Types of Student Loans

Federal Student Loans

Federally funded loans are administered initially through the US Department of Education's Federal Student Aid programs, and are usually the easiest to get student loan consolidation services for.

Private Student Loans

These are administered by standard lending institutions. Among the most common are Citibank student loans and the Sallie Mae Signature student loans. These lenders are basically providing unsecured (or in some cases secured) loans to you as a student, and will most often charge higher interest rates than their federal counterparts.