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With increases in college tuition showing no signs of slowing down, despite the recession, students are being required to borrow more and more money to fund their education.  Since a report from the US Census values a bachelor’s degree at about $900,000 in additional salary earned when compared to a high school diploma, and a master’s degree at $400,000 beyond a bachelor’s degree, most students are making a wise decision to borrow money now for college, since the costs of the debt are greatly outweighed by the financial benefits of a college degree.

However, given the limits on public student loan amounts put into place by the federal government, it is becoming more difficult to pay for college with public loans and personal savings.  The maximum amount that can be borrowed from the government is $31,000 for dependent undergraduate students, $57,000 for independent undergraduate students, and $138,500 for graduate students (and any undergraduate loans count against this total).  Given that tuition at many private schools has exceeded $50,000 per year and many professional graduate programs can cost over $100,000, federal student loans are inadequate.  This means that the student is responsible to fill in the gap, and the best option for students that don’t have thousands of dollars in cash available is private student loans.

Shopping for private student loans can be a difficult process because there are many more options available, but those options also provide the opportunity to obtain a good deal on student loan debt.  We suggest using one of the many private student loan comparison sites that are available online to find the lender that suits you best, and our research found that Discover private student loans offered attractive rates, the option to defer payments while in school part time, a graduation bonus, and numerous other perks.

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