Student Financial Aid Article
Student Loans for the Graduate Student
If you don’t qualify for a college scholarship, and your parents are unable to help you pay for your schooling, odds are very likely that you will be forced to rely on student loans to pay your way through. The longer you go to school, the more debt you will have to payoff when you graduate and get a job. If you go to graduate school, you will amass a ton of debt, because they are considerably more expensive than two year institutions. The one thing that may help a graduate student with all of his college debt is the fact that you can take out graduate loans, which often come with better terms than the regular student loans you had as an undergraduate.
Graduate loans come in two different types, federal government loans, and loans through private sources. If you were an undergraduate, then you are probably already familiar with Stafford and Perkins loans, but we will briefly talk about them, just to be certain. As a graduate, you are still eligible for those loans, but they may not be the best choice for you financially.
Stafford loans can be obtained by any graduate student, regardless of current income, and often even with a poor credit history. Stafford loans come in two different varieties, unsubsidized and subsidized. If you get a subsidized Stafford loan, then you aren’t required to pay for any accruing interest, it is paid for with government funding. If you get an unsubsidized Stafford loan, you are required to pay for all interest that is added to your balance, however, it may be possible to postpone your payments until after you have earned your degree and graduated, making it easier for you to focus on your schooling, instead of having to worry about your finances and another bill to juggle every month.
Perkins graduate loans are distributed based on your ability to show financial need. The interest rate on these loans is currently five percent, and the maximum that you can borrow is $4000. With these loans, you are required to make monthly payments, even while you are still enrolled in school. If you find yourself in a financial bind, you may be able to request to defer your payments until you are in a better financial standing, but that is at the discretion of the loan holders.
If you want to apply for either a Stafford or Perkins graduate student loan, you have to fill out and submit a financial aid form called the FAFSA to the government. You can do the form online, or your college should have them, and can help you fill them out if necessary.
It is possible to receive a graduate loan that is funded by someone other than the government. These loans are usually obtained through credit card companies, banks, etc.
One company that offers private student loans for graduate students is Wells Fargo. You have five different loan types to choose from, the Wells Fargo Graduate Loan, the Wells Fargo Advance Loan, the Wells Fargo Collegiate Loan, the Wells Fargo Education Career Loan, and the Wells Fargo Education Connection Loan. You can find more information, as well as fill out an application at http://www.wellsfargo.com. The Education Resources Institute also offers private loans to graduate students. You can submit an application as well as get more detailed information at http://www.gradloans.com. The nice thing here is that you don’t have to wait weeks for your approval; in most cases you will have your answer within about fifteen minutes of submitting your application.
There are many other sources for graduate student loans online, just do a search and look until you find what you need. You will better served by comparing different types of loans, so that you can find the one that will best suit your needs.
