Qualifying for grant is good but that doesn’t mean that grants will cover your entire tuition costs, books, dorm fees and the cost of living in general. That’s why loans are needed to counter those financial needs in college. This is the main reason also for which students are knee deep in debt when they graduate.

Federal student loans are the most affordable loans for students and the Perkins Loan is a major component in the federal student loan arsenal. Perkins Loans have plenty of benefits and features that make it an excellent loan for eligible students.

Perkins Loans are having following major features:

• Low cost and interest rate
• Need based
• Available through participating colleges and universities
• There is optional loan cancellation for eligible borrowers
• Available for eligible undergraduate and graduate students
• Grace period of 9 months
• No-Fee
• No credit check is required

Explanation of Federal Perkins Loan

The Perkins Loan program is a campus based financial aid and it’s available for both undergraduate and graduate eligible students. Annual Federal Perkins Loans are received by participating in colleges and universities. The schools determine which are the most financially deserving students for Perkins funds. Money is awarded on first come, first served basis so it’s necessary for students to accept as early as possible when they qualify for the Perkins Loans. Some of schools pad the Perkins loans with their own funds so that more students can qualify. Perkins Loans are fee-free with 9 months grace period unlike other federal loans, which are usually having 6 months grace period.

When you accept the Perkins Loan then you can borrow from any campus of your choice. This is a subsidized loan; means that government will the interest that accrues on your loan while you are in school and during the grace period. An undergraduate student is limited to $4,000 per year with a lifetime limit of $20,000; and for a graduate student limit is $6,000 a year and $40,000 lifetime limit.

Most of students qualify for a Stafford Loan and not all colleges and universities participate in the Perkins program, while in the grand scheme of things the Perkins Loan may be the lowest cost loan available.

Requirements for a Perkins Loan

The main requirement for qualifying for a Federal Perkins Loan is showing exceptional financial need. However aside from income brackets there are also few other requirements you need to know about. Such as:

• You must be enrolled in school at least half –time.
• You must be enrolled in that college or institution that participates in the program.
• You must be a U.S. citizen, a permanent resident or a non-citizen that is eligible.
• You won’t be having any defaulted history on an education loan in the past.
• You must be registered with the Selective Service.
• You must be having at least satisfactory grades.

Applying for a Perkins Loan

As for all federal aids its necessary to file FAFSA, same its necessary to file FAFSA in order to be considered for a Perkins Loan. After filing FAFSA government will determine your eligibility, you can request Perkins Loan assistance. When you will submit your FAFSA then you should receive your Student Aid Report (SAR) in the mail. Your Expected Family Contribution (EFC) is outlined in the SAR. The EFC is amount of money that you will pay out of your pocket or with loans for your tuition. After few weeks you will also receive award letters from the colleges to which you had applied detailing the types of financial aid you have qualified for, may be included with Perkins Loan. You must have to return the award letter indicating what financial aid you are accepting in order to receive any money.

If you will be approved for Perkins Loan funds then you must let your school know and the sooner the better; funds are limited and often disbursed on a first come, first served basis.

Repayment of the Perkins Loan

In the last few months of your college education your school provides you with loan repayment information related to Perkins Loan. You will be having 9 months grace period so that you can get settle and get a job before your repayment kicks in.

Loan Cancellation for Teachers

Students who go into public teaching jobs may qualify for Perkins Loan cancellation on whole or a part. If you are having plan to teach in a low income public school district, teaching special education students, teach in a shortage area, or teach a subject designated as a shortage (science, math, foreign language) then your Perkins Loan will be partially canceled for every year you served.

Financial aid award letters from the colleges where you had applied and been accepted. Now there are several different financial aid offerings. So the question is that how to know that which school package is right for you and what the terms in that package meant? Which package is better than another for you?

Features included in financial aid award letters

Here are the main features that are mostly included in college financial aid award letters:

• Cost of Attendance
• Expected Family Contribution (EFC)
• Federal Grants
• Subsidized federal loan offer
• Unsubsidized federal loan offer
• Institutional grants and scholarships
• Unmet need

Learn and try to understand each of these award letter features and compare them.

Cost of Attendance (COA)

College award letter will always give you an exact figure of the cost to attend the college. It is not cost of tuition. Cost of Attendance (COA) is comprised of following features:

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Majority of students takes loan from numerous sources for supporting their studies. As loans are loans and that should have to be paid back at some point unlike the scholarships, financial aids or grants. A student who takes loan not only pays back the total amount but also it must be repaid with interest. Commonly college graduates pays back these loans in 10 years.

There is no doubt about that college is one of most expensive investments in your lifetime. As the National Postsecondary Student Aid Study (NPSAS) shows that 65% of four-year undergraduate students take out student loans to help paying for college.

Student loans are inclusive to undergrads but as matter of fact grad students needs more financial leverage than undergrad students.

Most Common Types of Student Loans

There are total six types of most common loans, which are taken by students mostly. These are:

• Federal Student Loans
• Private Students Loans
• Student Loans with bad of poor credit
• Student Consolidation Loans
• Alternative Loans
• Institutional Loans

Federal Student Loans

The Federal Family Education Loan Program’s (FFELP) main purpose is to provide additional financial aid to American college students and their families. Stafford Loans, Perkins Loans and Federal Consolidation Loans are included in Federal Student Loans.

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Education should be made available to everyone who wants to excel and learn. But due to the rising cost of college and tuitions, it is not possible for everyone to achieve his or her goals. Many students and parents look for options to help them finance their college education, but is it also possible to get student loans if you have a bad credit rating?

Are there any student loans available that do not check your credit rating before giving you the loan?

Fortunately the answer is yes!

High ambitioned students should not be disappointed, as the US Department of Education has made sure that everyone who wants to get education should get a chance to do so. The Federal Student Financial Aid Program is designed to help the deserving students that require loans.

Federal Student Loans

Federal Student loans are loans that are provided by the federal government to students or their parents in order to fund one’s education. The first step to apply for the federal loan, even if you have a bad credit rating or not, should be to file the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).

by applying for this single application, you are in fact applying for every form of federal aid for which you are eligible. This provides a great opportunity for the students with bad credit ratings as the federal financial aid program is specially designed for all students to make college affordable.

The US Department of Education does not take your credit rating into consideration when you apply for federal aid because the governmentt understands that most traditional college students have not yet had an opportunity to build their credit. But the same eligibility requirements apply even if you have had the opportunity to build your credit, and have mismanaged it, or if you are a non-traditional or graduate student.

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The Obama administration is paying special attention towards students and in order to promote college education, new plans have been introduced to help college students. According to this plan, paying accumulated debt throughout college will be more affordable—including smaller payment requirements at a minimal interest rate.

The new administration realizes that more than 65 percent of college students are getting loans to pay for their higher education. Therefore in order to help them, it has been decided that they will be given the opportunity to repay loans at a rate dictated by income and family size.

Although students will have to wait until July 1, 2010, the good news is that there are potential plans that include canceling the remaining balance on the loan after 25 years and forgive loans for people who work in public service after 10 years.

But along with the good news, there is some bad too. Before students consider the smallest payment plan or switch majors to enter the public service industry, such forgiveness will result in accumulated interest and may draw attention from the Internal Revenue Service. Michigan students, in conjunction with peers nationwide, will not be exempted from the IRS as forgiven debts are generally considered taxable income.

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Are you thinking about stopping your studies just because your parents have bad credit ? Is it a fact that your parents having hard time meeting your educational expenses? If the answer is positive to any of the above questions then it is time when you must start thinking about getting a student loan to complete your studies.  I am sure you already have started looking at what loans are available in market. The most difficult part about getting a student loan is finding a cosigner.  Almost 50% of all students who need loans for their studies do not apply for a loan simply because they can’t find a willing cosigner.  Not being able to complete studies because you can’t find a cosigner to guarantee the student loan is unfortunate.

Some institutions have moved forward to help such students. They are now offering easy loans for students without the requirement of a cosigner. these are called no-cosigner student loans. They are another form of no credit check student loans.

Just because you have no credit history does not mean that you can not apply to get  student loan. There are not many institutions that provide such loans but they do exist and all you have to do is to reach out to them.  These institutions provide you assistance to help you complete your study without worrying about money.  These are also called Federal student loans.

Under Federal student loan program,  students or their parents are provided with financial assistance and loans to help them complete higher and secondary education without requiring a cosigner.

There are some other programs like  Federal Stafford Loans and Perkins student loans. These programs provide easy student loans for bright students who meet the criteria to get the student loan with out cosigner.

Main criteria to get a student loan with out cosigner is that the applicant should be a traditional student and should have no credit history.  Normally these loans are obtained by students without a credit history as well as those whose parents have bad credit due to financial difficulties.

I have listed below Steps and Instructions on how to get student loans if you have no credit history.

1. Complete your research about federal student loans.
2. Make sure you are a traditional student and do not qualify for a credit check.
3. Applying  is the most important step to secure a no cosigner student loan. Just fill the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). This is way to go internal part of loan. It will help you to not only to get loans but also secure grant money if applicable. To fill this form you need your parent’s income tax return and if you worked then your’s and some other information you have to provide.
4. When you are applying for Stafford loans, it would be either subsidized or unsubsidized depending on who is going to pay the interest when you are a student. The sanctioned amount is very low and this is for needy students.
5. Perkins loans are designed for those students who are in highest financial need. It has 5% interest rate and longer payable term.

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