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When you attend graduate school, there are various types of financial aid for graduate school that will help you pay for the increased costs. The cost of tuition for graduate degrees is higher than for undergraduate degrees, which means you can get higher amounts of loans.

Some of the types of student loans available to graduate school students include:

• Federal Stafford Loans. These are low interest student loans available from the federal government and are one of the most common loans for students. In order to qualify for this type of financial aid for graduate school, you have to be a US citizen or a permanent resident and be enrolled in a graduate school program on either a full-time or part-time basis. The amount of money you can get under this type of loan is $8500 a year. Repayment starts 6 months after you graduate and you can have up to 10 years to repay the loan in full.
• Perkins Student Loan. This is also a low interest student loan for graduate school students that demonstrate financial need. This is not a government loan. Instead you borrow the money from the school and you don’t have to make any payments for 9 months after you graduate. Then you can have 10 years to repay the loan in full. You make the payments directly to the school. The amount a graduate school student is allowed to borrow is $4000 per year, but if you have had this type of loan for your undergraduate degree, you can only accumulate a total of $40,000.
• FFELP. A Federal Family Education Loan Program is a non-profit organization that provides student loans to both undergraduate and graduate students. The Stafford student loans are part of this program, but it also includes the PLUS loans where parents can borrow money for their children to attend graduate school. You have to start repaying the money 6 months after graduation and there are several flexible repayment schedules to choose from.
• Nellie Mae Private Loan. Nellie Mae provides student loans to allow students to continue with their education in graduate school. You don’t need to have an income to qualify for this type of student loan and you can get one as long as you are enrolled in at least half the required course load for the program.