Private financial companies including banks or other specialized educational money lenders provide private student loans for students. It is one of the different types of loans available for the students to continue their higher education when they do not have the money to do so.

Private student loans have all the features of various government loans, and can be the best choice for those in search of educational finance. They have higher loan limits with attractive interest rates. Similar to the federal loans, they also have a grace period and students do not need to start repaying them prior to the completion of studies.

The grace periods of the loans vary from company to company and can be from six months to 12 months. Even though private student loans offer lower interest rates, they can be a little higher than the government loan interest rates, but much lower than other private loans. Unlike government loans, there are overhead charges often called “origination fees”, which are applicable at the time of the loan processing.

Private student loans are based on the credit history of the applicant or of the co-signer. This type of loan is utilized by students who are not able to pay for their educations without a loan but cannot apply for federal loans due to the possession of assets beyond the qualifying limit or due to higher income of the family.

Private student loans are looked as an alternative to federal student loans for parents, known as PLUS (Parent Loans for Undergraduate Students) loan. Private student loans need not be paid back until graduation, whereas the repayment of PLUS loan starts soon after the procedures. Many international students can also acquire these private loans with the help of a co-signer. The loan amount is paid directly to the school by the lender and the remaining money is given to the student for living expenses. Due to a lower interest rate, these loans are widely used by students. Today, many companies also offer online private student loans.