Alternative Education Loans
If you have received a federal Stafford and/or PLUS loan, checked into scholarships, applied for funding, and still have expenditure to cover for college, now is the time to think about an alternative or private loan. Alternative loans usually have higher interest rates, more charges, and less flexible repayment choices than federal loan programs.
They should be used only if you need additional finances after obtaining financial aid through scholarships, allowance and federal loan programs. And also when you are ineligible to receive Stafford or Graduate PLUS loans or your parents are ineligible (or not interested) to receive a Parent PLUS loan. Alternative loans are not the part of federal programs like the Federal Family Education Loan Program. So, loan terms and limits differ substantially by program and lender.