Distance Learning Students: What Kinds Of Student Loans Are Available?

There are many different types of financial aid available to students to help with or cover the costs of higher education. These include scholarships, federal aid, federal student loans, and bank credit products designed for students. Not all undergraduate and graduate students opt to undertake their studies by physically attending a university, with some people opting to take the often cheaper option of completing their studies by distance learning.

If you are considering taking this approach to your own university studies, you may be interested to know that many of the options available to students attending a "bricks and mortar" school campus are also available to those studying online or via other forms of distance learning. These include the two most common types of student loans - the Perkins Loan and the Stafford Loan.

To be eligible for one of these types of loan, you must be enrolled at least half time (your Financial Aid Office will be able to tell you if this is the case with your course) at an eligible institution. You can check the Department of Education's website to see if the distance learning school you are studying with is on the list of eligible institutions. You must also be a US citizen or national, or have permanent residency in the US to qualify. Additionally, you must have declared your major, and be studying towards a degree or certification - undergraduate and post graduate courses are both applicable.

The Perkins Loan has the lowest rate of interest, at 5% APR which is fixed, and also has the option of subsidized interest for some people. To be eligible for this loan you not only have to meet the basic criteria as described above, but you also need to be able to demonstrate that compared to other students and a baseline, you are in financial need of assistance. There is no credit check for this type of loan, but it is highly sought after by students so if you need this one, apply as early as you possibly can.

The Stafford loan does not require you to demonstrate the same levels of financial hardship as the Perkins Loan, but has a higher interest rate. Like the Perkins loan, this can sometimes be subsidized, especially while you are still in education. The amount you can get varies wildly depending on whether you are a dependent of your parents and the course you are undertaking - independent graduate students tend to get the largest loans. There are some schemes with certain jobs in the public sector (such as teaching) whereby you may not have to pay back a Stafford loan when you start work, so if you are interested in becoming a teacher this could be a really good scheme for you.

To apply for these loans, the first step is to submit an FAFSA form, which is used to determine what kind of aid and loans can be awarded to different students, both federally and by your school. This process is exactly the same for a distance learning student as for an on campus one.