When it comes to furthering your education, you must have
student loans to do it. It is rather simple to get extra funding
to cover your school costs when scholarships and grants do not
add up to enough funding. There are student loans out there for
you to apply for as well as private loans and loan consolidation
if you need it.
Student loans are
available through the federal government and they are the
biggest source when it comes to education loans. The most
popular federal loans are Federal Stafford loans, Federal
Perkins Loans, and Federal Parent Loans for Undergraduate
Students or PLUS. The Federal Stafford Loans are available to
both graduate and undergraduate students. The Federal Perkins
Loans are given by colleges to those who need it the most and
these loans require no payment of interest while the student is
attending school. PLUS student loans are low interest and are
available through the financial aid office of the school your
student is attending or through the Sallie Mae foundation. This
student loan covers all expenses, including room and board and
books, which you as a parent were going to be financially
responsible for. Two programs are responsible for federally
funded loans. One is the Federal Family Education Loan Program
in which the lender can be your school or bank. The other
program is the William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan Program where
the lender is the U.S. Department of Education.
Private student loans are available to you when a scholarship,
grant, or federal loan falls short of your tuition costs and
other expenses like books or living. They are also called
alternative loans. A private student loan is not sponsored by
the government and therefore no federal papers will be needed to
be signed by you. It is a loan that is offered through a bank or
other financial institution. To obtain this type of student
loan, credit is reviewed by each lender from you, your
parent(s), and in some cases, a co-signer may be needed. The
Sallie Mae program offers a private loan program for both
graduates and undergraduates. Other private student loans
include MEDLOANS and MBA LOANS. Loan consolidation is a great
move when you have several loans to pay off. When you
consolidate, your student loans with their various repayment
schedules can be condensed down into one simple payment. An FFEL
consolidation loan will give you a one-month payment option and
they will contact credit bureaus and notify them that you have a
zero balance. You must be in repayment of your defaulted loan
with three on time payments to be able to obtain a FFEL
student consolidation loan.
About the author:
Natalie Aranda writes about
personal finance,
travel and business.
