Borrowing money, whether federal or private loans, impacts a student's finances for decades after graduation. Not finalizing loan documents or failing to submit information by the deadline causes issues with a student's ability to borrow, increases interest rates or fees associated with the loan or even invalidates the loan offer. Shop around for loans for higher education to get the best interest rate. Ask for documents showing the total amount you ultimately will repay. Lenders often fail to disclose pertinent information to students about the terms of the loans, which misleads and confuses the applicants. Some students borrow more than is necessary, resulting in longer payoff periods, more interest payments and less cash flow when starting a first job. Not understanding the differences between subsidized and unsubsidized loans or between federal and private loans results in unpleasant surprises in terms of payment requirements.
Attending college includes hidden costs that do not show up in bills from the university or on financial aid documents. One of the largest hidden costs is textbooks. Studying science and engineering requires new, expensive texts that change from year to year, prohibiting saving money by purchasing used editions. Students majoring in the arts and music find that paints, canvasses and instrument maintenance eat up a large amount of cash. According to MSN.com, students who take longer than the traditional four years to graduate from college incur unexpected or hidden costs, including tuition and fee payments in excess of what was originally estimated. In addition, students who study abroad for a semester can expect hidden costs associated with travel, living expenses and fees.
Besides the tuition, fees and books associated with higher education, consider the financial issues of daily life as a student. Students get into debt as a result of these expenses. Students who need a car for the daily commute to class deal with parking permits, insurance, gas and maintenance in addition to monthly car payments. Living off campus results in more expenses than anticipated, including utility costs, Internet service, food, furniture and entertainment. Paying for the costs of daily life while attending an institution of higher education might require you to work at a job you didn't think you'd need; to work more hours than you expected, sacrificing study time; or to increase the amount of student loans. Accumulating a large amount of personal debt while attending a college or university negatively impacts your ability to land a job, because many employers run credit checks on prospective hires.