The best student loans to get are federal education loans, as they have the lowest interest rates and the most flexible repayment terms when compared to their private loan counterparts. Because federal loans are vastly superior to most private student loans, I recommend to students that they only apply for private loans after they have [...]
in Federal Student Loans, Student Loans,
by Jeff Bullock
Getting low interest student loans is essentially about exhausting your options in terms of federal aid before turning to any sort of private education loan funding. This is because most federal student loans come with lower interest rates than the majority of private loans that are on the market, and because most student borrowers do [...]
Students often ask me about direct student loans, and what they are exactly. Direct student loans are federal education loans that are provided by the Department of Education, and are not to be confused with uncertified student loans, which are often characterized as direct-to-consumer loans. With the inception of the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility [...]
in Federal Student Loans,
by Jeff Bullock
Students sometimes have questions about the differences between federal and government student loans, when in reality they shouldn’t as they are both roughly the same thing. I say “roughly” because using the term government student loans can sometimes refer to both federal, and state student loans, and not simply the education loans that are provided [...]
FFELP Student Loans are education loans that were provided via the Federal Family Education Loan Program that recently came to a close with the enactment of the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act, or SAFRA. The FFEL Program had been in existence since 1965, and had been a favorite of colleges, and other postsecondary institutions [...]
Most students that I speak with only think of PLUS Loans as parent student loans that can only be utilized if one, or both of their parents agrees to take out a student loan on their behalf. While this is true for the conventional type of PLUS Loans, there are Graduate PLUS Student Loans that [...]
The Federal Perkins Loan Program is a government initiative that is geared towards providing federal education loans to students that demonstrate a very high financial need. Most of the loans that are provided as a result of this program are more commonly referred to as Perkins Loans, and they are much more difficult to get [...]
Student loan consolidation is something that almost any student with education loan debt should take into consideration, as it can potentially reduce monthly payment amounts, as well as decrease the overall costs of student loan debt. Consolidating student loans typically consists of taking out a completely new loan that will pay off the current amount [...]
Federal student loans include education loans that are provided via the Direct Loan Program by the Department of Education. The Federal Family Education Loan Program, or FFELP, has officially been discontinued by the federal government, and now all federal student loans will be funded “directly” by the Department of Education, without the need of any [...]
Direct Stafford Loans are federal student loans that are provided on an annual basis to both undergraduate, and graduate students. There are two Stafford Loans—the Direct Subsidized Loan, and the Unsubsidized Loan. The Direct Subsidized Loan is based upon need, and does not accrue interest while you are in school. The Unsubsidized Loan does accrue [...]