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Student
Loans 101
By Natalie
Aranda
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.
copyright 2005, 4th Media Corporation
Natalie Aranda writes about personal
finance. She contributes to http://www.nextstudent.com
- a website for student
loans.
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