Student Loans for U.S. Grad Students, are they TOUGH to get right now?

Luis:

If you qualify for aid from the Federal Student Aid program, you will not have any difficulty finding access to loan funds for graduate school.

The US Department of Education offers the same Stafford loan, that you may already be familiar with, and they offer the Graduate PLUS loan post-bachelor's students as well.

The maximum borrowing limit for the Stafford is $20,500 a year, and as always with the Stafford program, an applicant does not need to answer any questions about income, debts, or assets on the Stafford application. The lender will not require a credit check, or a cosigner.

If you need more than $20,500, you can supplement your Stafford borrowing with the Graduate PLUS program, which will lend you up to the amount of your remaining need. However, unlike the Stafford, there IS a credit check involved in the PLUS application process. Don't let that put you off, because the acceptable standard for PLUS approval is "no adverse history", which means that you're not in BIG trouble with your past creditors.

If you have bankruptcies or foreclosures, you probably won't be approved for a PLUS, but the standards are a lot more relaxed than they are for a typical loan of that amount.

Being able to borrow for graduate school is not really the problem - loan money is far more available, and with fewer limits than it is for undergrads.

In fact, the problem isn't getting the money, at all - the problem is borrowing conservatively enough that you will be able to manage the repayments. While some graduate degrees will reliably insure lots of job opportunities and significant income, other programs will only prepare you for a $38,000 position that won't comfortably cover your loan costs.

Your first homework assignment for graduate school is to determine how much you can reasonably afford to borrow, given the likely jobs that will await you when you complete your program.

Good luck to you - I hope this information helped.

Luis, with Student Loan you can never ascertain anything. It's not like federal govt is unreasonably picky, but they need some assurance on student's part as well. When going for student loan always go for the authenticated companies, also look out for scholarships & grants available and never go for exorbitant loans without giving a thought to repayment.

I think this: http://www.studentloaninfo.org/blog/grant-money-co... will help you more in understanding the scenario for student loan.

-Good Luck !

It's more private loans that are the problem these days. With graduate loans you should be fine.

Nope, not at all.

Only time you'll have problems is for private loans.