Student loans for Undergraduate
There are many different types of loans for undergraduate students. Learn about federal and private education loans so you can find the right student loan to help pay for your college.
Stafford Loans for Undergraduates
By far the most popular and widely disbursed student loan is the Stafford Loan. It comes in two versions: subsidized and unsubsidized. Ask nearly any undergraduate that carries student loans and most will say a Stafford Loan is among them. If you have financial need, as determined by the government, you could qualify for a subsidized Stafford. What makes this different from an unsubsidized Stafford? The federal government pays the loan interest while you're in school and for the six-month grace period between graduation and loan repayment.

Why do students borrow private student loans?
Many students turn to alternative student loans to fill the gap between what they have been awarded in their Federal Financial Aid Award Letter and what they really need. Alternative loans supplement the student and parent education loan programs available from federal and state government approved lenders.

Compare the terms with those of other loan lenders when applying. Alternative loans are awarded on financial qualifications, such as your credit rating. Students looking for college funds often ask the following questions:

Applicant must be a student enrolled at least half time in an eligible institution. Most freshmen must include a creditworthy co-applicant. Either the student or the co-applicant must be a citizen of the United States or an eligible permanent resident.

The Student Financial Support Unit can help with the following:
Federal undergraduate student loans carry much lower loan limits than private loans, but they come with slightly lower interest rates. Private student loans are used to fill the gap between what you were awarded in college financial aid and the total amount you need to cover all of your college expenses. They are credit based loans so please know they're not free money for college and must be repaid.
Consolidation loans have longer terms than other loans. Debtors can choose terms of 10-30 years. Although the monthly repayments are lower, the total amount paid over the term of the loan is higher than would be paid with other loans. The fixed interest rate is calculated as the weighted average of the interest rates of the loans being consolidated, assigning relative weights according to the amounts borrowed, rounded up to the nearest 0.125%, and capped at 8.25%. Some features of the original consolidated loans, such as post graduation grace periods and special forgiveness circumstances, are not carried over into the consolidation loan, and consolidation loans are not universally suitable for all debtors.