Alaska offers Alaska student loans through the Alaska Commission on Postsecondary Education to help make college more affordable.

The cost of attending a college is just as prohibitive in the icy state of Alaska as it is throughout the country. However, like so many states, this one offers Alaska student loans through the Alaska Commission on Postsecondary Education to help make college more affordable.

Aside from managing federal and state student loans, providing lower interest rates for Stafford and FEEL loans by using tax-free state educational bonds as funding, the commission also plays guarantor for a number of alternative loans, acting as a mediator between lender and student borrower. This helps students achieve the most affordable Alaska student loans possible.

The AlaskAdvantage Program is configured to assist students with alternative monetary resources for college tuition by providing long term, low interest loans, such as the Alaska Supplemental Education Loan. Such opportunities offer an alternative to applying for pricey private alternative loans with personal banks and other financial institutions, through which repayment terms will be shorter and stricter and loans are guaranteed to incur a higher interest rate. How do you qualify for one of these loans?

First, enroll in a professional, bachelor or graduate degree program at an accredited institution of higher education in Alaska. You'll then have to submit to a credit check. If you have no credit history or won't qualify due to bad credit, seek out a co-signer who has good credit history and a low debt-to-income ratio. If you are approved, you can receive up to $42,500 for a four-year degree, or $8500 a year. Repayment will not begin in earnest until six months beyond your graduation in order to allow you to secure work before repaying the loan. However, you may be required to make interest-only payments for the interim.