STUDENT LOAN COMPARISION

TYPES OF LOANS	ELIGIBILITY	LOAN AMOUNT	INTEREST RATE	REPAYMENT PERIOD
Federal Perkins Loans	Undergraduate and graduate students; do not have to be enrolled at least half-time*	Undergraduate—up to $4,000 a year (maximum of $20,000 as an undergraduate) Graduate—up to $6,000 a year (maximum of $40,000, including undergraduate loans) Amount actually received depends on fnancial need, amount of other aid, availability of funds at school	5 percent	Lender is your school Repay your school or its agent Up to 10 years to repay, depending on amount owed
FFEL Stafford Loans	Undergraduate and graduate students; must be enrolled at least half-time*	Depends on grade level in school and dependency status (see chart on page 11) Financial need not necessary	Changes yearly; for 2005-06 was 5.3 percent for loans in repayment For those with fnancial need, government pays interest during school and certain other periods	Lender is a bank, credit union, or other participating private lender Repay the loan holder or its agent Between 10 and 25 years to repay, depending on amount owed and type of repayment plan selected
Direct Stafford Loans	Same as above	Same as above	Same as above	Lender is the U.S. Department of Education; repay Department Between 10 and 30 years to repay, depending on amount owed and type of repayment plan selected
FFEL PLUS Loans	Parents of depen­dent undergraduate students enrolled at least half-time* (see dependency status); parents must not have negative credit history	Student’s Cost of Attendance* - Other aid student receives ___________________________	Changes yearly; for 2005-06, was 6.1 percent for loans in repayment; government does not pay interest	Same as for FFEL Stafford Loans above
		= Maximum loan amount
Direct PLUS Loans	Same as above	Same as above	Same as above	Same as for Direct Stafford Loans above, except that Income Contingent Repayment Plan is not an option