Home » Financial Aid » Student Loans » Texas Student Loans

Texas Student Loans

Texas is a big state (the second largest in the United States) and as such, it is packed full of great colleges, universities, and technical and vocational schools from which students can choose in order to obtain their higher education. While millions of Texas residents as well as visitors from out of state choose to attend school in Texas, most will need assistance in paying the bills because schools in Texas are not any less expensive than anywhere else in the country. In order to entice more individuals to come to the Lone Star State for schooling, Texas student loans are made available to make college affordable for all who aspire to receive a degree from a Texas school.

The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board is the most comprehensive source of information on colleges, universities, and ways to fund your college career, including information on FFELP loans, scholarships, grants, 529 savings plans, and alternative Texas student loans. You'll notice that, if you obtain your FFELP loans through this state-sanctioned entity, you'll save money by comparison to direct loans from the federal government. This is because tax-exempt state bond money is used to fund Texas student loans, meaning the savings can be passed on to you as the consumer.

Of course, federal funding rarely covers more than a fraction of the cost of schooling, so you'll have to look into alternative student loans. Instead of counting on your personal banker or your neighborhood financial institution to provide you with the lowest cost, check into the Hinson-Hazelwood Student Loan provided by the THECB, which can cover remaining costs above and beyond the disbursal of federal funding at a truly low interest rate without any excess lending fees.

Qualification depends on credit status, meaning that many individuals will require a co-borrower who is 21 or older and has a solid credit history. Repayment of these Texas student loans is similar to federal government loans, in that no payments are required until six months beyond graduation, giving you a grace period to get settled into a new job first. Look for incentives, such as interest rate cuts for on time payment or ACH payments.

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.