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Student loan is a growing problem not just in the United States, but around the world – especially in developing countries. Student loan is a financial obligation that many people take on, even though they have no children, college degrees, and even if they have excellent credit. Most people don’t know exactly how long they will have to pay off their student loans, so they end up paying more than they should be and discovering that they can’t provide for their family.
Student loans are often the most expensive debt in any person’s life. They throw up many challenges for students, especially since they often take a rather long time to pay back. Knowing how student loans work can help immensely with this issue, and while they vary from person to person, there are common finances that all students have to consider when they deal with their student loans.
If you have to take out student loans, federal loans are the best option for the vast majority of borrowers.
It is better to exhaust the possibilities of obtaining federal loans before applying for private loans. Federal loans generally offer more flexible protections if you have a hard time paying, and all new federal loans have fixed interest rates, which means the interest rate won’t change over the life of the loan. Private student loans generally have variable interest rates, which can change each month or quarter, causing your monthly payment to change.
However, there are rare cases where a private loan could be a viable alternative to a federal Grad PLUS loan. This could happen if:
- You are a graduate or professional student with a high probability of finding employment
- You have a very high credit score
- You can borrow at interest rates much lower than 6.41 percent
- Is fully committed to completing the graduate program on time
- You have a specific plan to pay off your loans within a few years after graduation (instead of 10 years or more, which increases the risk of an interest rate increase)
- You have already borrowed the maximum amount allowed under the Direct and Perkins loan programs
If you are a graduate student and meet all of the above criteria, you may want to consider a private student loan instead of a Direct Grad PLUS loan. There are many reasons why a private loan might be better for students who meet all of these criteria: a private loan may have a lower initial interest rate; As a graduate student, you could be more confident in your employment prospects and earning potential; and interest rate changes may have less of an impact if you expect to pay off the loan quickly.
