1. Students should always go to the feds first. The FAFSA form must be filled out and whoever completes the form and the federal loan agreement that is presented by the school's financial aid will be able to borrow money amounting to every year. The money is given through the Stafford student loan program. A percentage of not more than 6.8% will be charged with an additional 1.5% upfront fee this year. Essentially, students having low-income have better chances to get great deals. Some will be able to receive Perkins loans and "subsidized" Stafford loans for those who are in dire need of financial assistance.
2. If in case you need more than what the government is able to offer, there are several options that you can look at:

• There are charities that are able to extend financial assistance to several students every year. These charities include the Scholarship Foundation of St. Louis and Maryland's Central Scholarship Bureau. Even if these are good deals, students must be aware not to accept every loan that is offered to them.
• Banks can also be a good option for students to get money for college. Though they are now being strict, if you do not have a co-signer then you are not granted with a loan. They need a co-signer as an assurance that someone will be paying the loan.
• For parents, they are offered several loan options but are far more expensive. Percentage rate for PLUS loans can reach up to 9.4% every year.
• Search for non-profit organizations and inquire in several colleges. There are colleges who are partnering with different organizations to be able to provide students with affordable loans especially in this time of recession. Organization such as Rhode Island Student Loan Authority is offering parents loans at a percentage rate of not more than 8%.
• There are several tools in the web that parents and students can use to compare several loan options. Visit SimpleTuition.com and studentlendinganalytics.com to use the tools.

Going to college is a really a great deal of work but with every problem there is always a solution. The solution might not come easy but there will always be a way to get into college. With these options at hand, parents will not have to worry about sending the kids to college.

1. Federal Stafford loans: This kind of federal student loan is the most used by the students and there are two kinds of which are subsidized and unsubsidized loans. In subsidized loans, this is based on the need of the student and the interest will not accrue while the student is still in school. The interest will only apply after six months upon graduating. On the other hand, the unsubsidized loan is the opposite and you need to pay the interest while still in school. If subsidized loan cannot meet your financial needs then you can go for the unsubsidized loan no matter what you family income is.
2. Federal Perkins loans: This most used federal student loan has a 5% low interest rate that is available for both graduate and undergraduate students. Though this can only be given to those who really needs it and in financial crisis. There are also several criteria that must be met to be able to have this kind of loan. The funds for this loan are obtained from the school funds and the federal loan. The loan will be given by the school to you usually through checks and sometimes it will be directly used for your school expenses.
3. Federal Parent PLUS loans: This federal student loan is granted to the parents of an dependent student and undergraduate. No matter what the financial status of the family, this loan can still be granted and without any collateral. But credit check is still conducted.

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Almost all students can avail of the benefits of federal student loan programs, it does not matter what your credit score is and your financial standing. These kind of loans were made to help people who have limited financial resources for college.

The two major federal student loan programs are William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan Program (FDLP) and the Federal Family Education Loan Program (FFELP). There are some universities who participate in FDLP and offers similar terms with FFELP though the funds are borrowed from the US Department of Education.

On the other hand, FFELP can be obtained from private banks, education finance organizations and credit unions. This kind of loan has great terms which are:

• Lower interest rates that are rarely seen from other loans.
• The federal government can pay for your interest payments while the student is still in school.
• Payments for the loan may not be made while student is still in school.
• Longer re-payment terms.
• Flexible credit requirements can be made available to the student.

These two major kinds of federal student loan programs both offer six months grace period. This means that after the student has graduated he is given six months before he starts paying back the loan. The student may not also payback the loan until he is less-than-half-time student.

So, no matter what kind of loan you get the important thing is that your future being a college student and graduating will not be lost.

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