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You’ve narrowed down your top three schools, now it’s just a matter of hearing back from your applications and figuring out a way to pay for tuition. Prospective students often underestimate the danger of default student loans if they don’t shop around for a reasonable lender with low interest rates. A great number of recent college graduates often find themselves in the unfortunate position of having acquired more debt and higher interest than they anticipated. This is because many incoming college students tend to take out too many loans because of overestimating the necessary costs.

To get a fair idea of how much a student may qualify for in federal loans, filing a FASFA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) is the best place to start. Getting federal money isn’t difficult, but applications should be sent as far in advance of college enrollment as possible. There is only a limited amount of federal assistance available to students each academic year. It’s also probable that federal aid will not cover the entirety of your expenses. Keep in mind that tuition is just part of the high costs of college; books, lab fees, living arrangements and food all quickly add up towards your expenses.

To supplement whatever federal assistance may lack, many parents and students look to private companies for additional money. This is well and good, but it’s important to remember the more loans that are taken out now, the more money must be repaid later and the more likely it may be to default on multiple loans.