College student loans, financial aid, private college student loans, scholarships, grants. What does it all mean? It can be very confusing once a pre-college student has decided to take that step. Unless, they have a really rich uncle somewhere, what to do next can be a challenge. I was hoping I could help you out a little with these many decisions that now must be made.

One of the very first things all pre-college students should do is go to the FASFA online free application and fill it out. This particular application is what is need qualify you for any financial aid assistance. Financial aid assistance will include college student loans backed by the federal government at a low interest rate, and grants such as a Pell grant. This is free money you will never have to pay back (unless you quit school).

There are many different college student loans that could be awarded to you, such as a Stafford College Student Loan. This particular student loan will come in two different forms, subsidized and unsubsidized. A subsidized student loan is when the government pays all the interest that accrues. When you start paying back the student loan you will only pay the principle as the government will take care of the interest. An unsubsidized student loan just means you will be responsible for the interest. You can either pay the interest while in school or when the loan becomes ready to be paid back you will be paying principle and interest at the same time.

The Stafford College Student Loan is one of the most popular loans but there are many other ones as well. There is the Parent PLUS College Student Loan. This student loan is specifically designed for the parent of the college student to obtain. The interest rate will be slightly higher than the Stafford, but still very affordable. There is also a Graduate PLUS College student loan. This student loan is designed for the graduate college student going on to continue there education.

Next with the financial aid package you may be entitled to receive a grant. A federal grant is an award of financial aid assistance from a federal government agency to a college student. As I mentioned earlier you will not have to pay a grant back. It is not a student loan.

Once one has reached this place of knowledge in there quest for tuition/schooling money, if more is needed they would generally now apply for a private college student loan. A private college student loan would be obtained by a bank or financial institution. You can obtain information from your schools financial aid office, a local bank, or even on line. Because you are new at this game and have probably not establish much of a credit history the chances are you will need to obtain a co-signer. You should always solicit someone with great credit. This will only lower your interest rate, making your payments much easier to deal with once you start paying off your student loans.

This is a very brief break down of how to start and what to do. I hope you find it helpful.

Students, You May Submit the 2008-2009 FAFSA on the Web Applications by midnight CDT, June 30, 2009 at fafsa.ed.gov - it is important to note that STATE deadlines are much earlier than this Federal deadline listed. A good start date is January 2nd of each year for both State and Federal FAFSA submissions. State deadlines are at: fafsa.ed.gov/before003a.htm