If you, or perhaps a close family member, are independently wealthy, you might as well stop reading right now. Most students, though, come to realize that they must find good loans for school to pay the tuition fees and expenses that were not covered by savings, grants or scholarships.

In a moment we'll discuss some pretty good choices among available loans for school. But first let's discredit some really bad choices that some misguided students have made.

Some Poor Choices

First off, since they are so widely used: credit cards. True, they are quick and convenient. Also they can help you out in a pinch. The fact is, you need them just to function in today's economy. Try renting a car or making an online purchase without one! But seriously, for financing your tuition? Only consider them if you have a rock-solid plan to pay them back. Otherwise, credit cards can annihilate you with onerous interest rates, late fees and over limit fees.

Another terrible source of funds is check cashing stores. When you look at the cost of borrowing from them as an annualized rate, you won't believe your eyes! Seriously, if you use these often enough you may never recover. Look, if you don't have the money right now, what makes you think you'll have it in 2 weeks? Avoid these places!

So how about gambling? There are lots of exciting games: cards, roulette, slots, dice, horse/dog races, and of course the lottery. The fact is, gambling is very profitable if you're a casino owner. For you, though, gambling is just a really bad habit to get into. Don't count on it to pay your tuition.

Another character in our rogue's gallery is the title loan, which requires you to sign over your car title as collateral. Expect to get just a fraction of your car's value, while paying a high rate of interest. Many borrowers then find they are unable to repay the loan, and lose their car. If you are willing to give up your car for much less than what it's worth, why not just sell the car and bank all the cash? At least you'll earn some interest instead of paying it.

Some Better Choices

Assuming you have made every reasonable effort to get scholarships and grants, you'll need to hunt down the student loans you'll need to cover all the rest of your expenses. So let's have a look at some of the more affordable types of loans for school.

We can divide these into two categories: private student loans and government guaranteed loans. Private loans are available through banks and other institutions. Each lender has their own rules, and usually these carry higher interest rates than the government loans. In many cases you will need a cosigner, and/or a high credit score to qualify for a private loan.

Government guaranteed loans for school usually offer lower rates, longer payback schedules, and the option to consolidate loans after graduation. A consolidation loan could lower the overall interest rate as well.

There are three categories of government loans: Perkins loans, Stafford loans, and Grad-PLUS loans. Grad-PLUS stands for Graduate student and Parent Loans for Undergraduate Students.

While each of these programs has its own rules, they share some similarities as well. At ExploreStudentLoans.com we discuss each of these loans in greater detail. One important requirement that they share, though: you must show a need for the money in order to qualify for the loan program. For all of these, you will need to submit a FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) form to verify your eligibility.

Should You Get a Scholarship or a Student Loan?

Well, DUH! Who doesn't like free money? A scholarship or grant is far better than a loan. You just might be surprised at how much you can get in grant money that you'll never have to repay. Loans for school serve to fill in the gaps when you can't get enough of the free money. Try to keep the loans to a minimum, though, and pay them off as quickly as possible to keep your interest expense to a minimum.

A final word of caution is in order here. If the starting pay in your chosen career is relatively low, try to avoid taking out more loans for school than absolutely necessary. If that is the case, you may want to consider working part time to "pay as you go" for your expenses. Many students have graduated with a debt load that proved to be a heavy burden to carry for years. You can voluntarily practice frugality today, or find yourself forced to be frugal tomorrow. The choice is yours.