guide for    students

Use private student loans to fill any financial gaps.

When paying for grad school, make sure you exhaust all of your options — scholarships, grants, work-study and federal student loans — before turning to private student loans.

If you do need to take out private student loans, check out the five options we’ve listed below to find the right lender for you. Before choosing one, make sure to compare interest rates. With private loans, you can choose a fixed interest rate or a variable interest rate. A fixed rate will stay the same throughout the life of the loan. A variable interest rate, which may start out lower than a fixed rate, could increase or decrease as economic conditions change. It’s also worth looking at the borrower protections that private lenders offer, such as flexible repayment plans or the option to defer your payments if you hit a rough patch.