Student loans are only part of the available funds for attending college. Scholarships may be sponsored by the school or by private agencies or individuals. Grants also may be school or private. The best known, such as the Pell Grant or the Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (FSEOG), are government sponsored.
Like these programs, loans can be offered by the government or financial institutions. The government offers several student loan programs. They are the Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL), William D. Ford Federal Direct (Direct) Loan and Perkins/Nursing Student Loan Programs, in which funds are loaned directly to the student, and PLUS loans where the parent of the student is the borrower.
Stafford Loans
Both the FFEL and the Direct loans are “Stafford Loans”. The difference is where the money actually comes from. The FFEL is through a bank or credit union and guaranteed by the federal government. The Direct is lended directly from the government.
