Everyone knows that college is expensive and that rates only continue to rise. With no price breaks in sight, there are many different reasons that you might have to get a student loan. Even parents of students might have a hard time financing their child’s education since just one semester can actually cost up to thirty thousand dollars. So, most student and parents alike will have a hard time coming up with the money for college. Take into consideration the current state of the economy and you will realize that nearly everyone must get student loans for continuing their education. There are two types of student loans available. These include government or federal student loans and private student loans.Since there has been such an increase in tuition and other expenses associated with college, private loans are becoming increasingly popular among students and parents alike. There are some subsidized and unsubsidized federal loans available for all students. These loans typically have a lower interest rate than private loans. However, there has not been an increase in some of these loans’ maximum amounts since 1992. This means that you actually might not be able to pay for all of your college costs with these loans. Therefore private student loans might be your only alternative.There are many different things to consider when choosing private loans. Schools and loan companies alike push the Parent Plus Loans that are available. There are many reasons for this. One of these reasons is that parent’s typically have better credit, more of a credit history, and if their child is under the age of twenty three then there is a good chance that they are also claimed on their federal income taxes. On top of these things, the parents’ income is still being considered on the FAFSA (free application for federal student aid). Also parents might seem more reliable at paying back a loan and they typically start making payments immediately instead of waiting up to six months.Some problems that might happen with private student loans are that you might have a hard time getting approved. This could happen if you have bad credit, little credit or no credit. These companies might actually require that you obtain a co-signor. The best way to find out is to go online and apply for their loan and then to await a decision as to whether or not you need a co-signor. Your co-sighnor’s credit will be taken into consideration as well. This is important for a number of reasons as you will want to make sure when you ask someone to co-sign that they are credit worthy.With all things in mind you will want to consider all federal loan choices first. This means that you will apply for these loans and see what can be done prior to applying for your private student loans. You will take out the federal loans that are available as they offer better terms than most private loans. Then the advantage would be that there are many different private loans to choose from with many different lenders as well.