Click here to listen to this chapter

A student loan is a type of loan designed to help students pay for post-secondary education costs such as tuition, books, supplies, and living expenses. If you apply for financial aid, your school will likely include student loans as part of your financial aid package. It is important to understand what types of loans you are offered. Generally, there are two types of student loans: (a) Federal and (b) Private student loans.

It is always advisable to search for scholarships and grants before you resort to borrowing student loans. But if you NEED to borrow money to pay for college or career school, it is best to start with federal student loans.

This module is designed to help you fully understand the ramifications of acquiring debt to finance your education. This financial literacy module is not meant to discourage you from acquiring debt in order to follow your dreams. Instead, it is to help you get adequate financial information in order to make informed financial decisions and manage debt wisely so that you can achieve your dreams.

Every student can regularly visit Federal Student Aid, the official website of the U.S. Department of Education, to stay up to date on student loan information. This module will also provide information beyond the mechanics of getting student loans to finance your education.

To successfully understand student loans, you can follow five steps listed below. Let's get started!

Chapter 1. What are the differences between federal and private student loans?

Chapter 2. Terminology and resources

Chapter 3. How to be a responsible borrower?

Chapter 4. How to enter student loan repayment gracefully?

Chapter 5. How to manage your student loan repayment?

Test your knowledge!