Normally, graduate students pay for tuition fee more than undergraduate. Therefore, the main purpose of graduate loans is to help fund their education. There are two venues in which graduate students can obtain graduate loans: the government and private entities, (who provide alternative graduate loans). Each of these is discussed in more detail below.
1. Government Graduate Loans
This type of loan is the same as undergraduate loan. The only difference is name. Like undergraduates, graduates have the opportunity to get a Stafford or Perkins loan from the government.
Stafford graduate loans are available to any graduate student regardless of their financial situation. Two types of Stafford graduate loans exist: subsidized and unsubsidized. The difference in the two lies in who pays the interest. For subsidized Stafford graduate loans, the government pays the interest. Students pay for the interest in unsubsidized Stafford graduate loans, though there is the option of not having to make payments until after graduation.
A Perkins graduate loan is available to students who demonstrate financial hardship. It has an interest rate of only 5 percent and can...