Student Loan
Student Loans
An education loan is a form of financial aid that must be repaid, with interest. (Scholarships, on the other hand, do not have to be repaid.)
Education loans come in three major categories: student loans (e.g., Stafford and Perkins loans), parent loans (e.g., PLUS loans) and private student loans (also called alternative student loans). A fourth type of education loan, the consolidation loan, allows the borrower to lump all of their loans into one loan for simplified payment.
Few students can afford to pay for college without some form of education financing. Two-thirds (65.6%) of undergraduate students graduate with some debt, and the average federal student loan debt among graduating seniors is $19,202 (Stafford and Perkins Loans), according to the 2003-2004 National Postsecondary Student Aid Study (NPSAS). (The median is $17,120. One quarter of undergraduate students borrow $24,936 or more, and one tenth borrow $35,193 or more.) These figures increase by about 3% or approximately $550 a year. When one includes PLUS loans in the total, the average cumulative debt incurred is $21,814. (Approximately one in ten (10.7%) parents borrow PLUS loans for their children's college education, with a cumulative PLUS loan debt of $16,218.)
Graduate and professional students borrow even more, with the additional debt for a graduate degree ranging from $27,000 to $114,000. The following table shows the percentage borrowing and average amount of cumulative debt among graduating students according to degree program. It provides the amounts borrowed for just the graduate education and also the combined totals for undergraduate and graduate education.
Grants, scholarships, work-study and other forms of gift aid just do not cover the full cost of a college education. Many students find that they must supplement their savings with government and private loans. The Federal education loan programs offer lower interest rates and more flexible repayment plans than most consumer loans, making them an attractive way to finance your education. You can also deduct up to $2,500 in student loan interest even if you don't itemize deductions on your income tax return.
Student Loans
An education loan is a form of financial aid that must be repaid, with interest. (Scholarships, on the other hand, do not have to be repaid.)
Education loans come in three major categories: student loans (e.g., Stafford and Perkins loans), parent loans (e.g., PLUS loans) and private student loans (also called alternative student loans). A fourth type of education loan, the consolidation loan, allows the borrower to lump all of their loans into one loan for simplified payment.
Few students can afford to pay for college without some form of education financing. Two-thirds (65.6%) of undergraduate students graduate with some debt, and the average federal student loan debt among graduating seniors is $19,202 (Stafford and Perkins Loans), according to the 2003-2004 National Postsecondary Student Aid Study (NPSAS). (The median is $17,120. One quarter of undergraduate students borrow $24,936 or more, and one tenth borrow $35,193 or more.) These figures increase by about 3% or approximately $550 a year. When one includes PLUS loans in the total, the average cumulative debt incurred is $21,814. (Approximately one in ten (10.7%) parents borrow PLUS loans for their children's college education, with a cumulative PLUS loan debt of $16,218.)
Graduate and professional students borrow even more, with the additional debt for a graduate degree ranging from $27,000 to $114,000. The following table shows the percentage borrowing and average amount of cumulative debt among graduating students according to degree program. It provides the amounts borrowed for just the graduate education and also the combined totals for undergraduate and graduate education.
Graduate Education Debt All Education Debt
(Grad & Undergrad)
Graduate & Professional Degree Programs Percent Borrowing Cumulative Debt Percent Borrowing Cumulative Debt
Total 60.1% $37,067 70.1% $42,406
Master's Degree 58.4% $26,895 69.3% $32,858
Doctoral Degree 51.0% $49,007 58.3% $53,405
Professional Degree 86.5% $82,688 88.4% $93,134
MBA 53.0% $35,525 63.6% $41,687
MSW 76.5% $27,136 81.0% $37,029
PhD 40.0% $36,917 46.8% $41,540
EdD 53.4% $49,050 65.7% $47,725
Law (LLB or JD) 87.7% $70,933 89.7% $80,754
Medicine 95.0% $113,661 95.0% $125,819
Grants, scholarships, work-study and other forms of gift aid just do not cover the full cost of a college education. Many students find that they must supplement their savings with government and private loans. The Federal education loan programs offer lower interest rates and more flexible repayment plans than most consumer loans, making them an attractive way to finance your education. You can also deduct up to $2,500 in student loan interest even if you don't itemize deductions on your income tax return.
The interest rate on the Stafford Loan starting July 1, 2005 is 5.30% during the repayment period and 4.70% during in-school and grace periods, an increase of 1.93% over the previous year's rates. The interest rate on the PLUS loan is 6.10%, up from 4.17%. So the era of historically low interest rates on student loans has ended. Interest rates are expected to increase by a further 1.5% to 2.0% on July 1, 2006, returning to historical averages. In addition, Congress is proposing to change the consolidation loan program from a fixed interest rate to a variable interest rate starting July 1, 2006. All students who can consolidate should consider consolidating their loans by July 1 in order to lock in current rates.
Many student loan providers offer low cost government and private loans with consistently high quality servicing and flexible repayment terms. FinAid maintains a list of education lenders, guarantee agencies, servicers and secondary markets who offer federal and private student loans, as well as advice on choosing a lender and tips on identifying the lenders that currently hold or service your loans.
Loan forgiveness programs (in which the borrower's loans are paid off in exchange for volunteer work or military service) offer an option for easy repayment. If you are having difficulty repaying your education loans, see Defaulting on Student Loans before you decide to skip a payment. It offers you some alternatives.
Also, FinAid provides numerous calculators that can help you better understand your borrowing options. The loan calculators offer estimates of monthly loan payments, estimates of the amount of debt you can afford to repay, an analysis of the cost of capitalizing the interest and tools for comparing loan costs.
Student Loan Consolidation
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Consolidate Student Loan
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Student Loan
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