What is the Difference between Getting a Federal Student Loan and a Private Student Loan?

by: Michael Saunders
Attending college is a milestone, but can also be extremely expensive. With some options already in mind, you may want to look at the student loan alternatives that are available to a college undergraduate. Student loans can be very tricky, and are very confusing to most. In many situations, families are accepted for all different kind of loans and then are left in the dark when it is time to pay it back or fail to realize that they owe as much due to accrued interest.

With high interest rates and very unforgiving payment plans, it is best to know what options are available to you prior to being seduced by college lenders with promises of fast money.

You may already be somewhat familiar with the terms ‘Federal Student Loan’ and 'Private Student Loan'; these are the two most popular type student loans being used today. Do not let the terms deceive you, as they do not sound very different, they come with very different stipulations and payment approaches when it comes time to pay the money back. A student loan is anything that is aided to the student or their family from the government or school the student plans to attend. These loans the student will pay back with interest at a later date.
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What is the Difference between Getting a Federal Student Loan and a Private Student Loan?
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About The Author The author edits a site featuring Grants for Education and another Government Grants site providing info on every grant the federal government offers. Michael Saunders has an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business.

Additional Resources

category - Education Grants

Financing Your Education with Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants
Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants assist those undergraduate students enrolled in a postsecondary education that cannot afford their educational expenses without financial assistance. The grant is in place to help them meet their educational expenses to the successful completion of a postsecondary degree.

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National Science Foundation's Smart Health and Wellbeing Program
The National Science Foundation has constituted the development of the Smart Health and Wellbeing (SHB) Program wherein they intend to address scientific and technical issues that would pave the way towards the transformation of the healthcare process from being rather reactive and hospital centered into becoming preventive, proactive, evidence-based, patient-centered and focused on the wellbeing of the person rather than his/her disease.

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What does it mean that Federal Student Aid is a PBO?
A PBO is a Performance Based Organization representing an initiative that was created in order to help the government operate more effectively and efficiently. When people call Federal Student Aid a PBO, this means that they are committed to and hold the same standards of the Performance Based Organization.

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2012 University Center Economic Development Program Competition
The Economic Development Administration has recently established the 2012 University Center Economic Development Program Competition wherein they intend to solicit grant applications from higher education institutions stating their intent to establish and operate special University Centers that are focused on leveraging university assets in order to create regional economic ecosystems that will support high-growth entrepreneurship.

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