College education is a must, and for that a student loan is a prerequisite. You could be buried under a mountain of debt if you don’t do the smart thing and choose the best option available in the market. Although there is a wealth of information on the Internet, not all of it is useful, and to protect you, here are a few guidelines to follow while selecting the best finance plan for your education,
Federal student-loan programs are sanctioned every year by The U.S. Department of Education to the tune of more than $67 billion in loans, grants and campus-based aid to assist students and their families to pay for post-secondary education. This will give you a quick idea of what is covered under the federal-loan scheme.
o The Federal Stafford-Loan is issued in the name of the student, is based on need of the student and does not require a credit check as it guaranteed by the government and a private backer. The best part of this loan is that there’s no need to repay this loan until after graduation, or if the student leaves school or is attending part time.
o Federal PLUS loans are made in the name of the parents. These loans require a credit check but the credit criteria are not as strict as other types of consumer loans. Repayment of a Federal Plus Loan usually begins after the student has passed out of the college and started working.
o The Federal Graduate PLUS is just like the Federal PLUS loan, except that it is made in the name of the student.
One of the most affordable student loans are Federal student loans, which include Stafford loans for students and PLUS loans for parents. Infact, interest rates for these Federal student loans are drastically lower than those of personal loans, credit cards, car loans, housing loans and even mortgages!
Private Education Loans If scholarships, grants, work-study and Federal student loans programs are still not sufficient for covering all your student expenses of food, clothing, housing and education, then, Private Loans, also called as an alternative loan, are available to the student.
o These private loans are personal credit-based-loans, which are not guaranteed by the Federal government. However, the lending limits are higher than Federal student loans, but the interest rates may be significantly higher than Federal Aid programs. But it will definitely help you complete your finance aid program for your education.
o Private loans can be used for all you expenses and not only education but also fees, books, housing, computer, travel, food and daily expenses! If you wish to apply for a private loan yet have no good credit history or poor credit, it’s a sensible option to have a co-signer who has a strong credit back ground to improve your chances of getting approved for a private loan.

Worried about how you are going to pay back the whole bunch of student loans you have accumulated? Not to worry! Student loan consolidation can combine all your different loans under the same umbrella with a single lender.

How do I get my student-loans merged?
Due to the expenses involved in college education, students normally end up with a whole bunch of loans issued for education, food and many other different expenses. Each loan could be for a different amount and carries a special interest rate. It’s a good idea to keep a close track of your loans at the National Student Loan Data System website. This is important because you can keep a track of your loan amounts and the date when you are expected to start repayment.
The majority of all loans federal as well as private are postponed for the first six months after graduation, so that you can start a new job, which means you don’t have to make payments during that time. But you definitely have to know when the different loans will start their payment schedules. And its for this reason, its better to club all these loans under a single lender so that you have to make only a single payment every month rather than keeping a track of five to six separate dates and payment amounts.

If you’ve passed the qualifying exams the next headache you are faced with is how to finance that expensive college education with your limited funds? You do know that you have to find the best low interest student loan possible to finance your educational and household expenses. And the best way to go about this is to get a low interest loan that can be repaid after you pass out of college and get a good paying job. So where can you get such a good low interest loan? Here’s a little detailed report on how to get a good low interest loan,

If you are from a country with a lesser exchange rate you’ll easily realize that studying in the US or the UK is going to be very difficult to finance. The International Student Loan Program is now present for international students from around the world, who aim for a gradute education in USA, UK or Canada.
Private loans or alternative international student loans.
These loans offer:
• Funds are which are disbursed directly to you and not to the college.
• Loans are accepted at TERI-approved schools which you have to select before hand.
• Interest rates are made competitive for the international students benefit.
• No application fees for the loan.
• You can use the funds for living expenses but it also means you have to manage the funds carefully. Pay your schooling, accomodation, health insurance and books,and incidentals first
• Repayment of an international student loan is deferred while you studying and for six months after you graduate. After that, you will have a time period of 20 years to repay the loan monthly.
Here are a few examples of private student loans which are available to the International students,
1. GATE Student Loan Program or the Guaranteed Access to Education is a private student loan program which is offered through contributing schools along with Banks. Undergraduate international students can borrow under this program with a US citizen as a cosigner.
2. Global Student Loan Corporation or GSLC requires a co-signer in the student’s home country who is the student’s parent or guardian
3. International Student Loan Program and Study Abroad Loan Program are an alternative private loan program for international students to study at accepted US colleges and academies.

Graduate school is expensive and if you are planning on entering a professional college than it’s going to be more so. A typical year of graduate school costs somewhere between $17,000 for a master’s at a community university to more than $56,000 at dental school. As compared to undergraduate education, there is a far lesser amount of money available for graduate school. And most graduate schools also tend to give awards on the basis of merit rather than financial requirement.
So what can I do to get aid for my graduate degree program?
1. Polish up that CV. Graduate school admission is based on your merit and you’re Grade Point Average Score. So if you don’t really have a good scholastic record then you should be careful. Sell yourself to these colleges on the basis of the status of your undergraduate school, recommendation letter from noted individuals, special interests and your specific research fields. If your scholastic record is not as wonderful as you’d like, use your submission to publicize other strengths like field work, jobs, research opportunities, extra classes, lecturing assignments which will impress the graduate school board.
2. Go for a PhD rather than a master’s if that is available in your field. Most PhD programs bear their students for a minimum of four years. If you are a good student and have an aptitude for the subject, the college will do its best to retain you and you get a good degree in the bargain.
3. Assistantships may require to work as an assistant to a professor in return for a stipend (the usual stipend is about $10,000). Almost a part of all full-time candidates for master’s degrees in science are paid for work as assistants. You may also be able to counterbalance some of your tuition by working at a part-time job alloted by your school on or off campus. But the payment is usually minimal
Although these are just a few options available to the graduate student to finance their college life, most of the time, the money is still not sufficient, it’s just not enough! The best option available to any student is a federal loan which will supply the money for your college related expenses at a low interest rate.
The most common federal loans for graduate students are,
1. The Perkins Loan is provided for both undergraduate and graduate students at fixed 5% interest rate.
2. The Subsidized Stafford Loan is available for both graduate and undergraduate study with the government paying the interest on this type of loan
3. The Unsubsidized Stafford Loan is also available for graduate and undergraduate study. In this loan the student is responsible for the interest that is accumulated on the loan while they are in school.
4. Graduate PLUS Loans are available if you are a graduate or professional student working on an additional degree or certificate.
Private Loans- even if you have managed to get a federal loan sometimes the money can fall short and the last option available is called as a private loan or an alternative loan. But there are a large range of difficulties with a private loan like,
• Interest rates on private student loans are variable and much higher than a federal loan.
• Interest on private loans added to the primary amount of money ultimately raising the monthly payments tremendously.
• Approval and terms for private loans are based credit history. If your credit history is doubtful you’ll need a cosigner,
• Poor or negligible credit may also affect a higher interest rate.

There’s only one way you can afford college and that is by applying for a student loan which has a low interest rate and you start repaying after you graduate and get a good job. Student loans are a first-rate way to pay for college.
But you have to find a government loan which is ideal for you as you’ve already exhausted any other possibilities and you need money to help you finance your college education plan.
Get a federal loan!
Government student loans have the least interest rates, the best reimbursement plans, in addition to, being the most flexible in terms of credit checks. Federal student loans deftly make life easier for financially struggling college students as you don’t need to display a good scholastic record or a good credit history but if you can show that you need the loan, then its yours. College students often have no credit history, so borrowing from a bank is not possible or will carry a very high interest rate.

How do I get a student loan for college? Do you have a multitude of questions about how to apply for a student-loan for college? Do you even know where and how to start? There are absolutely so many answers to these questions about student loans for college that even the sanest person can get confused . So let me tell you about how I went about getting my student loan.
Be realistic about your pay back capacities-if you are from a middle class family like me it doesn’t really make sense to opt for a pricey private education when you can go to an equally good public college for less than half the cost.
Start at a community college- and then transfer to a better college to cut costs.
Scope out colleges- many colleges are willing to reduce their fees to attract the right kind of students. The trick is to find a college which will discover your grades attractive and reduce its fees to gain you as a student. Believe me this really works! But it does require a lot of research.
Be the early bird who gets the financial aid worm! Strictly saying, you have until the next years summer to submit the Free Application for Federal Student Aid or the FAFSA form to receive federal funding. But it definitely doesn’t hurt you to apply early, after all the Federal money pot’s only so big! There’s a chance that you could get a no-repayable grant or scholarship.
Master the federal aid process! The funny thing is you do not need high grades to get student aid or financial aid. All you need to do is prove that, is you just need the money. To keep education loans small, look for on-the-house sources of funding first, such as grants and scholarships which do not have to be paid back. After that, focus on federal student loans, which can offer great savings on interest rates and can be paid back after you pass out of college and secure a good job. Lastly, look at private or alternative loans. Unfortunately private loans are expensive; require a credit check, as well as, a cosigner. Try not to rely too much on these high-interest options like credit cards and alternative loans, as these can quickly add up. Getting one form of federal aid does not make you barred from others. Many students have to procure a mix of all three as the college tuition is so high along with household expenses.

A Federal Student Loan is a government based loan offered to undergraduate and graduate students to contribute to the cost of schooling, books and materials, and other education-related expenses. The Department of Education makes these available to the students at a subsidized rate under very easy to meet conditions.

The Federal Student Aid Programs are the principal foundation of university financial assistance, each year billions of dollars in financial support are provided through a variety of methods such as grants, work study, scholarships, and loans.
These centralized loans may be subsidized or based on need and unsubsidized or not based on need. Subsidized loans begin to gather interest when you leave school or your attendance drops, while unsubsidized loans begin to gather interest as soon as the loan is fully allotted.

Federal consolidation or direct student loan consolidation allows a student to club all the federal loans under the same umbrella to help the student to make payments.

What are the benefits of consolidating the loans under the same umbrella?
1. By giving all your loans to one lender you are able to coordinate payments to a single person there is no chance of forgetting any payments, of sending them in late. With only one lender and one monthly bill, it is much simpler for a busy student to manage his debt. Borrowers have only one lender that is the U.S. Department of Education for credits included in a Direct Consolidation Loan
2. There are a large range of payback options which are individually tailored to help the student in making payments easier. The student can choose from four different plans to repay their Direct Consolidation Loan, including an Income Contingent Repayment Plan which is tailored to the student’s income at the specific time of payment. With a Direct Consolidation Loan, borrowers can changes in between plans to their convenience at anytime.
3. There is no minimum or maximum limit to the loan amounts which have to be included in the loan.
4. Consolidation of all your federal loans is free of charge
5. There is an option of deferment of your loan, if you cannot payback at that particular time.
6. Reduces Monthly Payments by relieving the strain on a borrower’s budget which lowers the student’s general monthly payment. The lowest monthly payment on a Direct Consolidation Loan may be lesser than the united cost charged on the students Federal education loans.
7. There are two likely possibilities to a Direct Consolidation Loan which are that the student may hold on to the subsidy benefits on loans that are consolidated into the subsidized fraction of a Direct Consolidation Loan.

The Direct Loan Program provided by the Federal Student Aid or FSA programs of the Department of Education. It aims to provides students with a simple, cheap way to borrow money for undergraduate and graduate education..

What is the advantage of the direct loan?
Direct Loans are:
■ Simple—you borrow directly from the federal government and have a single contact—the Direct Loan Servicing Center—for everything related to the repayment of your loans, even if you receive
Direct Loans at different schools.
■ Convenient—you’ll have online access to your Direct Loan account information 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
■ Flexible—you can choose from several repayment plans that are designed to meet the needs of almost any borrower, and you can switch repayment plans
if your needs change.