Direct loans easy, safe

Getting a student loan wasn't as big of an ordeal as Matthew Draudt thought it would be.

"It was a little difficult," said Draudt, a freshman in aeronautical engineering. Other than the hassle of filling out the Free Application for Financial Student Aid, he said it was no problem getting the money he needed for tuition.

Ohio State has made it fairly easy for students to get loans without having to go to private lenders.

"In direct lending, the student works directly with the institution without a lender," said Michelle Wade, senior assistant director of SFA at the university's lending program. "The federal government provides the forms and money," she said.

Wade said that in the past, loan rates between the university and other lenders have been similar, but banks were allowed to offer students other benefits and incentives. New legislation now bans other lending institutions from offering these incentives to students.

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