Financing Your Education and Training

Before signing on and agreeing to start a program or before you agree to a payment plan, it’s important for you to keep in mind and understand what exactly you are signing up for: Is the program worth the cost? Is there a less expensive program that you could attend? What are the best loan options? What does the interest on your loan actually mean? Before you agree to take on a loan or a payment plan, your Probation Officer must approve this loan. Additionally, we ask that you also talk to another member of the ReNew team before signing off on the loan. We have seen a lot of participants in the past sign up for loans that were not feasible for them.

Quick Loan Facts

There are several types of student loans available through the federal government. You can apply for these loans through your educational institutions, by submitting the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). These include:

• Pell grants, are awarded based on need. Additionally, the money awarded does not have to be paid back. For the 2020-2021 year, the maximum Pell Grant award given is $6,345. You do not have to start paying off your loans until six months after you graduate.

• Direct Subsidized Loans, are awarded to you based on financial need. Interest for these loans do not start growing until after you complete your program.

• Direct Unsubsidized Loans, which have no requirements based on financial need. Interest for these loans begins to grow immediately upon signing on to the loan.

Additionally, there are private loans that you may be interested in. Be careful with these types of loans. Often times, these loans have outrageously high-interest rates.