Thinking of borrowing to help pay some of your college cost? Check out the two main types of student loans: Federal Perkins loans and Federal Stafford loans.

Perkins Loan
A Perkins loan is offered to undergraduate and graduate students who can show financial need. (You'll need to fill out an application for financial aid.) The school you attend will serve as your lender, although the loan is made with government funds.

Perkins loans allow you to borrow a maximum of $4,000 per year for undergraduate study. You begin repaying the loan nine months after you either graduate or leave school or your student status drops below half-time. You may be able to pay the loan back over as many as 10 years.

Stafford Loan
Stafford loan funds also come from the federal government, though they reach you through a school or bank. Stafford loans can be either subsidized or unsubsidized. A subsidized loan comes with the promise that the government will pay the interest while you're in school. An unsubsidized loan, which can be yours even if you don't prove need, requires that you pay all the interest from the time you get the money to the day you pay it off.

Stafford loans come in various sizes. You can borrow between $2,625 and $10,500 each year that you are in school, depending on several factors: what year of study you are in, whether or not you are your parent's dependent, whether you're an undergraduate or graduate student and on what other loans you or your parents have.

Once you leave school, drop below half-time enrollment or graduate, you'll have six months to begin paying back the loan on a schedule which is determined by how much you borrowed and how fast you want to repay. In some cases, such as unemployment or more schooling, you may be able to get your student loan payment deferred.

Have question about federal financial aid programs?
The US Department of Education publishes Funding Your Education , which provides high school students with general information about federal financial aid programs, including how to apply to them.