College is expensive. So expensive, that most people can pay for it all out of pocket. If you don’t have a college fund all saved up, you have to work to save, apply for scholarships, and look for grants. In fact, your probably already doing this frantically.

A lucky few are born into wealth. They are fortunate enough to have their parents foot the bill for their entire college education. Other people are really smart and get full scholarships to college.

The rest of us don’t have these luxuries, no matter how hard we try. We have to try to save by going to a state school or a community college first. We apply for every scholarship that we even just remotely qualify for, and we save every penny. After that, we have to get loans.

As bad as it sounds to have to take out a loan, if you can’t pay, you have to do it. As much as you hate to do it, it’s just what you need to do. Most college students will have to take out a student loan.

The first place you should look when getting a loan is with the government. Most other personal loans have much higher interest rates. You could even pay with a credit card if you want, but they will charge you a huge interest rate that you must avoid at all costs to save a lot of money. The first government student loan you should look at is the Stafford Loan.

The Stafford Loan can be used for any 2 or 4 year college, university, or trade school. It must be used for tuition and you can borrow up to $4,000 each year. You can choose either a subsidized or unsubsidized loan.

The subsidized loan is created for those in extreme financial need. The government will pay the interest for you during your attendance in college and for until six months after you graduate. You have to qualify for financial need to get this loan.

The Stafford loan is the first place you should look if you are considering a loan. You will have to pay it back, so make you have have plans to repay when you graduate.