College Student Loans – Stafford Loans
BY MARK ALLEN, FinancialAidFinder
When you need to find money to be able to go to college, you can find plenty of college student loans available. There are a number of different options and it may even be possible to get more than one of them. Here is a brief look at a number of college student loans waiting for you to apply.
Stafford Loans
Federal college student loans are low interest loans from the government. Stafford loans are the most popular type. In most cases, Stafford student loans for college have repayment plans that can be deferred until after graduation. Two types of Federal Stafford loans are available – subsidized and unsubsidized Stafford loans.
The subsidized Stafford loan is based on your financial need. Most students receiving this Stafford loan (about 66%) are from homes where the Adjusted Gross Income is less than $50,000. For your freshman year, a student who is also a dependent can borrow up to $3,500, and about a thousand dollars a year more in each of the following years. Although it does charge interest while you are in school, the government pays for the interest until you graduate, or are going to school less than half time.
The unsubsidized Stafford loan is not based on your financial need, but neither is the interest paid for by the government. While you are in college the interest is accumulating, but it is possible to avoid making payments. Until you graduate, or are in school less than half time, the interest can be rolled over into the Stafford Loan.
Stafford college student loan applicants need to be either a resident of the United States, or have been determined to be eligible for the loan. The college must also participate in the Federal Family Education Loan Program (FFELP).
Graduate students applying for a Stafford loan can now get up to $20,500 per year. The catch here, however, is that only $8,500 of that amount is subsidized. Medical students can borrow up to $40,500 with a maximum of $224,000.
Repayment of Stafford loans gives you four options to pay it back. Repayment does not need to begin until 6 months after graduation, or after you drop down to less than half time in school. The Standard option is to make regular monthly payments for the next 10 years. The Extended choice enables you to make smaller payments over a 12-30 year period depending on how much you owe. The Graduated plan starts out with small payments and then increases over the repayment period of 12-30 years. Finally, the Income Sensitive choice calls for monthly payments based on your income and fluctuates with it up to 30 years.
Perkins Student Loans « College Financial Aid Guide said
[...] college, college financial aid, Student Loans A Perkins Student Loan is different from a Stafford Loan, even though both are federal loans. The local colleges distribute the funds from Perkins Loans on [...]