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Stafford Loans for Students

Eligibility criteria
To qualify for this program, you must be enrolled in a postsecondary educational program leading to a postsecondary degree or certificate. There are other requirements.  For more information, read

Description
Stafford Loans are available for undergraduate and graduate students and come from one of two sources:

• Direct Stafford Loans are made by the U.S. Department of Education. You repay a Federal Direct Stafford Loan to the U.S. Department of Education.
  
  
• Federal Stafford Loans are made through Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) Program.  While FFEL funds come from private lenders, such as banks and credit unions, they are subsidized and supported by the U.S. Department of Education.   You repay a FFEL Stafford Loan to the private lender that made the loan or to its designated agency.

Whether you receive a Direct or FFEL Stafford Loan depends on the program in which your school participates.  In either case the terms of the loan (loan amounts, interest rate, and other benefits) are generally the same.

For both the Direct and FFEL programs there are two types of Stafford Loans:

A subsidized loan is awarded on the basis of financial need, as determined by the information you submit on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).  If you are eligible for a subsidized Stafford loan you will not be charged interest while you are in school on an at least half-time basis, during a grace period of up to six months after you are no longer enrolled on at least a �half-time� basis, or during certain defined deferment periods.  The Federal government pays (subsidizes) the interest during these periods.

An unsubsidized loan is not awarded on the basis of need.  But you still must apply using the FAFSA.  For unsubsidized loans, you will be charged interest from the time the loan is disbursed until it is paid off in full.  However, you can choose to defer payment of interest while you are in school and during any grace or deferment period.  However, if you allow interest to accrue (accumulate) during these periods, it will be capitalized.  This means that interest will be added to the principal amount of your loan, and additional interest will be based on that higher amount.

Managing Organization
U.S. Department of Education

Program contact information and web resources
To determine whether you are eligible to receive assistance through this program, you must first complete a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). Schools use this information from the FAFSA to determine your eligibility for most Federal student aid programs and for many state, institutional, and private aid programs.

You may complete the FAFSA online

Additional useful information may be obtained from the U.S. Department of Education, at U.S. Department of Education

For general information about the Federal student aid programs, assistance in completing the FAFSA, and information about FAFSA on the Web, call the Federal Student Aid Information Center (FSAIC) at:
800-433-3243

People who are hearing impaired may call this toll-free number:
800-325-0778

TTY users for the hearing impaired can call:
800-730-8913

Callers in locations without access to 800 numbers may call the following non-toll free number:
319-337-5665


To report fraud, waste, and abuse involving Federal student aid funds, call:
1-800-647-8733

The U.S. Department of Education's Student Aid on the Web--the gateway to Federal student aid, offers a single source of free information not only for applying for Federal aid, but also on choosing a career, selecting a school, and identifying non-Federal resources to pay for higher education. See Student Aid

For information about Education Consolidation Loans, visit the The Student Guide<

Or click on the "Repaying" tab and then scroll down to the topic "Loan Consolidation." You can double click on the title "Loan Consolidation" for additional screens of information at Loan Consolidation and the U.S. Department of Education's Federal Direct Loan Consolidation

The National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS) is a centralized database that stores information on all student loans as well as school enrollment information. See National Student Loan Data System

In addition to loans, the U.S. Department of Education provides Pell Grants to students with financial need. Pell Grants do not have to be repaid, see: Pell Grants

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