| Without a distance learning education loan, few | | | | programs at a fixed interest rate of five percent. |
| students can afford to pay for distance learning, but | | | | Because schools will make a distance learning |
| there are so many kinds of aid available that the | | | | education loan to enrolled students, the loans are |
| student who is interested in obtaining financial aid can | | | | usually transferred internally through a college's bursar's |
| feel overwhelmed. The three major kinds of financial | | | | office. If you receive a Perkins Loan, expect to see |
| aid that are available include scholarships, grants and | | | | your loan amount credited in two equal installments: |
| education loans. A distance learning education loan can | | | | one for the fall semester, and the other in the spring. |
| be obtained by prospective students as there are | | | | Unlike personal loans that fluctuate with the prime rate, |
| many types of loans available from the federal | | | | Perkins Loan recipients enjoy the stability of the same |
| government. Two major categories of federal | | | | interest rate throughout their repayment period. |
| education loans are Perkins Loans and Stafford loans. | | | | Graduates can save a significant amount of money by |
| Federal Perkins loans | | | | paying off their Perkins Loans early, since there is no |
| The federal government provides colleges and | | | | pre-payment penalty. |
| universities with a mechanism to lend money directly to | | | | Stafford Loans |
| students through the Federal Perkins Loan program. | | | | Stafford loans provide some tax benefits to students |
| Financial aid directors and admissions counselors | | | | as they grow their careers after graduation. Many |
| usually work together through the application cycle to | | | | adults can claim the interest paid on student loan debts |
| determine which candidates might be swayed to enroll | | | | for tax purposes, with a maximum of $2,500, as a |
| at their institution with the extra help that these loans | | | | write off. |
| provide. Perkins Loans are extended only to full-time | | | | Graduate students can also take advantage of loan |
| students that meet all academic requirements at their | | | | programs, although fewer scholarships and grants |
| college or university. | | | | exist to help pay for advanced degree programs. |
| Depending on a number of factors, including the | | | | Graduate students can borrow up to $18,500 each |
| income of a student's family and their collected | | | | year from guaranteed lenders. Of that amount, only |
| savings, undergraduates can qualify for up to $4,000 | | | | $8,500 can be subsidized. The Stafford Loan program |
| each school year under the Perkins Loan program. | | | | for graduate students caps out at $138,500, including all |
| The loans cap out at $20,000 during an individual's | | | | loans disbursed during a student's undergraduate |
| undergraduate degree program. Graduate students | | | | program. |
| may receive up to $6,000 per year in assistance from | | | | With the cost of college education rising every year, |
| their schools, with a lifetime cap of $40,000 in Perkins | | | | more students and their families turn to a distance |
| Loan advances. Students must begin to repay Perkins | | | | learning education loan to bridge the gap left when |
| Loans to their institutions nine months after they | | | | savings and scholarships cannot pay all of the tuition |
| graduate, or nine months after they drop to part-time | | | | bills. For most young Americans, a student loan is their |
| status. Loan recipients can take up to ten years to pay | | | | first encounter with major debt. |
| off the loans they accrued during their degree | | | | |