Learn How to Finance Your College Education

Loans in Massachusetts

Do you know where your best choices in college student loans are to be found? If you’re a resident of Massachusetts and searching for financial aid OR an out of state student looking to attend college in Massachusetts then you don’t want to miss what the Massachusetts Educational Financing Authority (MEFA) has to offer you:

  • Discover how to use your federal loans to their fullest
  • Calculate the loan payments you’ll likely have due post-graduation
  • Plan for repayment
  • Leverage private state loans so you can pay the balance left on your tuition when federal loans don’t get the job done.

MASS Student Loans

MEFA will help you understand why it’s important to use your federal education loans first, before you seek any private or alternative loans. Access the federal loan application—the FAFSA-- via the MEFA website. Federal student loans you should apply for first include:

  • Stafford Loans
  • Parent PLUS Loans
  • Graduate and Professional PLUS Loans

All of these may be applied for using the FAFSA. Don’t make the mistake a couple million students makes every year when they mistakenly assume their household income will not qualify for federal aid. In most cases you will qualify for some government aid.

Find out more about the federal loan program.

MEFA Loans

MEFA offers two alternative loans—when you still need to cover college expenses AFTER your federal loans and any grants and scholarships have been paid out: an undergraduate loan and a graduate loan.

  • The MEFA Undergraduate Loan is a low-fee, low-interest private loan that gives credit-worthy undergrads the leverage necessary to cover the balance of college costs. Stay in school and you may defer for another 5 years.
  • The MEFA Graduate Loan allows you to finance a graduate school education when federal loans may not offer a workable solution or enough buying power. This is a low-cost, fixed low interest loan designed for grads.

Find out more about MEFA’s educational loan program and access other resources from the main MEFA website.