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Alaska Student Loans

The cost of attending a college is just as prohibitive in the icy state of Alaska as it is throughout the country. However, like so many states, this one offers Alaska student loans through the Alaska Commission on Postsecondary Education to help make college more affordable.

Aside from managing federal and state student loans, providing lower interest rates for Stafford and FEEL loans by using tax-free state educational bonds as funding, the commission also plays guarantor for a number of alternative loans, acting as a mediator between lender and student borrower. This helps students achieve the most affordable Alaska student loans possible.

The AlaskAdvantage Program is configured to assist students with alternative monetary resources for college tuition by providing long term, low interest loans, such as the Alaska Supplemental Education Loan. Such opportunities offer an alternative to applying for pricey private alternative loans with personal banks and other financial institutions, through which repayment terms will be shorter and stricter and loans are guaranteed to incur a higher interest rate. How do you qualify for one of these loans?

First, enroll in a professional, bachelor or graduate degree program at an accredited institution of higher education in Alaska. You'll then have to submit to a credit check. If you have no credit history or won't qualify due to bad credit, seek out a co-signer who has good credit history and a low debt-to-income ratio. If you are approved, you can receive up to $42,500 for a four-year degree, or $8500 a year. Repayment will not begin in earnest until six months beyond your graduation in order to allow you to secure work before repaying the loan. However, you may be required to make interest-only payments for the interim.

Paying for school is not easy, but we are here to help. OEDb's student finance section will help you find the money you need to pay your tuition and other college expenses. We cover scholarships, college grants, and student loans. Scholarships and grants are both forms of "free money", meaning they don't need to be paid back. Scholarships are typically awarded by businesses or individuals, with the money being earmarked specifically for tuition. They can be awarded based on a student's location or by religious affiliation, such as Catholicism or Islam. Grants are typically awarded by governments or non-profit organizations and the money often can be applied to several different expenses a student may incur, not solely tuition. They can be awarded based on location or ethnicity, for instance African American or Hispanic. Loans are not considered "free money", because unlike scholarships and grants, they do need to be paid back after graduation. Common federal loans include Perkins and Stafford. Loans are also available by location.