The standard route for student loans is through the Stafford Loan and Pell Grant programs either funded or guaranteed by the federal government.  Pell Grants are generally available only to low income undergraduate students.  The first step in applying for either is completion of the FAFSA document: the Free Application for Federal Student Aid.  This form and the document you submit  with it establishes what amount you and/or your family would be expected to pay towards a year of college, and therefore what amount you are eligible for in terms of a student loan.

Stafford and GradPLus Loans

Stafford Loans are the standard federal loans for college, made available to graduate students as well as undergrads.  There is no interest charged during your college years and when the interest is activated it can be as low as 5.6%.  Your repayment schedule is based on the total amount that you borrow.  There is a ceiling on the amount available through this program; you don’t want to have to augment your federal college loans with private borrowing which will be much more expensive.

The GradPlus program is another federally guaranteed loan program through which a student can fund the entire cost of graduate school.  The interest does not begin to accrue until after graduation on these loans either; however the current fixed interest rate is 7.9%.  The difference between this loan and a general student loan is that in most cases the interest on this package is tax deductible.

Nursing Education Loan Repayment Program

The Health Resources and Services Administration has a program in place for partial repayment of student loans for nurses.  In exchange for two years of service in a location that has poor medical services; participants receive 60% of their total qualifying nursing education loan balance. There is also an option for a third year of service in return for another 25% of that balance.  This is in addition to the salary and benefits being paid by the facility where you are working.  It is a selective program that gives priority to students who work at certain types of facilities as described on the program website.  But if you are a nurse who has powered through a BSN and MSN program that loan balance can be a substantial sum.