Higher education has become very costly and without a student loan, it may not be affordable for most students.  You can explore many options while searching for a student loan.  You may visit the different colleges where you intend to apply, the local office of the US Department of Education, private moneylenders, banks, and other financial institutions.  Searching online over the Internet makes the job less time-consuming and you get all the detailed information along with the application forms.
 

The US Department of Education loans

The best option for a student is to opt for the US Department of Education loans, like the Stafford loan and the Perkins loan.  You may visit the website of the US Department of Education and find out the details of these loans, download all the application forms, and submit them online.  Both these loans are federal loans and are given to students who do not have any credit rating at all, since it is expected that most students will require these loans when they go to college straight after passing high school.  Stafford loan does not have any credit rating criteria for obtaining the loan, and the Perkins loan is meant for students who are poor but have an excellent academic record.  If you have been granted a federal approved student loan in the past, and on which you have defaulted, then you get a bad credit rating, and may not be eligible for the Stafford and the Perkins loan.  In such a case, there are other loans meant for students with bad credit, which you may avail.
 

Bad credit student loans

Getting a student loan even if you have bad credit is possible if you work hard towards getting it.  PLUS loans are loans that are given to parents and not to students.  The US Department of Education assumes that parents are obligated to pay a certain sum towards the education of their children and hence they can avail of PLUS loans.  However, your parents must have better credit than you have to obtain the PLUS loan.  Federal funding is ideally tailored for students pursuing higher education; hence, they offer very low interest rates and very easy payment options.  If you are unable to secure federal funding, then you may approach banks, financial institutions, and other private moneylenders.  They offer a high rate of interest and a shorter duration, thereby making for large monthly installments, which a student may find difficult to repay.  Hence, these loans are given to their parents and not directly to the students.  If you are studying to become a professional in a high earnings market like an engineer, a doctor, a lawyer, a chartered financial analyst or an MBA, then you have greater chance of obtaining the loan, as it will be easier for you to repay once you graduate and get a high paying job.  You may apply for numerous loans and may put together all of them to finance your education.  Once you have finished college, you may consolidate your student loans at a better rate of interest, with lowered monthly payments that you can afford.