Education loans are meant for people whose income is not high enough to attend school. With high education costs high and the availability of education loans, many people are opting for these loans.

Educational loans are of many kinds: according to the sponsor (federal or private), according to the beneficiary (undergraduate, continuing education, insurance loans, parent loans, payment loans), according to the course: law school, medical school, dental school, MBA, general graduate, or post graduate. There are also career loans for people who are pursuing graduate or postgraduate education on a part to full-time basis.

These days, getting an educational loan has become very easy. There are online application as well as telephone applications. The requirements are often simple-- social security number, date of birth, employers name, phone number, years of employment, gross annual income (adjusted gross income for self employed individuals) and monthly rent or mortgage payment. There are many loan options to choose from. Repayment options are also sundry. They include standard repayment, graduate repayment, income-sensitive repayment, consolidation, and pre-payment.

Loans from the government have lower interest rates. These include the poplular Stafford loans. Stafford loans are of two kinds: subsidized and unsubsidized. These loans are insured by the government. The government pays the interest for subsidized loans while the recipient is in school at least half-time. These are for people who have low financial status. The rate of interest for the federal Stafford loan is 4.70% during in-school period and 5.30% during the repayment period. There is also the parent loan for undergraduate students (PLUS) that allows parents to borrow any amount up to the cost of education. These are for parents who have dependent undergraduate students. Other loans for parents are: the college loan for parents or sponsors, and independent school loans for K-12. The federal PLUS loan has an interest rate of 6.10%. Other loan rates range from 6 to 10%.

Private loans are useful when government loans are not sufficient in meeting educational needs. These are not guaranteed by the federal government. Certain credit guidelines are applicable for issuing these loans. These are mostly provided by private trusts. Some are offered by the school or universities.

Educational loans can also be applied for online. There are easy loan calculators and online forms for applying for these loans. More information can be obtained from the school or the universitys scholarship office.