The federal government guarantees several types of loans for students and parents including Stafford, Plus and Perkins loans.

Perkins loans are made by the individual school and go to the lowest-income students. Stafford and Plus loans are made either directly by the government (direct loans) or by banks and other lenders under the Federal Family Education Loan or FFEL program. If your college participates in the direct program, you can only take out direct loans from the government. If your school participates in the FFEL program, you can choose any lender that offers these types of loans.

The government sets the maximum rates and fees that lenders can charge, but some offer discounts so it can pays to shop around if your school is in the FFEL program. You are not restricted to a school’s list of preferred or recommended lenders. Eligibility does not depend on your credit score. These should be the first loans you or your child should take out.

If you need to borrow more money, you might have to turn to private education loans, offered by banks and student loans specialists. They almost always have higher interest rates than government-backed loans. Depending on your income, you might be able to deduct up to $4,000 a year in interest on private or government-backed education loans. Eligibility will depend on your credit score.

Another alternative, if you own a home, is a home-equity loan or line of credit. It’s usually cheaper than a private education loan and the interest will be tax deductible, up to certain limits. However, you will be responsible for these loans and if you can’t pay them off, you could lose your house.

The most expensive way to borrow money for college is to put it on your credit card.

For more information, see http://www.finaid.org/loans/.