Home » Financial Aid » Student Loans » Montana Student Loans

Montana Student Loans

Montana residents are like every other American citizen in that, while trying to plan a future by enrolling in a college degree program, they find themselves unable to fund their own education. Also, like many states, Montana sees the need for a higher education to help individuals reach their full potential and become active members of society. Montana student loans, a combination of state funded programs and federal assistance programs, allow all students the opportunity to attend an institute of higher learning by providing low cost, low interest funding for college and higher education agency studies.

The Montana Higher Education Student Assistance Corporation is the source of information and financing for most state-sanctioned loans. However, the loans are actually funded by the Student Assistance Foundation of Montana, where students apply directly for federal loans, consolidation loans, or special state incentive programs.

Because they use state bonds for loan monies which are federally tax exempt, Montana student loans can be obtained at a lower interest rate than standard federal loans, passing savings on to you as the consumer. In fact, some of the incentives you'll find for using SAF to apply for your federal loans include:

No loan fees and interest cuts for consistent timely payments on Montana's Choice Stafford Loans (set up automatic withdrawal of payments from your bank account and save even more on interest).

Huge sums of money lent under the Montana's Choice PLUS Loans program, allowing parents to borrow the full cost of tuition, as well as being more lenient on credit qualifications than standard commercial loans.

Interest rate reductions for ‘good behavior' on Montana's Choice Graduate PLUS Loans, in which graduate and professional students have obtained loans without a cosigner and managed to continue to make timely payments consistently.

For those who have trouble handling their debt upon exiting college, there are also Montana student loans geared toward loan consolidation. This program can take all of your college debt (including loans and credit card debt), lumping it into one affordable payment with a minimal interest rate, allowing you to maintain a good credit record while making progress on your loan repayment in a manageable fashion.

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.