Financial Aid for Students

Financial aid goes all the way back to 1643 when Lady Anne Radcliffe Mowlson offered the first scholarship of financial aid at Harvard University. But the first major leap for financial aid came during World War II. President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Servicemen’s Readjustment Act of 1944, otherwise known as the GI Bill, to help soldiers returning home from war get an education. In the 1980s the Pell Grant emerged, offering lower-income students the chance at financial aid they otherwise wouldn’t have.
Today, financial aid can still be achieved but it’s much more difficult to come by in the form of grants. For those (and their parents) who make just a little too much to qualify for a grant, a form of financial aid that doesn’t have to be repaid, there are a variety of financial loan programs to choose from. The three main loans available are:

Federal Perkins Loan

This loan is for undergraduate and graduate students. This college loan is borrowed from the college or university. The interest on this financial aid loan is a fixed rate and comes with a rate 5 %.

Stafford Loan

These types of loans are for both undergraduate and graduate students. Stafford college loan programs, Direct and FFEL Stafford loans, are the two types available and are borrowed either through the federal government or the college, depending on which financial aid loan program is chosen. A fee of 4% is added onto to the loan total with an interest rate not to exceed 8.25 % per year.

Another Loan

This loan is similar to the Stafford Loan but the borrower is the parents and not the student(s) and they can borrow the full tuition amount with this loan. Any extra funds leftover after paying for tuition, fees, dorms, etc. are sent to the parents. A 4 % fee amount is added to financial aid college loan total with an interest rate no higher than 9 %.