There are many types of student loans available today and the number of companies offering financial aid seems to grow daily with student financial aid direct loans being just one type of education financing.

Understanding student loans is becoming more difficult as post secondary financing becomes more creative.

Direct student loan is a term that refers to student loans that are provided directly to the student or the student’s parents from the government, without the use of a private lender. This variety of student loan can be used to pay for graduate and undergraduate education, as well as some types of vocational education.

The Stafford loan, Perkins loan and PLUS loan are three student loans that are considered direct student loans. Applying for these types of loans will require you to fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form. This should actually be the first thing you do when applying for a student loan. This form will entitle you to government loans and these are the loans you should be looking into first. They have deferred payments and the most reasonable interest rates available at the time.
There are also free means of financing education available. You just have to find them. One of the best ways of saving time and money on education is through the College Level Examination Program (CLEP). These exams exist for a number of entry level classes. In a business degree program, the CLEP exam can help you test out of 10 or more entry level classes, saving you the tuition, the cost of books and the time to take the class.

Most major colleges and universities offer these tests. There are published study guides for each of the tests. They cost about and the cost of the test varies, but is usually less than 0. CLEP tests can lead to considerable cost savings.

There are also many scholarships available. There are a number of databases that list scholarships. It is as simple as finding what you are looking for and following the application instructions. It costs you nothing to apply for scholarships and you just may end up with free money for college.

College can be quite pricey these days, but there are ways that you can save on these costs. But it will take some effort and research to find ways of paying for education. If you take the time to look, you can find free money for college.