This means that they will not make such an excess in profit paid for by the taxpayers and students paying high rates for their financial aid. Many lenders have pulled out of the game and others still offering student loans have increased rates, decreased benefit and tightened up approval rates.

Preferred Choice For Students

Stafford Loans are probably the most popular of all the student loans. They are still available and are backed by the Federal Government. They have, however, reduced the amount of money available to each student. Students independent of parents can only get up to $46,000 for four years.

Students that are dependants of their parents can only get up to $23,000. This may sound like a lot to some people, but you have to consider that many schools charge in upwards of $40,000 per year for tuition alone. College tuition rates historically have doubled about every four years.

Because of higher and higher tuition rates, many families have turned to community colleges and trade schools over state or private colleges. Although cheaper, parents and students are figuring out that they have a harder time getting loan money for these schools. It seems that you have to have money to make money. Better schools should produce professionals making more money, so these are the students that are being approved. It leaves many people feeling that you have to be upper class in order to send your child to school.

Other Funding Options

This is not necessarily the case. There are other types of funding out there. You may not be able to get the rates and benefits that you used to, but you can still find student loans. Private student loans are on the rise since Stafford and other federally backed student loans have decreased and become stricter on schools, lenders and families. Parents and students need to be savvy when they are shopping around.  Many others have turned to more convenient eloan mortgages.

Some people go directly to their school or bank and just accept the bad news when they are turned away or offered horrible rates and terms. This is what the internet is for! We now have a huge selection of lenders at our fingertips and can shop around in hours instead of weeks.

Doing your research can really pay off. Getting the best rates and terms consists of only visiting a few sites. Remember that this is a long-term commitment and you will need to live with your decision for a very long time. Sites such as www.student-loans.net allow you to shop multiple lenders at once, comparing rates, terms and lending limits without ever leaving your chair. Things should get better as the market recovers, but in the meantime, do not get stuck with more than you can afford because you did not shop around for your student loans.

Reader Question:

mikobsohot asked:

I’m looking at my school’s list of providers for Stafford loans (EdAmerica, Inc., PNC Bank Private Student Loans, Student Capital Corporation, etc…) and I’m lost.

I understand that they all have the same rate, but what sort of experiences has everyone had with these companies? Which one do you all think is the best or the student?