Federal Family Education Loan Program (FFELP)

FFELP is a public-private partnership created by Congress in 1965 and is the largest source of financial aid for college students. Over the years the program has helped millions of students (and parents) in furthering their educational needs.

Financial aid through FFELP begins with a student completing the FFELP. Based on the information given, the school where the student is planning to attend puts together a financial aid package for the student. This package may contain a combination of grants, scholarships, work-study and a Federal student loan amount. The financial aid package is designed to meet the needs of the student beyond what the family is expected to contribute (Expected Family Contribution) toward the cost of education.

The FFELP provides the following types of loans for post secondary education and training:

Stafford Loans: Federal Stafford loans is the largest of the FFELP loan programs lending nearly $43.5 billion in aid each year. Both subsidized and unsubsidized loans are available to those in need of financial aid.
PLUS loans: Parents can borrow the entire of amount of their child's education minus any financial aid from other sources. The FFELP supplies nearly $6.8 billion in PLUS loans to parents.

If the student chooses to accept a financial aid package that includes a FFELP loan, then the student and the school set out to select one of the loan providers available. A loan provider is able to make the loan even though the student has no employment, a credit history or collateral. The loan provider can do this because there is a guarantor that backs the loan. And now, due to the technology we now have, a FFELP loan can be approved within a matter of minutes.

To get started on your financial aid package today, you can download, print and compete the Federal Family Education Loan Program application.

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