While some college graduates immediately enter the rat race to secure employment, some are left thinking of ways to pay off the loans they incurred during their time in college. For some, landing a high-paying job is the best way to pay for college student loans. But for others, a high salary still may not be enough to pay off their loans AND maintain the lifestyle needed in the professional world. The good news is that college grads have tons of options to pay off student loans. Below are just some of them.
Loan consolidation for lower interest rates
Paying off separate loans means also paying for the interests of each specific loan. Instead of letting these annoying interests add unwanted layers to your loans, you can consider consolidating all these loans so you end up with just one big loan. It may seem overwhelming once you learn the total of all your loans, but at least you’ll rid yourself of the extra payments you make for the interests. This is not to say that you won’t be paying interest on your “mother” loan, but it may be cheaper than all your loans’ interests put together. The difference may be just a few dollars or so, but a buck is still a buck, and the bottomline is you’ll have a lesser amount to pay off.
Money from the military
So you’re quite the adventure seeker, eh? If that’s the case, then you probably wouldn’t mind doing military service to pay off your college student loan. You can consider joining the Army Reserve or the National Guard after you graduate so you can get up to $10,000. And if you really want to up the ante on your thrill-seeking quests, you can even request to be assigned in hostile or conflict areas, which will allow you to get even more money to pay off your college loan. Just make sure you survive and LIVE to actually pay off the loans.
Loan forgiveness options
Unfortunately, this is one type of forgiveness that requires more than just being sorry. The government is willing to grant you loan forgiveness if you engage in social work and volunteer for non-profit organizations. Your options under loan forgiveness include signing up for the following: VISTA (Volunteers in Service to America), Americorps, and Peace Corps.
Photo Credit : Joshua Davis
