|
Before you borrow alternative student loans, exhaust all of
your efforts to get Federal Student Loans and other Federal
aid first. Additional private student loans include:
Here are some helpful Federal Student Loan informational articles:
Federal Loan Resources
Several federal programs exist to aid
students and / or their parents fund a college degree. Some of
these are available to students, other loans may be available
just to parents. Students must meet strict eligibility
requirements in order to be considered for these loans. You
must be enrolled in school at least half time. You must be a
U. S. citizen, have permanent residency, or eligible
non-citizen status. Make satisfactory academic progress. This
means don’t fail your classes or you could be put on academic
probation and lose your eligibility for financial assistance.
You must not have unresolved defaults on Title IV education
loans and grant. Lastly, you must satisfy all Selective
Service requirements; that is, if you’re male, you must have
signed up for the draft.
Federal loans made to students or their
parents:
1. Federal Perkins or Perkins
Loan- need based loan offered through the United States
Department of Education to help students fund their advanced
degrees. Carl Perkins was a United States Senator and the
Perkins Loan is so named in his honor. The Perkins Loan has a
fixed interest rate of 5% for the entire ten-year repayment
period. Borrowers begin to repay the loans starting in the
tenth month after graduation; the first nine months are a
grace period that allows students to transition from school
into the work world. Interest will not accrue until the grace
period is up; if a student falls below half state level, or if
the student withdraws from the college or university.
Undergraduates can borrow as much as $20,000 total. Graduate
students may borrow as much of 40,000 in a lifetime; this
amount includes undergraduate loans. A portion of the Perkins
Loan may be cancelled each year for teachers in designated,
low-income school.
2. Federal Family Education Loan
Program (FFELP) : this program allows private organizations to
service federally guaranteed loans to students and their
parents. This program provides the funds for Stafford and Plus
Loans.
3. William D. Ford Federal Direct
Loan (FDSLP) or
Direct Loans; for these loans the Department
of Education acts as a lender. This program provides funds for
Stafford and Plus Loans.
4. Stafford Loans formerly known
as Federal Guaranteed Student Loan Program; the name of the
program was changed in 1988 to honor Senator Robert Stafford.
These college student loans are offered at a lower interest rate than a
private loan; there are also strict guidelines that the
student must meet to be considered eligible.
In order to apply for these programs
you must complete and file a FAFSA (Free Financial Aid
Application Form. This establishes your need for financial
assistance for loans that are based on that requirement.
Private loans will not require a FAFSA. Remember to start the
College financial aid application service as early as possible. Make
copies of everything you sent off if at all possible. Keep a
financial aid diary; write down when you completed and filed a FAFSA and if this was online or y by some other mean. Keep
good records of everything – financial aid departments can
make mistakes and the more clear your records are the faster
you will get over a glitch.
Complete Federal loan information can
be obtained at Ed.gov
|
