It is important to note that Federal Student Loans are different than Private Student Loans. Federal loans, such as the Stafford and Perkins loans are backed by the Federal Government and are both need and non-need based. See the Department of Education's website at www.ed.gov for more details.

Private student loans are credit based, meaning the applicant is approved, or denied, based on their credit score. For applicants with no credit history, or a not so good credit score, will require a cosigner in order to qualify. The funds from private student loans are sent directly to the applicant, while Federal loans are sent to the college, where the student signs it over to the school.

Student Loans
StudentCreditCards features student credit cards and an educational directory of student aid, explaining the process of applying for college student loans. The process can seem intimidating or confusing to many because of the many forms and deadlines and different types of loans.

We've created this section to help explain the student loan application process in as few, easy to understand stages as possible. We advise you not to 'hire' an expert to complete this process as there is no need. You've made it to college, so you'll quickly see financial aid is not rocket science. There are Five basic loan types:

1. Federal Student Loans : From ed.gov :Stafford, Perkins; sent to your school

2. PLUS Loans (Parent Loan for Undergraduate Students)

3. Private Student Loans : Credit based loans, sent direct to student.

4. Federal Student Consolidation Loan, program backed by U.S. DOE

5. Private Student Loan Consolidation.

STEP 1. You need to fill out the FAFSA, see www.fafsa.ed.gov

A Helpful Student Consolidation Resource:
Visit School Loan Consolidation for a comparison of multiple lenders and their consolidation loan specs, interest rates, benefits and the whole nine. If you're ready to apply you can do so.