Defend Your Dollars is the website of the Consumers Union Financial Services Campaign, where we support reforms to the financial marketplace to curb bad practices by banks and lenders.
Use private student loans to pay your college costs only after you have exhausted your federal loans. Federal loans are less expensive than private loans. The most common federal loan is a Stafford loan, and it has a fixed interest rate of 6.8%. Nearly everyone is eligible. To apply for federal loans, go to http://www.fafsa.ed.gov.