Loans

Federal Student Loan

Complete Application

• Deferred while the student is in school
• Fixed Interest Rate of 5.6% for the Subsidized loan for Undergraduate students and 6.8% for the Unsubsidized loan and the Subsidized loan for Graduate students.
• Subsidized (interest paid by the government while the student is in school) or Unsubsidized (interest accruing while the student is in school) is determined by the FAFSA calculation
• Fees range from 0.5 to 1.5% of the principal loan amount
• Repayment - when the student graduates or drops below half-time status they have a six-month grace period before starting repayment

Federal Parent PLUS Loan

Complete Application

• Fixed Interest Rate of 8.5%
• Fees range from 2.5-4.0% of the principal loan amount
• Repayment begins when the loan is fully disbursed for the year but the parent borrower can apply to have the repayment deferred while the student is in school and throughout the student's six month grace period.

Federal Perkins Loan

• Institution is the Lender
• Interest Rate-no interest while enrolled at least half-time, 5% in repayment
• No upfront fees
• Repayment-when the borrower graduates or drops below half-time status, they have a nine-month grace period before starting repayment
• There are options for students to get some or all of their Perkins loans canceled based on their occupation after graduation.  Here is the List of Eligible Occupations.

Alternative Loans

• Credit-based student loans taken out through a Bank or Lending institution.
• Co-signer's are required depending on the student's credit.
• Interest rates are variable and depend on the borrower or cosigner's credit.
• Deferred until student graduates or drops below half-time, some lenders will offer a six month  grace period as well.