 2.5%.
Based on the HRSDC student loan calculator , and assuming a prime interest rate of 4.5%, a standard 10-year (114 month) repayment period, and a loan of $30,000:

- if the Floating Interest option is selected, monthly payments will be $361.02 (principal and interest), resulting in total payments of $41,156.77 ($30,000 principal + $11,156.77 interest) over the life of the repayment.
- if the Fixed Interest option is selected, monthly payments will be $400.50 (principal and interest), resulting in payments of $45,657.54 ($30,000 principal + $16,657.54 interest).

Repayment Assistance

CSLP offers a number of programs to assist students who find themselves facing financial difficulty during repayment. Among these programs are:- Interest Relief , which is designed to help students meet repayment obligations if they are temporarily unable to make payments on their government student loans because of unemployment or low income. Interest Relief is granted for periods of six months, up to a maximum of 30 months. Some exceptions, such as Canadian residency, may apply. Students may also be eligible for a further 24 months of Extended Interest Relief. Once approved for Interest Relief, students are not required to make payments on either the monthly interest or the outstanding principal of their loan(s) (the federal and/or provincial government will pay the interest on a student's behalf).

- Debt Reduction in Repayment is designed to help students facing long-term financial difficulties manage the repayment of their Student Loan(s). DRR lowers the principal amount of a loan, thereby reducing the monthly loan payment to an affordable level based on family income. A student can receive up to three reductions (totaling up to $26,000) on their Canada Student Loan principal during their lifetime, depending on financial circumstances.
- Revision of Terms is a feature that provides students with the flexibility to manage loan repayment in a way that is responsive to individual situations. It can be used to decrease the monthly payments by increasing the repayment period (from the standard 10 years up to 15 years) should a student find the standard terms difficult to maintain. It can be used to increase loan payments by reducing the repayment period, allowing more rapid repayment of a loan.

- Permanent Disability Benefit allows for the reduction of loans for students who are experiencing exceptional financial hardship due to a permanent disability. The eligibility criteria varies based on date of loan negotiation and lender. A recent Access to Information request indicated that over 60% of applicants to this program were denied loan forgiveness.

Canada Student Loans and Grants

The Canada Student Loans Program provides loans and grants to Canadians attending a University, College, Trade School, or Vocational School, if they need help financing their education.
If you’re looking for information about loans, grants, or the program itself, click on a link below to find information particular to your needs:

Student Loans
Grants
More Information About the Canada Student Loans Program
Related Links

New: Reports about the Canadian Millenium Scholarship Foundation

Student Loans

The Canada Student Loans Program enables students with a demonstrated financial need to attend a post-secondary institution by providing them with loans to cover the costs of going to school. In doing so, the Government of Canada attempts to ensure Canadians have the opportunity to develop the knowledge and skills needed to participate in the economy and society.

Applying for a Canada Student Loan

Applying for a Government Student Loan (CanLearn)Determine your eligibility for a Canada Student Loan--find out how to apply for a loan, and learn when you will receive the funds. Some pages within this section will ask you for your student profile in order to provide the information that is most relevant to your situation. You will need to select your province or territory of residence, whether you are (or will be) a full-time or part-time student, and what type of institution you are (or will be) attending.

Designated Educational InstitutionsTo help determine your eligibility for a loan, visit the desidngated list of educational institutions where students are eligible to receive Canada Student Loans.

Financial PlannerThe Financial Planner provides you with three tools to help you finance and budget for your postsecondary education: The Education Cost Calculator, the Budget Estimator and the Online Budget Planner.

Need Assessment Tables for Full-Time LoansThese tables assist full-time students in determining whether or not they are eligible for a student loan.

Student Loan EstimatorThe Student Loan Estimator is an interactive Web application that can be used by full-time students to estimate the amount of assistance they could potentially receive from both the Canada Student Loan Program and provincial funding authorities.
*Important note for residents of Quebec, Nunavut, or the Northwest Territories.
Repaying Your Canada Student Loan

Repaying your Government Student Loan (CanLearn)Visit CanLearn’s “Repaying your Government Student Loan” section to find out when you have to begin paying back your loan, what your monthly payments will be and how to repay your student loan faster. Some pages within this section will ask you for your student profile in order to provide the information that is most relevant to your situation. You will need to select your province or territory of residence, whether you are (or were) a full-time or part-time student, and what type of institution you are (or were) attending.

Debt Reduction in RepaymentDetermine how Debt Reduction in Repayment (DRR) may be able to assist you if you face exceptional long-term financial difficulty. DRR will reduce your outstanding student loan principal and lower your monthly loan payments.

Interest ReliefInterest Relief can help you meet your repayment obligations if you are temporarily unable to repay your government student loans due to unemployment or a low income. Click here to access the Maximum Income Guidelines for Interest Relief.

Permanent Disability BenefitIf you have a permanent disability and you are experiencing exceptional financial hardship repaying your Canada Student Loan(s) due to your disability, you may qualify for the Permanent Disability Benefit (PDB) which allows for the reduction of your loans.

Revising the Terms of your LoanRevision of Terms is a debt management measure designed to help you decrease your monthly payment amount should you be unable to repay your government student loans according to the terms in your Consolidation Agreement.
Tax ReliefClick on the link above to find out what forms of tax relief the Government of Canada offers students.

Grants**

Grants are available from the Government of Canada to increase the participation of under-represented groups in post-secondary education as well as to encourage parents to start saving for their child(ren)’s post-secondary education early. Grants are also available for students in a variety of fields and who are at different levels in their education.
Canada Study and Access Grants

Grants for Students from Low Income Families and High-need Part-time StudentsThis grant is available to first-time students from low-income families at any designated post-secondary educational institution.

Grants for Students with DependantsThis grant is awarded to students who have dependants and who demonstrate financial need exceeding the established amounts in their combined federal and provincial loans.

Grants for Students with DisabilitiesThe Grant for Students with Disabilities provides funds for accommodation, tuition, books, and other education-related expenses related to a student’s disability.

Grants for Women pursuing Doctoral StudiesThe Grant for Women pursuing Doctoral Studies is intended to help increase the participation of women in certain fields of study at the doctoral level.

**Important note for residents of Quebec, Nunavut, or the Northwest Territories.
Other Grants and Scholarships

Apprenticeship Incentive GrantThe Apprenticeship Incentive Grant (AIG) helps apprentices cover some of the expenses related to tuition, travel and tools to reduce the barriers faced by many Canadians who wish to pursue a career in the skilled trades.
Canada Education Savings GrantsThe Canada Education Savings Grant is a grant offered by the Government of Canada to help parents save for their child's education.
Canada Graduate ScholarshipsThe Canada Graduate Scholarship is offered to graduate and doctoral students. Click on the link above for more information.
Canadian Millenium ScholarshipsThe Canadian Millennium Foundation provides a range of bursaries, awards and scholarships to improve access to Canadian undergraduate post-secondary education.
Scholarship SearchThe CanLearn Scholarship Search is a service provided in collaboration with Studentawards.com: the leading FREE Canadian scholarship search service devoted to helping students find information on scholarships, bursaries, grants, and other forms of financial assistance.

More Information about the Canada Student Loans Program

Learn more about the Canada Student Loans Program (CSLP) by visiting the links below:
The Canada Student Loans ProgramVisit the Canada Student Loans Program link to find out more about its mission, how it is organized and an overview of the program.
Acts and RegulationsTo review the acts and regulations regarding the Canada Student Loans Program, please visit the page above.
PublicationsVisit the Canada Student Loan Program Publications page to access guides containing information on Canada Student loans and other financial assistance programs available to fund your post-secondary education.

Related Links

CanLearnCanLearn is an online source for information on post-secondary education and learning resources in Canada. CanLearn provides information needed to apply for, maintain, and repay student loans in Canada.
Canada Revenue AgencyThe Canada Revenue Agency’s Web site contains all the information student loan borrowers need in order to file their taxes.
On-Line ToolsCanLearn offers a list of interactive tools that will help you save, plan and pay for your post-secondary education.
National Student Loans Service Centre (NSLSC)The National Student Loans Service Centre (NSLSC) is a government agency that processes students’ federal loan repayments and offers assistance programs to students who experience difficulty repaying their student loan.
Provincial and Territorial Student Assistance OfficesProvincial and Territorial Student Assistance Offices provide application forms and information on student assistance programs. They confirm students' eligibility, process loan applications, assess students' financial need, and send loan documents to student loan borrowers.
Canada Student Loans Program - Certification Unit - This section allows those working in the area of private institution certification to access resources critical to their work.
Budget 2008 and Student Financial Assistance
Investing in People

Improving Canada’s competitive position means developing the best-educated, most skilled and most flexible workforce in the world. That is why Budget 2008 is:
Supporting Canadian students with a $350-million investment in 2009–10, rising to $430 million by 2012–13, in a new, consolidated Canada Student Grant Program that will reach 245,000 college and undergraduate students per year when it takes effect in the fall of 2009.
Committing $123 million over four years starting in 2009–10 to streamline and modernize the Canada Student Loans Program.

Enhancing the flexibility of Registered Education Savings Plans by increasing the time they may remain open to 35 years from 25 years, and by extending the maximum contribution period by 10 years.

Provincial and Territorial Student Assistance Offices
Newfoundland
Student Aid DivisionDepartment of EducationThompson Student Centrehttp://www.hrsdc.gc.ca/asp/redirect.asp?var=http://www.edu.gov.nf.ca/studentaid/
Prince Edward Island
Student Aid DivisionDepartment of Educationhttp://www.hrsdc.gc.ca/asp/redirect.asp?var=http://www.edu.pe.ca/studentloan/resources/index.asp
Nova Scotia
Student Assistance OfficeDepartment of Education and Culturehttp://www.hrsdc.gc.ca/asp/redirect.asp?var=http://studentloans.ednet.ns.ca/
New Brunswick
Student Services BranchDepartment of Advanced Education and Labourhttp://www.hrsdc.gc.ca/asp/redirect.asp?var=http://www.studentaid.gnb.ca/
*Quebec
Student Financial Assistance ProgramsMinistère de l'éducationhttp://www.hrsdc.gc.ca/asp/redirect.asp?var=http://www.afe.gouv.qc.ca/english/indexAng.asp
Ontario
Student Support BranchMinistry of Training, Colleges and Universitieshttp://www.hrsdc.gc.ca/asp/redirect.asp?var=http://osap.gov.on.ca/
Manitoba
Student Financial AssistanceDepartment of Education and Traininghttp://www.hrsdc.gc.ca/asp/redirect.asp?var=http://www.studentaid.gov.mb.ca.html
Saskatchewan
Student Financial AssistancePost-Secondary Education and Skills Traininghttp://www.hrsdc.gc.ca/asp/redirect.asp?var=http://www.student-loans.sk.ca/
Alberta
Students FinanceAlberta Learning Information Servicehttp://www.hrsdc.gc.ca/asp/redirect.asp?var=http://www.alis.gov.ab.ca/studentsfinance/main.asp
British Columbia
Student Services BranchAdvanced Education, Training and Technologyhttp://www.hrsdc.gc.ca/asp/redirect.asp?var=http://www.aved.gov.bc.ca/studentservices/
Yukon
Students Financial Assistance UnitDepartment of Educationhttp://www.hrsdc.gc.ca/asp/redirect.asp?var=http://www.education.gov.yk.ca/advanceded/sfa/index.html
*Northwest Territories
Student Financial Assistance ProgramDepartment of Education, Culture and Employmenthttp://www.hrsdc.gc.ca/asp/redirect.asp?var=http://www.nwtsfa.gov.nt.ca/
*Nunavut
http://www.gov.nu.ca/education/eng/adult/fans/index.htm
* Nunavut, the Northwest Territories and the province of Quebec operate their own student assistance plans. If you are a resident of Nunavut, the Northwest Territories or Quebec, contact the provincial or territorial student assistance office for further information.

We at the Coalition believe that the post-secondary student loan system should be transparent. That's is why we will be providing public access to all ATIs that we file with HRSDC and other organizations involved in the administration of the Canada Student Loans Program. Please feel free to review these files and call us if you have any questions. The Coalition encourages interested journalists to report o­n what is going o­n in the existing system.


http://www.studentloanfairness.ca/documents/Deadrisksharedborrowerscollected.pdfhttp://www.studentloanfairness.ca/documents/ResolveServiceLevels20062007.pdf http://www.studentloanfairness.ca/documents/TotalRefundsClawedbackbyCRA.pdfhttp://www.studentloanfairness.ca/documents/TotalCollectedOnDefaultedStudentLoans.pdfhttp://www.studentloanfairness.ca/documents/Resolvecontractwithfederalgovernment.pdfhttp://www.studentloanfairness.ca/documents/Borrowerscantgetbalances.pdfhttp://www.studentloanfairness.ca/documents/CSLPReformmandate.pdfhttp://www.studentloanfairness.ca/documents/Parttimeinterestpaid.pdfhttp://www.studentloanfairness.ca/documents/ATI-6monthgraceperiod.pdfhttp://www.studentloanfairness.ca/documents/DetailedDefaultFigures2001-2006.pdfhttp://www.studentloanfairness.ca/documents/ATI_Direct_Lend_Death_Accounts.pdfhttp://www.studentloanfairness.ca/documents/ATI-NSLSCComplaints[1].pdfhttp://www.studentloanfairness.ca/documents/ATI-100millionininterestdefaults[1].pdfhttp://www.studentloanfairness.ca/documents/ATI_RejectionforPermanetDisabilityBenefit[1].pdfhttp://www.studentloanfairness.ca/documents/LoanCallCentreTrainingManualsDENIED.pdfhttp://www.studentloanfairness.ca/documents/IRapplicantsrefused.pdf

Student Loan in Australia

Student Loan in Australia

Tertiary education fees in Australia

As a general rule, all students who attend Australian tertiary education institutions are charged higher education fees. However, several measures are in place to relieve the costs of tertiary education in Australia.

Most students are Commonwealth supported. This means that they are only required to pay a part of the cost of tuition, called the "student contribution", while the Commonwealth pays the balance; and students are able to defer payment of their contribution as a HELP loan. Other domestic students are full fee-paying (non-Commonwealth supported) and receive no other direct government contribution to the cost of their education. They can also obtain subsidised HELP loans from the Government up to a lifetime limit of $100,000 for medicine, dentistry and veterinary science programs and $80,000 for all other programs. Australian citizens and (with some limitations) permanent residents are able to obtain interest free loans from the government under the Higher Education Loan Programme (HELP) which replaced the Higher Education Contribution Scheme (HECS).

HELP is jointly administered by the Department of Education, Science and Training (DEST) and the Australian Taxation Office (ATO)
In addition, qualified students may be entitled to Youth Allowance or Austudy Payment to assist them financially while they are studying. These support payments are means and assets tested. Further assistance is available in the form of scholarships.
Overseas students are charged fees for the full cost of their education and are ineligible for any loans from the Commonwealth, but may apply for international scholarships.

History

In 1940, the Curtin Labor Government saw a need for the country to increase the number of university graduates and for more civil and military research. To do this, it dramatically increased the number of scholarships it offered to enter university and allowed women to apply for these scholarships (they were previously exclusive to men). The Menzies Liberal Government also supported and extended the ability of ordinary Australians to attend university.

In the 1960s, the Menzies Government encouraged and funded the establishment of new universities to cater for increasing demand. These universities were built in outlying suburbs and offerred special research scholarships to encourage students to undertake postgraduate research studies. Many of the universities that were established under this scheme are members of Innovative Research Universities Australia.

In 1967, the Menzies Government created a category of non-university tertiary institution (called College of Advanced Education (CAE)) that would be funded by the Commonwealth. These CAEs were easier to access and cheaper to attend than the traditional university, while delivering many university-equivalent Bachelor degrees.

During the early 1970s, there was a significant push to make tertiary education in Australia more accessible to working and middle class Australians. The Whitlam Labor Government abolished university fees in 1973. This decision did not greatly change the socio-economic backgrounds of students attending universities because only 20 to 25 percent of students paid fees as most had Commonwealth scholarships. Another reason for the lack of change was because low high school retention rates had resulted in many young people from disadvantaged backgrounds not completing secondary education and therefore never having the opportunity to choose to attend university.

In 1989, the Hawke Labor Government set up the Higher Education Contributions Scheme (HECS), which was developed by economist and lecturer at the Australian National University, Bruce Chapman and championed by Education Minister John Dawkins (see Dawkins Revolution). Under the original HECS, a $1,800 fee was charged all university students, and the Commonwealth paid the balance. A student could defer payment of this HECS amount (in which case it was called a HECS debt) and repay the debt through the tax system, when the student's income reached a certain level. As part of the reforms, Colleges of Advanced Education entered the University sector by various means.

In 1996, the new Howard Coalition Government, while otherwise retaining the HECS system, created a three-tier HECS fee structure (see "bands" below). Fees were charged on the basis of the perceived value of courses. Courses considered to have most likelihood of generating higher income for students in the future (eg. Law and Medicine) were the most expensive and those least likely to generate higher income (eg. Nursing and Arts) were the least expensive. At the same time, HECS charges increased by an average of 40% and universities were permitted to created full-fee places on which they could charge full up-front fees to students who missed out on a HECS place.

2005/6 reforms

In 2005 the Commonwealth government deregulated university fees, permitting universities to increase fees by a maximum of 25%.

As part of the changes, from 2007, HECS places became known as Commonwealth supported places (CSP). A student in a CSP is only entitled to study for a maximum of 7 years full-time (16 years part-time) at CSP rates. This is known as Student Learning Entitlement (SLE). After that period the student must take either a post-graduate FEE-HELP load (if available) or study at full-fee rates.

The HECS debt became a pre-2005 debt, while HECS-HELP referred to a post-2005 debt. HECS-HELP (formerly HECS) maintains the same principles as HECS. If a student receives a HECS-HELP loan, the Commonwealth government pays the loan amount directly to the higher education provider on behalf of the student.

An alternative option is FEE-HELP (formerly PELS). FEE-HELP provides eligible fee-paying students with a loan to cover their postgraduate fees. This option is only available for post-graduate students attempting an eligible post-graduate course. In 2007, the FEE-HELP lifelong limit is $80,000, and $100,000 for students studying dentistry, medicine or veterinary science. Students cannot borrow any more than $50,000, even if once debt is repaid. See the official website for details.

When a student has used up the SLE, he or she may only study under a FEE-HELP course (capped at $50,000) or as part of a full-fee course. Full-fee courses are relatively expensive because the student must pay the costs upfront, resulting in a significantly larger debt than a standard HECS-HELP loan, usually taken for its lower academic entrance requirements.
FEE-HELP courses are available at a post-graduate level (and occasionally for some undergraduate full-fee places) however they are not available at every institution or in every course. The only remaining option is a full-fee place paid upfront.

Commonwealth supported students

The Commonwealth Government determines the number and allocation of Commonwealth supported undergraduate places with each public higher education providers each year through the Commonwealth Grant Scheme (CGS). A Commonwealth supported place is a higher education place for which the Commonwealth Government makes a contribution to the higher education provider towards the cost of a student's education. The student only makes a contribution towards the cost of education, known as the student contribution. Commonwealth supported places are available to citizens of Australia and New Zealand and some Australian permanent residents.

Commonwealth supported places are allocated to students by the tertiary admissions centre in each state or territory:

Universities Admissions Centre (UAC) in NSW and ACT
Queensland Tertiary Admissions Centre
South Australian Tertiary Admissions Centre in South Australia and the Northern Territory
University of Tasmania in Tasmania
Victorian Tertiary Admissions Centre (VTAC) in Victoria
Tertiary Institutions Service Centre in Western Australia.
The allocation is usually based on secondary school results (through the UAI, ENTER, TER or OP scores), TAFE qualifications and previous university results.

The student contribution varies between courses. It is based upon the expected earnings following a students' graduation, not the cost of providing the course. Higher education providers can set the student contribution level for each unit of study, up to a maximum level set by the Government. It is said that, due to government underfunding of universities, universities almost always charge the highest level allowad

Student Contribution

Band Curriculum Areas Contribution For 1 EFTSL

National Priority Education, Nursing $0 – $3,998
Band 1 Humanities, Arts, Behavioural science,

Social studies, Foreign languages, $0-$ 4,996

Visual and Performing arts

Band 2 Accounting, Commerce, Administration,

Economics, Mathematics, Statistics,

Computing, Architecture, Health Sciences, $0-$7118

Engineering, Science, Surveying,

Agriculture
Band 3 Law, Dentistry, Medicine, Veterinary $0-$ 8333

science

An eligible student can either pay the entire student contribution and receive a 20% discount or defer payment of the contribution through a HECS-HELP loan. It is possible to defer payment of some of the contribution and pay part upfront. In cases of part payment, a 20% discount is received on the amount paid. Only Australian citizens are eligible for HECS-HELP loans. Students who are New Zealand citizens or new Australian permanent residents must pay the entire contribution upfront and receive no discount.
Commonwealth supported students are entitled to the equivalent of 7 years of full time study in a CSP, called a Student Learning Entitlement (SLE).

Fee-paying students

Students who do not receive a Commonwealth supported place may obtain a fee-paying place, as long as their ENTER tertiary entrance rank or other qualifications exceed a certain minimum. Most postgraduate courses do not have Commonwealth supported places available and therefore all these students are fee-paying. Fee-paying students are charged the full cost of their course, with no Commonwealth contribution.

Fee-paying students can obtain loans under the Higher Education Loan Programme, called FEE-HELP loans, to cover all or part of their fees. Students who obtain these loans are charged a 20% loan fee on top of the amount borrowed. Students are able to borrow a lifetime maximum FEE-HELP loan of $100,000 for medicine, dentistry and veterinary science programs and $80,000 for all other programs (adjusted for inflation). In 2005, FEE-HELP loans replaced the Open Learning Deferred Payment Scheme (OLDPS), the Postgraduate Education Loan Scheme (PELS) and the Bridging for Overseas-Trained Professionals Loan Scheme (BOTPLS).

HELP loans

HELP loan management

HELP debts do not attract interest, but are instead indexed to the Consumer Price Index (CPI) on 1 June each year, based on the annual CPI to March of that year. The indexation rate applied on 1 June 2006 was 2.8% and 3.4% on 1 June 2007. Indexation applies to the part of the debt that has been unpaid for 11 months or more. Thus, indexation is calculated on the opening HELP debt balance on 1 July of the previous year plus any debt incurred in the first half of the current year (usually for first semester courses) less any compulsory and voluntary repayments, with bonus. Any HELP debt incurred on second semester courses (usually determined in June) will not be subject to indexation until the next year. After indexation, the new balance is rounded down to a whole dollar amount.

HELP account debtors can make voluntary repayments. These repayments attract a 10% bonus for repayments over $500. This means that if a person voluntarily repays $1000, the debt is reduced by $1100. If the remaining debt is less than $500 the bonus still applies on repayment of ther balance of the debt. As making voluntary repayments does not exempt the person from compulsary repayments, if the person intends to pay off the total debt voluntarily, it is financially advantageous for them to do it before lodging the tax return. This will attract the 10% bonus on the repayment, and there would be no balance on the debt to which the compulsary repayment provisions can apply. Better still, if the voluntary repayment is made before the indexation date of 1 June, the avoiding of the indexation adjustment is an additional bonus. Even factoring in the 10% bonus on voluntary repayments, many people elect not to pay off their debt in advance of the required repayments because it still works out to be probably the cheapest loan someone will ever receive.

If a person with a HELP debt dies, the debt is canceled (ie. the debtor's estate is not required to pay the debt).

Repayments

HELP debts are administered by the Australian Taxation Office and will be repaid compulsarily over time through the taxation system. If the HELP Repayment Income (HRI) of a person with a HELP debt exceeds a certain threshold, which for the 2007-08 financial year is $39,825, a compulsory payments will be deducted from the person's tax for the year. To work out the HRI, the ATO will add back to the person's taxable income any net rental loss claimed against that taxable income and add fringe benefits and exempt foreign income received, which have not been included in the taxable income. Unlike marginal tax rates, the repayment rate applies on the full HRI, so that a person with a HRI of $39,500 in the 2007/08 tax year would not have to make any compulsory HELP repayment, but a person with a HRI of $40,000 would make a payment of $1,600. This is 4% of the HRI (not taxable income or the debt balance) of $40,000. The compulsary repayment amount cannot exceed the balance of the HELP debt.
The rates for compulsory repayment for the 2007-08 financial year, also compared with previous years, are:

HELP Repayment Income (HRI) compulsory repayment 2006-2008

HRI 2005-06 HRI 2006-07 HRI 2007-08 Repayment Rate
Below $36,185 Below $38,149 Below $39,825 Nil
$36,185–$40,306 $38,149-$42,494 $39,225-$44,360 4% of HRI
$40,307–$44,427 $42,495-$46,938 $44,360-$48,896 4.5% of HRI
$44,428–$46,762 $46,839-$49,300 $48,897-$51,466 5% of HRI
$46,763–$50,266 $49,301-$52,994 $51,466-$55,322 5.5% of HRI
$50,267–$54,439 $52,995-$57,394 $55,323-$59,915 6% of HRI
$54,440–$57,304 $57,395-$60,414 $59,916-$63,068 6.5% of HRI
$57,305–$63,062 $60,415-$66,485 $63,069-$69,405 7% of HRI
$63,063–$67,199 $66,486-$70,846 $69,406-$73,959 7.5% of HRI
$67,200 and above $70,847 and above $73,960 and above 8% of HRI

Student??

Student

The word student is etymologically derived through Middle English from the Latin second-type conjugation verb "stŭdērĕ", meaning "to direct one's zeal at"; hence a student could be described as 'one who directs zeal at a subject'. In its widest use, "student" is used for anyone who is learning.
Scope

In many countries, the word "student" or a cognate equivalent (e.g., French "étudiant") is reserved for higher education or university students. However derived adjectives in such languages (e.g., "estudiantin" in French) may also, or even especially (e.g., Dutch "studentikoos"), be associated with the non-academic, fun-loving side of stereotyped "student life" (in part organised, such as hazing, "Greek life" in North American Fraternities and sororities), although not all students induldge in this lifestyle..

International variations

Australia

In Australia some university students favour the term "jaffy" for what Americans term "freshman" (a student in their first year of university/college studies), an acronym standing for "just another fucking first-year". The meaning refers to the fact that, having finished high-school as one of the most important students in a small school, the new students are suddenly the least important students in a large university, i.e. they are "just another" in a sea of irrelevant "freshmen". Though this is certainly not a widely used term like "freshmen" is in America. Otherwise "first-years", "second-years", etc., up to "final-years" are in most common usage. Children in primary and secondary school are also referred to as students. The term student is used for all learners including primary school, secondary school and university/TAFE.
Canada

In Canada, special terms are occasionally used. In English provinces, the high school (known as Academy or secondary school) years can be referred to simply as first, second, third, fourth and fifth year. Some areas call it by grade such as Grade 9, Grade 10, Grade 11, Grade 12. There is no more Grade 13. In university, students are classified as first-, second-, third-, or fourth-year students. In some occasions, they can be called Senior Ones, Twos, Threes, and Fours. First years are commonly known as "frosh", and the first week of university for first year students is commonly known as Frosh week.

United Kingdom and Ireland

At universities in the United Kingdom and Ireland the derivative form "fresher" is more often used to describe new students; the term "first years" is also commonly used (especially after the first term). There is no derogatory connotation in this name unlike its US counterpart. The week before the start of a new year is called "Freshers' Week" at many universities, with a programme of special events to welcome new students; some universities, however, are attempting to drop the connotative associations of "freshers' week" by renaming it "welcome week".[citation needed] An undergraduate in the last year of study before graduation is generally known as a "finalist", or simply a third year (in England, Wales, Northern Ireland and Republic of Ireland) or a fourth year (in Scotland).

The ancient Scottish University of St Andrews uses the terms "bejant" for a first year (from the French "bec-jaune" – "yellow beak", "fledgling"). Second years are called "semi-bejants", third years are known as "tertians", and fourth years, or others in their final year of study, are called "magistrands".

United States

First year

A freshman (slang alternatives that are usually derogatory in nature include "fish", "fresher", "frosh", "newbie", "freshie", "snotter", "fresh-meat", etc.) is a first-year student in college, university or high school. The less-common[citation needed] gender-neutral synonym "first-year student" exists; the variation "freshperson" is rare.[citation needed]
In many traditions there is a remainder of the ancient (boarding, pre-commuting) tradition of fagging. He may also be subjected to a period of hazing or ragging as a pledge(r) or rookie, especially if joining a fraternity/sorority or certain other clubs, mainly athletic teams. For example, many high schools have initiation methods for freshmen, including, but not limited to, Freshman Duct-taped Throw, Freshman races, Freshman Orientation, Freshman Freshening (referring to poor hygiene among freshmen), and the Freshman Spread.
Even after that, specific rules may apply depending on the school's traditions (e.g., wearing a distinctive beanie), non-observance of which may result in punishment in which the paddle may come into play

Second year

In the U.S., a sophomore is a second-year student. Folk etymology has it that the word means "wise fool"; consequently "sophomoric" means "pretentious, bombastic, inflated in style or manner; immature, crude, superficial" (according to the Oxford English Dictionary). It appears to be most likely formed from Greek "sophos", meaning "wise", and "moros" meaning "foolish", although it may also have separately originated from the word "sophumer", an obsolete variant of "sophism". Outside of the U.S. the term "sophomore" is rarely used, with second-year students simply called "second years".

Post-second year

In the U.S. a "junior" is a student in the penultimate (usually third) year and a "senior" a student in the last (usually fourth) year of college, university, or high school. A college student who takes more than the normal number of years to graduate is sometimes referred to as a "super senior". The term "underclassman" is used to refer collectively to freshmen and sophomores, and "upperclassman" to refer collectively to juniors and seniors, sometimes even sophomores. The term "middler" is used to describe a third-year student of a school (generally college) which offers five years of study. In this situation, the fourth and fifth years would be referred to as "junior" and "senior" years, respectively

What Is Loan??

Loan

A loan is a type of debt. All material things can be lent; this article, however, focuses exclusively on monetary loans. Like all debt instruments, a loan entails the redistribution of financial assets over time, between the lender and the borrower.

The borrower initially receives an amount of money from the lender, which they pay back, usually but not always in regular installments, to the lender. This service is generally provided at a cost, referred to as interest on the debt. A borrower may be subject to certain restrictions known as loan covenants under the terms of the loan.

Acting as a provider of loans is one of the principal tasks for financial institutions. For other institutions, issuing of debt contracts such as bonds is a typical source of funding. Bank loans and credit are one way to increase the money supply.
Legally, a loan is a contractual promise of a debtor to repay a sum of money in exchange for the promise of a creditor to give another sum of money.
Types of loans

Secured

A secured loan is a loan in which the borrower pledges some asset (e.g. a car or property) as collateral for the loan.
A mortgage loan is a very common type of debt instrument, used by many individuals to purchase housing. In this arrangement, the money is used to purchase the property. The financial institution, however, is given security - a lien on the title to the house - until the mortgage is paid off in full. If the borrower defaults on the loan, the bank would have the legal right to repossess the house and sell it, to recover sums owing to it.

In some instances, a loan taken out to purchase a new or used car may be secured by the car, in much the same way as a mortgage is secured by housing. The duration of the loan period is considerably shorter - often corresponding to the useful life of the car. There are two types of auto loans, direct and indirect. A direct auto loan is where a bank gives the loan directly to a consumer. An indirect auto loan is where a car dealership acts as an intermediary between the bank or financial institution and the consumer.
A type of loan especially used in limited partnership agreements is the recourse note.
A stock hedge loan is a special type of securities lending whereby the stock of a borrower is hedged by the lender against loss, using options or other hedging strategies to reduce lender risk.

Unsecured
Unsecured loans are monetary loans that are not secured against the borrowers assets. These may be available from financial institutions under many different guises or marketing packages:
• credit card debt,
• personal loans,
• bank overdrafts
• credit facilities or lines of credit
• corporate bonds
The interest rates applicable to these different forms may vary depending on the lender, the borrower. These may or may not be regulated by law. In the United Kingdom, when applied to individuals, these may come under the Consumer Credit Act 1974.
Abuses in lending

Predatory lending is one form of abuse in the granting of loans. It usually involves granting a loan in order to put the borrower in a position that one can gain advantage over him or her. Where the moneylender is not authorised, it could be considered a loan shark.
Usury is a different form of abuse, where the lender charges excessive interest. In different time periods and cultures the acceptable interest rate has varied, from no interest at all to unlimited interest rates. Credit card companies in some countries have been accused by consumer organisations of lending at usurious interest rates and making money out of frivolous "extra charges"
Abuses can also take place in the form of the customer abusing the lender by not repaying the loan or with an intent to defraud the lender.

United States taxes

Most of the basic rules governing how loans are handled for tax purposes in the United States are uncodified by both Congress (the Internal Revenue Code) and the Treasury Department (Treasury Regulations – another set of rules that interpret the Internal Revenue Code). Yet such rules are universally accepted.
1. A loan is not gross income to the borrower. Since the borrower has the obligation to repay the loan, the borrower has no accession to wealth
2. The lender may not deduct the amount of the loan. The rationale here is that one asset (the cash) has been converted into a different asset (a promise of repayment). Deductions are not typically available when an outlay serves to create a new or different asset.
3. The amount paid to satisfy the loan obligation is not deductible by the borrower.
4. Repayment of the loan is not gross income to the lender. In effect, the promise of repayment is converted back to cash, with no accession to wealth by the lender.
5. Interest paid to the lender is included in the lender’s gross income.Interest paid represents compensation for the use of the lender’s money or property and thus represents profit or an accession to wealth to the lender.Interest income can be attributed to lenders even if the lender doesn’t charge a minimum amount of interest.
6. Interest paid to the lender may be deductible by the borrower. In general, interest paid in connection with the borrower’s business activity is deductible, while interest paid on personal loans are not deductible.The major exception here is interest paid on a home mortgage.

Latest Link Building Strategy

We all know how important link building is, link building which also called off-site optimization plays a very important role in a successful optimization campaign, so what is link building exactly? what does a link building campaign usually include? and how should we go about building links, we will try to answer those questions in this article.

What is link building?

Link building refers to the act of acquiring links that point to your website/webpage, there are a number of ways to acquire links, which I will list and try to explain the pros and cons of each method.

1- Building links the natural way!

This happens when a website links to you because the webmaster of that site felt that your website had such good information that he thought linking to it would benefit his visitors, this is probably the best link you could ever get, those are the kind of links that Google in specific and the other search engines look for, links that naturally point to your website, the ideal way for getting those links is quality content, having something useful for your website visitors will always get other webmasters link to you, in the long run at least, which brings us to the cons of this kind of building links, natural link usually take time, they don't happen in a month or 2, you need to build quality content, and get some people to actually read it! just having good quality content on your website doesn't guarantee a good exposure and a good amount of natural links, especially if its a new website, you need to bring people to your website to read this content, here are a few methods of doing that:

1- Paid advertising! place a banner on a website/s relating to your topic, or advertise on a newsletter for example.

2- Article submissions, submit the articles on your website to article directories.

3- Press release submission, submit a press release about your new website, a new article or a new interview you did on your website.

4- Submit your website to directories.

5- Join forums and comment on blogs relating to your topic or industry, place your link in your forum sig. and make sure not to spam

Those are some ideas that you can use to get your new website out there, with time, people will notice your website and the content it has, and start gaining natural links.

2- Asking for a link

You can always ask for a link, and it works out perfectly if you know how to do it, here a few tips to follow when asking for a link:

1- Make sure the website your asking for a link on is related to your website, the more benefit your website offers to his visitors the more chances of getting that link.

2- Don't sound like a robot! lots of spammers use link exchange tools to spam websites asking for links, make sure that your email has a personal touch.

3- Comment on the website, look around the website and see if you can make a suggestion about it in the email, look for a dead link, a broken link, some font inconsistencies and point them out in a nice way in your email, the webmaster will probably appreciate it and give you that link.

4- Explain how your website benefits the visitors of that website, the more relevant and beneficial your website is to his visitors, the more he will be encouraged to place that link.

5- Include your personal contact information, like your phone number or fax number and invite the webmaster to call you if he wants to, he probably wont, but its a nice gesture.

Some might consider those kind of links as natural links, but I feel that since those links were not placed naturally without a request, then they probably should be placed in their own category.

3- Buying links

Buying links is probably the most widely used method for gaining one way back links to your website, allot of websites offer text link advertising on their websites for a monthly or yearly fee, prices range depending on the websites Google Page Rank, popularity and the traffic the website gets, they can start at $5 per month and up to $1000 per month.

There are a number if important notes that you should take care of when buying a link:

1- Make sure the website gives you a direct link pointing to your website without using any JavaScript, or the nofollow attribute.

2- Make sure the website doesn't link to bad neighborhoods, if you find the website linking to link farms, porn or pill websites your better off without that link.

3- Have a look on the websites that link to the website your considering buying a link on, if most of those links are from link farms for example, then save your and don't buy that link!

4- Try and get the link on places other than the footer or the links section in the side panel, Google can pick those links up, and usually don't pass all of the link value to the link placed there.

5- Make sure the webpage your getting a link doesn't have more than 20 outgoing links on it, the more outgoing links on the page, the less value your link will get.

4- Link exchanges

Link exchanges is an old yet still used method for acquiring back links, link exchanging refers to placing a link to website in return for a link back to your website, search engines such as Google pick up such links and remove them from your link popularity, it is said that link exchanges might even harm your rankings as it is seen by the search engines as a way of "cheating" them, the possibilities of link exchanges damaging your rankings are higher if your exchange links with bad neighborhoods which I have explained earlier.

Other ways of link exchanging has come up such as 3-way link exchanges, where 3 websites (A,B and C) are used in the exchange, website A links website B, and website B links to website C (usually website A and C have the same owner) however, Google can also pick up those links, and in the worst cases, decrease the rankings of the websites involved in 3-way link exchanges.

These are some of the most important link building methods, usually a combination of the 1st 3 methods works out the best.