How To Apply For Government Student Loans

By Author: Jimmy Chuang
Total Articles: 21
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Federal government student loans are usually the first loan option that many students consider when trying to pursue a higher education and are in need of more financial aid.

Most students will first, of course, look for the so called "free money" that is provided in the form of scholarships, bursaries or grants or in some cases from a business that pays for their degree in return for a contracted employment after graduation.

Government student loans may either be subsidized or unsubsidized. They can be loans such as the Stafford or Perkins, or even loans for parents such as the PLUS loans.

Subsidized loan interest doesn't start accruing until after the grace period after graduation. Hence, when a student graduates after a 4 year education, if the student borrowed $20,000—they will respectively only owe the original $20,000.

While unsubsidized student loans start charging interest while the student is still in school, regardless of if the student wants to decrease future loan payments by paying the interest while in school.

Students may or may not qualify for subsidized loans depending ...
... on their resources and their current financial means and needs. From your own home, quite a few simple government student loan applications can be completed.

By answering some simple questions online, you can easily complete a FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) and know if you qualify almost instantly. This application will let you know if you need to have parental consent to continue with the application and will also provide you with a set of worksheets that will allow you to determine what amount of government student loans you are eligible to receive.

You will then fill out the FAFSA online or print out the forms, complete them and return them to the address provided. You can also create a PIN or personal identification number that will act as your signature on any documents you have to submit.

Before submitting your application, you can answer the questions and even double check to make any corrections that need to be made after saving your application. A SAR (Student Aid Report) is provided after the submission of the FAFSA. This information is available online for government student's loans using the same PIN number and website as the FAFSA application.

Other schools listed on your form can also access your electronic copy. By simply using your PIN on the website, you can easily make corrections and additions to the processed SAR.
Need a Student Loan? Learn how to Consolidate Student Loans & reduce monthly payment. Visit our Student Loans help center.