High school students planning to go to college are looking for information and direction about schools, potential majors and sources for scholarships and student loans.

Most public and private high schools have an office staffed with guidance counselors to help, and one of their primary endeavors is to help students discover sources for student loans.

These counselors should be well-versed in the FAFSA application and all that is required to fill it out, including needed documentation. The Free Application for Federal Student Aid should be the first step in finding the funding for college.

Good high school counselors will also have a list of student loan, grants and scholarship opportunities, from both public and private sources.

While most students might think there is only one type of government loan for college, there are actually many, including Stafford loans, Perkins loans, and others. In addition, there is a wide variety of private student loans, including standard loans for lenders like banks, but also loans and grants offered by private businesses and foundation eager to see young people get an education and be better prepared to work in business and industry well into the 21st Century.

These forward thinking companies are concerned about their future work force and are willing to invest to get the best. High school guidance offices should be aware of these resources and be able to hand students applications or point them to the websites where applications and descriptions of the loans are available.

This article used to be published at the FedTuition.com site, which has been discontinued.

Filed under: Completing the Forms • Student Loans