| If you have been asking about student loans for any | | | | endorser |
| time at all, you possibly have seen or heard AES | | | | - Payments on interest can be tax deductible |
| student loans mentioned. AES stands for American | | | | - No pre-payment penalties |
| Educational Services, which is a division of PHEAA, | | | | - Flexible repayment options And, there are AES |
| The Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance | | | | student loans for graduate students needing to fill |
| Agency. This agency has been in existence since | | | | the gap between financial aid and school costs. This |
| 1964. It is one of the pre-eminent full-service financial | | | | program is called the Graduate PLUS loan, and it |
| aid organizations in America. | | | | features: |
| AES student loans that are currently available include | | | | - Interest rate fixed at 8.5% |
| Parent PLUS loans, Graduate PLUS loans, Stafford | | | | - Borrow the difference between your cost of |
| loans, and various Alternative loans. | | | | attendance and financial aid award |
| Perhaps the most popular of the AES student loans | | | | - No required payments as long as you attend school |
| is the Stafford loan program, and it offers these | | | | at least half-time |
| features: | | | | - No income requirements |
| - All federal Stafford loans disbursed between July 1, | | | | - Weak credit? May still qualify with credit-ready |
| 2009, and July 1, 2010, are fixed at 6.8% except for | | | | endorser |
| the undergraduate subsidized Stafford loan, which | | | | - Payments on interest may be tax deductible |
| carries a fixed rate of 5.6%. | | | | - No penalties for paying your loan off early |
| - No co-signer is needed | | | | - Flexible repayment options Once you have looked |
| - No credit check is done | | | | into and applied for grants and scholarships, received |
| - No payments as long as you attend school a | | | | a federal Stafford and/or PLUS loan, and still are |
| minimum of half-time | | | | coming up short to cover costs for college, AES |
| - Subsidized interest payments for those who qualify | | | | offers Alternative loans that can work alongside |
| - 6-month grace period when you leave school | | | | federal student aid to complete your college funding. |
| - No penalties for paying your loan off early | | | | AES also handles federal loan consolidation. With |
| - Take as long as 10 years to repay - longer with | | | | Federal student loan consolidation you can combine |
| flexible repayment options For parents who wish to | | | | one or more existing student loans into a single new |
| pay for their child's education, there is the Parent | | | | loan. If you're having trouble making your monthly |
| PLUS program, which features: | | | | student loan payments, then consolidation might be |
| - Fixed interest rate of 8.5% | | | | the right option for you. |
| - Borrow the difference between your child's cost of | | | | Whether you're an undergraduate or a graduate |
| attendance and financial aid award | | | | student, with good credit or poor credit, it's very |
| - No income requirements | | | | likely you'll find that one of the AES student loans fits |
| - Poor credit? May still qualify with credit-ready | | | | your situation. |