<p>I've been looking at the University of Georgia re:financial aid, and found that a small Stafford loan would be of help. My question is: do people traditionally get Stafford/Perkins loans through the financial aid office, or do they go directly to a bank and have the university financial aid office confirm student status? Or, are there other procedures to physically obtain the loan that I have not mentioned here? I presume the financial aid office just uses a bank anyways, and I've seen more favorable perks for offered Stafford provided by banks than listed at the UGA website (e.g., no origination fee, reduction in balance if pay on time for 36 months). </p>
<p>Thank you!</p>
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You get Stafford / Perkins loans through you FAO. Your FAO also determines how much loans you’ll qualify.</p>
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The lender is US Federal government</p>
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They may be the private student loans.</p>
<p>Staffords are no longer available through private lenders. The law changed a couple of years ago and all of them are now direct loans awarded only through the school. (before that schools could choose to participate in the direct loan program or not, now they all have to).</p>
<p>Perkins loans have always been through the school. They are what is called campus based federal aid. This means the school is given a limited amount of funding and decided how best to award it. Perkins loans are much harder to get than Stafford/direct loans as funding is very limited and once those funds are awarded, the school can get no more.</p>
<p>Much appreciated, 4kidsdad and swimcatsmom! Things change so quickly, it’s hard to keep up!</p>