Students Loans

Education is the foundation stone in which the future of each individual rests; therefore, the importance of getting ready for college ahead of time is very important. Even though, education is costly and for most of us, the only way to achieve higher education is getting tuition, scholarship or a student loan. You may always apply to get federal financial aid to attend college but what are your options to get a student loan?

Different Types of Student Loans

Finding a student loan is now easier than ever thanks to the Internet. However, before you start searching for one, you need to know what to look for because the simple query to find student loans will return hundred of results. There are basically two types of student loans: private student loans and federal student loans. Among the latter, you can find Stafford loans, Perkins Loans, PLUS loans, which are all federal aid aimed to specific situations. There are also consolidation student loans, and institutional loans, which are non-federal loans, but financial aids that schools grant to their best students.

Getting Student Loans Online

Although, you can apply online for any type of the loans noted above, excepting institutional loans, not all of these options are available to all. For Stafford, Perkins and PLUS loans, subsidized or unsubsidized, you can visit the Federal Direct Loans website at http://www.direct.ed.gov. Remember that while the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is available at http://www.fafsa.ed.gov on the web, however, not everyone is eligible to receive federal aid.

If you application is declined, you can always continue your online search to find a private student loan from a regular lending company. Remember that banks and lending companies offer a wide variety of financial products including personal loans and payday loans. However, when it comes to paying for your education, you need to apply expressly for a private student’s loan. This is an important remark to keep in mind because many times you can come across with lending brokers that offer you what seems to be a good deal, such as taking out a personal loan and not paying interest fees until some time later.

The true fact is that the conditions of a personal loan can make the repayment of the debt overwhelming. In addition, you will be missing the main benefits of a private student loan, with interest rates that are higher than the interest of federal student loans, but lower than the interest rates of any other loans you can get through a lending company. Advantages of private loans include:

• Quicker response time compared with the federal student loan process

• Financial freedom to use the money to cover your tuition and other expenses

• Long term to repay your debt, usually at a fixed interest rate

Contrasting with these advantages, the cons of private student loans is that a good credit history and proof of steady income is required to get your application approved. Even though, you can dig further using an online search engine to find the right private student loan lender that can take into consideration your particular case.