The list of the kinds of student loans and their respective features, advantages and disadvantages can be quite long.  In a gist, the kinds of student loans include Private Loans, Direct vs. FFELP (Federal Family Education Loan Program) loans, Grad Plus, Parent Plus, Consolidation, Unsubsidized Stafford, Subsidized Stafford and Perkins.  These kinds of student loans may have different qualification guidelines, loan limits, repayment terms and interest rates.

Majority of these kinds of student loans require borrowers to be US citizens.  In most cases, only undergraduate students can avail, except for the Grad Plus which is available to graduate or professional students in a diploma or certification program.  Eligible non-citizens may also qualify, provided that they are either a US resident, a conditional permanent resident, other eligible non-citizen, or a resident of Palau, Marshall Islands or Micronesia.

The common borrowing limit per year ranges from $3500 to $5500.  In most kinds of student loans, the overall maximum borrowing limit is set at $23000 to $31000.  Other kinds of student loans also do not have maximum monthly or annual borrowing limit, allowing the borrower to get the exact amount needed.

For the loans that are available to graduate students, monthly borrowing limit is $8000 to $8500.  All in all, the maximum borrowing limit graduate students are allowed to avail ranges from $60000 to $138500.

The repayment terms also vary from one type to another.  Usually, repayment starts six or nine months after the borrower has graduated.  Usually, repayment is allowed up to 10 years, with different repayment plans to choose from.

Each kind of student loan also establishes its own interest rate.  For undergraduate student loans, interest rate ranges from 5% to 6.8%.  An interest rate pegged at 6.8% to 8.5% is set for the graduate student college loans.

It is important to carefully think over which type of student loan you should avail of.  Also, be reminded always that you should only take as much as you need and avoid bloating your loan.  The smaller amount you owe, the smaller amount you also need to pay after you have finished your education.

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