Federal Student Loans
There are numerous options when you’re applying for a federal student loan but here were only going to discuss the Stafford Loan and Perkins Loan. Both are federal student loans which Americans going to college and university are eligible for. Not everyone will be accepted into these student loan programs, but they’re the best student loans available so it’s definitely worth applying to.
Stafford Loan
The Stafford Loan is very easy to apply for and you only need to follow a few simple steps to complete the process. The very first thing you must complete is the FAFSA which once filled out can be sent online. Make sure you include the school that you’re asking for financial aid from or else it won’t make its way to the correct school. Try to send in your FAFSA online at the early possible convenience, this ensures that you get the highest amount of financial aid you’re eligible for.
After sending in your FAFSA online you’ll receive your student aid report that details whether or not you’ve been accepted for student aid. The key thing to look for is an award letter saying that you’ve been approved for financial aid and for how much you’ve been approved for. If you get approved then the next step is detailing the form of how you want to receive the financial aid and mailing back the award letter to the school you’ll be attending.
After being approved you can now sign-up online for the Stafford Loan, the sign-up process will give you a promissory note which needs your signature, and then to be mailed back to the school you’ll be attending.
This is the complete process of applying and receiving a Stafford Loan for your schooling. If you haven’t been accepted for financial aid then you will need to find another alternative for funding your schooling, but with so many options available it shouldn’t be too hard. Often time’s students are approved for the Stafford loan but the loan doesn’t cover all of their expenses, in this case you’ll need to seek more financing from a private institution or bank.
Perkins Loan
A Federal Perkins Loan is one of the absolute best student loans to obtain, because of the ease of applying and also the low interest rates you pay on the loan. Perkins loans offer a highly attractive five percent interest rate which is really low compared to most of the other student loan options available. This option is federally funded by the government which makes the low interest rates appear.
The loan however is not fully a government loan and your school actually plays a part in the loan. Eventually when it’s time to pay back the loan you make the payments to the school rather then the government. To apply for a Perkins loan you need to simply ask your school for the application form.
You can choose to not to accept the funding anytime throughout your academics if for some reason you no longer need funding. The loan is typically made out twice per year during the academic semester and either made out to you in cash or credit.
When you finish your schooling you usually have nine months which is known as the grace period of the student loan, at which point when the nine months are over you need to start paying the loan back. Typically Perkins loans are made payable over the course of ten years at five percent interest. You can however choose to pay the loan off in full whenever you want, to stop the interest from increasing more.
