Often there are college students who have an exceptional financial need. These students may not have any scholarships or any savings to fall back on. Maybe their parents don't have the savings and maybe their parents have bad credit, making it difficult for the student to get a student loan.

Ideal Student Loan for Exceptional Financial Need

The ideal student loan offered by Sallie Mae lenders in a case like this is called a Federal Perkins loan. It has a very low interest rate and there is a longer grace period for repayment in this program.

To receive this student loan students must be enrolled at least as a halftime student in an accredited degree program. It is for US citizens or permanent residency citizens and some eligible non-citizens of the US.

To maintain this student loan students must show satisfactory academic progress. There must be no defaults on any of the Title IV educational loans and grants that may have been used in the past.

How the Federal Perkins Student Loan Works

What happens is the US Department of Education programs a certain amount of funding to schools. Those schools determine which students have the greatest need. The school combines the funds with some of its own funds and creates student loans to qualifying students.

To apply for this loan program an application must be submitted. The free application for Federal student aid is called FAFSA. When using the Federal Perkins student loan the school will pay the students or apply the loan to the school charges. The loan comes in two payments during the academic year.

The Parent PLUS Loan for Parents of Dependent Students

The Perkins student loan has many similarities to the Stafford loan. The most notable difference is that the Perkins loan has no fees and has a longer grace period.

The Parent PLUS loan is an additional Federally sponsored type of student loan. It is a low interest loan for the parents of undergraduates who are their dependents.

With a Parent PLUS loan the family can fund the entire cost of the student's education, minus any other financial aid such as scholarships or other student loans.