How to Get an Advance on Student Loans

Many college and graduate school students depend on student loans to pay their bills. Can you get an advance on student loans if you need some of the money before your disbursement date? In various cases, you may be able to get a student loan advance payment. If you're in an emergency and you need to get an advanced student loan, you'll need to follow specific procedures.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau explains that the financial aid office at your college might be able to give you an advance on your student loans. It will typically only do so as long as your loans are already approved, and it has received documentation from your lender. You will only be given a cash advance on your student loans if you are scheduled to get a rebate. The federal government must be the one issuing your loans rather than a private lender.

Every school follows different procedures for awarding advances on student loans. You may need to demonstrate good credit and need. For example, if you're having trouble paying rent, you should be prepared to show a bill from your landlord or bank statements.

You won't need to stress about making any separate efforts when paying back these advances. The U.S. Department of Education sends your loan payments to your school, so it will deduct what you owe from any rebate you receive.

Another option for students in financial crisis is to take out an emergency student loan. You'll want your loan to come from a government or nonprofit entity if possible. Visit your college or university's financial aid office to see if it recommends a particular institution. The experts at your financial aid office may also be able to counsel you about money management so you don't get into a bad situation again.

There are other places where you can look for last-minute or emergency financial aid for students. You always want to check public and nonprofit sources before traditional for-profit banking institutions as a general rule of thumb. Check with local, state and federal education departments if your university can't tell you where to look. Next, check out educational nonprofits. If you have any special needs or circumstances for which there are advocacy groups, you can contact them and see if they award student scholarships or other aid.

You may also want to see if you're eligible for other types of aid. There are programs to support independent and low-income students to be able to afford essentials like food, housing and transportation. Speak with a case worker or ask your school's financial aid department for more help.

You can look into getting a cash advance against your student loans from a private, third-party entity as a last resort, but there are several caveats to this process. You may face steep fees or interest rates that can put you in a worse situation than where you started. You will need to make sure that you read all the fine print before agreeing to a cash advance like this.

Federal Student Aid explains many other sources that exist for funding your education. There are scholarships for all sorts of things based on where you live, where you're from, your interests, charity work, medical conditions, ethnic background and so much more. Every year, there are hundreds of thousands of dollars in scholarships that go unawarded.

The experts at your university's financial aid office may be able to help you with scholarships and other types of financial aid and counseling. To learn about your options, you'll want to make an appointment to meet with these advisers.