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STUDENT LOANS are borrowed money that must be repaid with interest. Technical school candidates, undergraduate and graduate students may borrow money. Parents may also borrow to pay education expenses for dependent undergraduate students. A large variety of both private and federally subsidized loan programs are available for the prospective student. This large diversity of loans allows the borrower to select the appropriate loan for their need. Loan amount vary by type and year of study. You can get started by visiting.

Federal Perkins Loan: A Federal Perkins Loan is a low-interest (five percent) loan for both undergraduate and graduate students with exceptional financial need. Your school is your lender. The loan is made with government funds with a share contributed by the school. You must repay this loan to your school.

Federal Direct Loan: The Direct Loan Program is one of the Federal Student Aid (FSA) programs provided by the Department of Education that provides students with a way to borrow money to pay for post high school education. Since borrowing is direct through the federal government, borrowers make loan payments to the Department of Education for the life of their loan. It's "one-stop-shopping" from loan application to repayment.

Federal Stafford Loan: The Stafford loan program provides loans from a lender such as a bank, through a guarantee agency and your school. Each has two types of loans: subsidized and unsubsidized. Depending on the type you qualify for, you may or may not have to pay interest while you are attending classes.

Federal PLUS Loan: The federal Parent Loan for Undergraduate Students (PLUS) is a program for parents of dependent students. The cost of attending college determines the annual and aggregate loan limits. This allows the parents of a student to borrow to help cover the cost of an undergraduate education. A variable interest rate or finance charge, not to exceed 9 percent, is determined each year for the federal PLUS programs.

Alternative Student Loan: Alternative loans are private educational loans available to parents and/or students. Alternative loans are not a part of the Federal Family Education Loan Program (Stafford and PLUS) and may have different eligibility and Term (repayment, interest rate, etc.) requirements.

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