Authored by Ariana R. Cherry in Financial Aid
Published on 10-30-2009

College is a smart choice to advance yourself for a better chance of getting a job or moving up in your current place of employment. While college can help further develop or further your career, it does take quite a bit of money to pay for courses and text books. If you don’t have the cash up front, can’t apply for financial aid, and you don’t have a scholarship, there is always the choice of applying for student loans to make your way through college.

One type of student loan that you could be eligible for is the Federal Stafford Loan for undergraduate students. There are about six different eligibility requirements you must meet before you can apply for a Federal Stafford Loan. The requirements include having signed up for FASFA (Free Application for Student Federal Aid), must have a financial need, be a U.S. Citizen or eligible non-citizen, must enroll in classes at least half time, be signed up at a school that will participate in the Federal Family Education Loan Program, and you can not be in default in any other federal education loans, or owe a refund on an education grant. If you own money on a grant, you can be eligible if you have made arrangements to repay the loan. Once it is time to repay your Stafford loan back, they offer flexible repayment programs such as extended repayment, graduated repayment, and the standard repayment.

The extended repayment lets you repay your loan over a longer period of time with lower monthly payments. During graduated repayment, your monthly repayments start out low, and then increase as time passes. The standard repayment is where the borrower makes regular monthly payments on the principal and interest cost. A borrower will not have to repay the loan while they are enrolled in school and also there won’t be any credit check.

Another choice of a student loan is the Federal Perkins Loan. The Federal Perkins Loan offers a low interest loan (5%) for undergraduate and graduate students who have an exceptional financial need to borrow the money for school. In order to be eligible for the loan, students must be enrolled in school at least half time, be a United States citizen, have at least satisfactory grades during enrollment, and have no defaults or over payments owed on Title IV education loans and grants. If a student qualifies for the Federal Perkins Loan, the U.S. Department of Education will provide funding for your school, and then the school will decide which students show the greatest need. The school will then pay you with a check or apply it to the loan that your school has. The money will come in two increments during the school year. The difference between the Federal Perkins Loan and a Stafford loan is that there are no fees, offer a longer grace period, and that the school disperses the money.

So if you have an interest towards furthering your education, but do not feel you can afford it, there are always financial loan programs that can give you a chance to go or return to school. Most loans will not ask you to repay the loan until at least you are out of school, or at least a year after you have completed school. Every person deserves a chance to advance their education and their career and should not let personal finances keep them from pursuing their dream.