Most of the larger banks and some of the smaller private lending institutions offer various forms and options of both federal and private student loans. Citibank student loans are available under the CitiAssist Loan program, which provides a wide range of student loans for undergraduate, graduate, law and health professions and residency loans.

Each of these Citibank student loans is designed to provide funding to students in different types of academic settings with qualifying requirements and either a co-signer or a good, solid credit score.

Understanding the different options with Citibank student loans requires both a good understanding of your future academic and career goals as well as a knowledge of you projected current and future income for setting realistic repayment options and deferment dates for the loan. The different Citibank student loans include:

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Undergraduate loans – to qualify for an undergraduate loan the student must be eligible for enrollment at least part-time at a fully accredited college or university as well as be at least 18 years of age and have a United States citizen as a co-signer if necessary. The co-signer as well as the student must have a valid US social security number. There are no minimum loan amounts and no maximum loan amounts, although the school will provide the cost of tuition, then any other financial aid already granted will be subtracted, leaving the total maximum amount of the loan.

. Graduate Loans – graduate Citibank student loans have the same requirements as the undergraduate loans as well as the same freedom of minimum and maximum amounts to borrow. Since many graduate students will already have established a credit rating and score a co-signer is less common on a graduate loan.

The loan payments do not start until 6 months from graduation provided you are still enrolled as at least a part-time student.

. Law and Bar Study Loans – these loans are designed specifically for law students that are attending a fully accredited law school in the United States.

There are some limits on these loans such as a lifetime $15,000 limit on the bar study loan option. In addition the grace period before the loan repayment starts is extended to 9 months.

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Health Professions and Residency – these loans are designed for students that are enrolled or are planning to enroll in any of the following courses of study: allopathic, dentistry, optometry, osteopathic, pharmacy, podiatry or veterinary. Residency students will need to be in at least their second year. There is also a nine month grace period for this loan option.

Choosing Citibank student loans offers flexibility and options that other lenders may not provide. Talking to a Citibank financial advisor can help in deciding which one of the loans most closely meets your educational finance needs.

Private student loans and loaning companies have become more popular over the last several years and are likely to continue to increase their loaning power to students. Private student loans, also known as private education loans, are not limited to any caps or maximum amounts by law since they are a private arrangement between the borrower and their co-signers and the loan company.

As such they are also not regulated in the same way that government student loans are, so it is very important to understand exactly what type of loan you are getting as well as the requirements for repayment of private student loans.

Generally students will be required to have a co-signer on any type of private student loans since the amount you can borrow is based on your credit score or credit rating. Most college or university age students will have what is known as a “thin file” or a very low credit score since they have not had time to prove to creditors that they are capable of repaying money on loans, vehicles, credit cards or through making mortgage payments.

By having a parent with a good or high credit score as a co-signer on the loan the student is able to get a higher loan amount, lower interest on the loan and may even be able to pay out the loan over a longer period at the lower interest rate.

In some cases private student loans make more sense since they have more flexible repayment options. Many private lenders will allow students or parents to defer the loan or hold off on starting payment until the student has graduated.

In this case the interest is still being charge, however the student does not have to start making loan payments when they are still in school. For families where there may be more than one student in an advanced program this is often the best option to prevent the parents from having to cover multiple school loans a the same time.

Private student loans tend to have a higher interest rate than the federal government school loans and the rate is also variable.

This means that the rate will change on the loan depending on the markets. In most cases the loan rate is tied to the PRIME lending rate, which may make private student loans a bit risky in turbulent economic times.

If you are considering a private student loan it is important to research lenders and also find out about repayment options, deferment of repayment, the application process and the rates that are being offered.

You should also find out your credit score as well as that of the co-signer so you are able to determine the interest rate that you will be paying based on that score.