Subsidized Stafford Loans
(Undergraduate Students) Interest Rate
2007-08 6.8%
2008-09 6.0%
2009-10 5.6%
2010-11 4.5%
2011-12 3.4%
2012-13 6.8%
The Perkins Loan has no origination or default fees, and the interest rate is 5%. There is a 10-year repayment period.
Most of the universities have "direct loan" program. So your student will get the loan directly from teh school - very simple.
Some school allows you to shop around. The benefit is that some loan company will give you some incentives to automatically pay etc.
So, the first thing is to understand what loan has been given in the FA package. The second thing is to contact school to see if they are a "direct loand" school.
We poor people are all in the same boat. Best luck to you.