Federal student loans are unlike private student loans due to the fact that they are not provided by independent private lenders, and are rather made by directly via the Department of Education. Up until 2010 about 75% of all federal student loans were made as part of the FFELP Loan Program (Federal Family Education Loan [...]

The Federal Perkins Loan Program is a unique kind of federal student loan that is made available to both undergraduate, and graduate students who demonstrate an exceptional level of financial need. It is only made available at roughly 1,800 postsecondary institutions from across the nation, and is overall a very difficult type of federal education [...]

Direct Stafford Loans are federal student loans that are made available by the Department of Education via the Direct Loan Program. They were previously offered as part of both the Direct Loan Program, and as part of the Federal Family Education Loan Program (FFELP), but after the passing of the Health Care and Education Reconciliation [...]

Direct PLUS Loans are federal student loans that are based upon credit, require a separate application beyond the FAFSA, and can provide up to the cost of attendance in aid for any particular school year. There are two types of Direct PLUS Loans: The Direct PLUS Loan for Parents The Direct PLUS Loan for Graduate [...]