<p>Our S is an entering freshman who is taking out an unsubsidized Federal Direct (Stafford) Loan to help pay for college. Is there a mechanism for us to pay his interest so that he doesn't accrue interest debt while he's in college?</p>
<p>Yes you can pay the interest as you go along. The paperwork for the loan should include this information.</p>
<p>My son had salliemae and I paid the interest for him and he applied his tax return toward it every year which helped a little. I was able to pay online whenever I wanted and it was applied within 2 days. Being able to see the interest and principle was helpful, I was also able to pay down the principle a few hundred the first year which was nice.
He could have gone with a non-online loan which had a slightly lower interest rate, but the convenience of online and being able to see the payments and amounts when we wanted too was worth it.</p>