What is a Graduate School Loan?
Students interested in pursing their graduation very often find it difficult to choose a proper loan scheme for funding their graduation program. Considering the nature of graduation and the schools in which they are interested in pursuing their studies the loans are sanctioned.
What are the different kinds of Graduate School Loans?
Two types of Graduate School Loans are available one is the Federal Graduate School Loan and the other is the Private Graduate School Loan. List of graduate school loans are as follows:
- Federal Stafford Loan: Under this program the annual borrowing limit is up to $20,000. You are eligible provided you are already enrolled in the course of study for at least half the period of study. You need to submit a FAFSA application and submit a promissory note. The funds are directly sent to school. It is a need based loan. The loans are offered for a fixed rate of interest with repayment flexibility up to 10 years.
- Graduate Private Loans: You are eligible to apply provided you are a US citizen with a minimum age of majority .Loans are offered under variable rates of interest where the repayment period extends as far as 20 years. The amount of loan disbursed every year should not cross $70,000. The loan amount is handed over to the borrower. The credit score of the borrower decides the availability of loan.
- Graduate Plus: This is a subsidized loan program where the loan is granted for amount required after subtracting the subsidy received from Stafford Loan and guaranteed by the Federal Government. With a fixed rate of interest, the loans are disbursed to the school of study. You are allowed to repay with in a period of 10 years. Maintaining a good credit is must to qualify for this loan.
In all the above schemes the repayment option is either a standard amount or a graduating payment or an income based repayment option or extended loan terms with low monthly liability. The above loans are available for all study programs. There are many loans schemes available which are specific to the course of study taken up namely, dental medical, law, business, MBA, nursing and other graduate school loans. |
