CollegeRecruiter.com Insights by Financial Aid Experts Blog

It's almost Independence Day. Thoughts about the fall are probably in the backs of a lot of students' and parents' minds right now, but only in the back. Actually, now is a good time to start exploring financial aid options. The following is a list of what's out there, in addition to grants, scholarships, and work study programs. The first step, of course, once you've decided where you want to go to school is to fill out a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form. It doesn't matter how much your family earns, fill out the form anyway because you may be eligible for assistance if you should need it.

Listed below are the different types of loans available:

Stafford Loans

These loans are available at most colleges and universities and are the easiest to obtain. They are both subsidized and unsubsidized.

FFELP Loans

These loans aren't so easily acquired as Stafford Loans. They are often denied to students attending community colleges or lesser known colleges and universities. They are distributed by private organizations like Citibank, JP Morgan Chase and SunTrust, at their discretion.

Plus Loans

These loans are only made available to parents of dependent ungraduate or graduate students who have "stellar credit and stay on top of their mortgage payments," says Mark Kantrowitz, publisher of FinAid.

Peer-to-Peer Lenders

These loans are risky. A student in need of assistance goes to a Web site like greennote.com of fynanz.com and fill out a form in which they include the school they're attending, their major, and the amount they'd like to borrow. Afterward, family and friends visit the site and decide whether or not to lend the student the money. If they agree to give the student a loan, the site generates a legally binding contract and then the two parties go from there. Note: These are not interest-free loans and the rates aren't fixed. Kantrowitz says federal loans would end up being cheaper in the long run.

Private Lenders

These loans are the toughest to obtain. According to Kantrowitz, a borowwer needs a credit score of at least 650 in order to qualify. Most students, he says, can't meet that demand because they "tend to have very limited credit, or if they have a credit score, it's low." He recommends that the student ask their parents to co-sign on the loan.

There are many loan options available, but if they can be avoided, so much the better.