What is a Direct to Student Private Student Loan?Private student loans are offered by private lenders to students to help cover the cost of their education. Private loans may be able to cover the full cost of your college education up to about $250,000.00 over your lifetime. Should you decide get a direct to student loan for college funding, there several things you need to understand.The first thing you need to know is that one type of private loan disperses funds directly to the student. In other words, when you apply for the loan, all the money you are entitled to will come directly to you as the student. From that point it is up to you to pay all tuition, fees, room and board, and miscellaneous fees from this lump sum.The interest rates on these loans will vary but they are usually tied to the Prime interest rate. This interest rate may fluctuate but depending on the type of loan you have, fixed or variable, this fluctuation should be barely noticeable in your loan.To receive a direct to student loan you should have a great credit rating or you should plan to apply with a co-signer. For most college students just graduating from high school, your credit record will not be fully established. To that end, it would be best to recruit a co-signer before you apply for the loan.Private lenders usually give students about 12 months following graduation to begin to pay back the loan. If you have dropped back to part-time status, you will have six months to begin to repay the loan following graduation or degree completion. Most of these loans have a long repayment period but should you desire to pay the loan off early, you should have no prepayment penalty.There are a couple of benefits to privately funded loans that are not necessarily available to federal loan holders. If you consistently pay on time or if you allow for the funds to be paid through your checking account with direct deposit, there could be as much as a 1% deduction in the interest rate. For those taxpayers who are qualified, the interest paid on these loans may be tax deductible.Knowing what types of loans are available is the first step in finding the loan program that will suit you and your college funding needs the best.