Student loans are lending vehicles designed to fund the pursuit of higher education. While student loan rates tend to be set low by design, it does pay to explore both private student loans and federal student loans for the best possible offers on an individual basis. Options exist in both arenas for bad credit student loans, as well. Repayment of student loans tends to come after graduation in most cases. Borrowers can get an idea of what their repayment schedule will be like by taking advantage of student loan calculators that estimate monthly payment amounts. If the pricing turns out to be too high, student loan consolidation might be worth exploring.