<p>lke the DIRECT SUB LOAN, SIRECT UNSUB LOAN, direct plus loan, and federal perkins loan
how do those differ than just taking out a regular student loan ?</p>
<p>I think you’re talking about Stafford? (direct and indirect unsubsidized loans)</p>
<p>Direct subsidized Stafford loans and Perkins loans are federal programs for lending money directly to students. There are limits to the amounts and only students below a certain financial threshold are eligible. There is some deferment on paying back the loan until you are finished with the program. </p>
<p>Unsub Staffords are the same except that family income can be anything; the student can still get those loans without a co-signer.</p>
<p>PLUS loans are another federal loan program, for parents not students. Parents can borrow up to the full amount of cost of attendance if they meet the credit requirements. The interest rate on PLUS is not that great but there is more flexibility in repayment terms. If a student dies, the PLUS loans are forgiven.</p>
<p>All these programs are Federal loan programs. Stafford and Perkins will lend money to students without co-signers. That’s the advantage. I believe that the Stafford program caps all loans at about 30K for the whole four years. </p>
<p>Regular student loans from banks tend to require co-signers and be less flexible about repayment terms, although they may have lower interest rates in some cases. Many students get themselves into trouble by taking out too much in private loans. At least the Federal programs have limits that prevent students from getting in over their heads.</p>
<p>Another advantage to the federal loans is you can consolidate them once you graduate. By doing this, you can extend the payback period from 10 years to anywhere up to 30 years. This does mean you pay more over the life of the loan if you had to pay it all back but for anyone who works in public service this is smart. See below.</p>
<p>The Public Service Loan Forgiveness Option, which Congressman Sarbanes authored and became law in 2007, allows individuals who work in public service and make regular loan payments to have the balance of their student loans forgiven after ten years. </p>
<p>Public service jobs include, among other positions, emergency management, government (excluding time served as a member of Congress), military service, public safety and law enforcement (police and fire), public health (including nurses, nurse practitioners, nurses in a clinical setting, and full-time professionals engaged in health care practitioner occupations and health care support occupations), public education, early childhood education (including licensed or regulated childcare, Head Start, and State-funded prekindergarten), social work in a public child or family service agency, public services for individuals with disabilities or the elderly, public interest legal services (including prosecutors, public defenders and legal advocacy on behalf of low-income communities at a nonprofit organization), public librarians, school librarians and other school-based services, and employees of tax exempt 501(c)(3) organizations. Full-time faculty at tribal colleges and universities, as well as faculty teaching in high-need subject areas and shortage areas (including nurse faculty, foreign language faculty, and part-time faculty at community colleges), also qualify.</p>
<p>Franny…</p>
<p>In your other thread, you indicate that you need HUGE loans to go to Pratt or wherever. Your mom has bad credit and thinks you can just borrow to pay for college.</p>
<p>you need other options. Borrowing large amounts (even if you had a qualified co-signer) is a terrible idea. You’ve already said that you don’t expect to earn a lot upon graduation.</p>
<p>You need to take a gap year, and reapply to Florida publics where you can use your Bright Futures and Pell money. If you want to “go away,” then choose a Florida public that isn’t in your region. Florida is a big state.</p>