I used to be a student loan servicer for SallieMae so I know all of the ins and outs of the stafford loans, but what you are asking doesn’t make much sense. It doesn’t matter which lender you go with for stafford loans. Those are federal loans and they all follow the exact same rules. The interest rate will be the same with company a b or c. When you have to start making payments depends on when you drop below 1/2time status in school. They only way you reduce your princple balance is by making payments on it. Every single payment you make will always be applied in the exact same manner. It will first satisfy any interest that has accrued as of the day the payment is rcvd. and then anything over that will go to the principle balance. If you have more direct question, feel free to email me and I’ll try to explain it to you more.

Incentives occur when you enter repayment on your loan. They vary from an interest rate reduction for consecutive payments or by making your payment electronically, to crediting back any fees you paid up front, to a reduction in the amount borrowed, etc. They vary from lender to lender and there is no one place you can find all of incentives offered. I’d do a search on Yahoo! for educational lenders and just look at a couple at random to see what they offer. Then take a look at the lenders your school recommends to see if the vary significantly. If not, I’d suggest working through one of those lenders.

Reductions on rates are effective at repayment – and most offer reductions for timely payment. Look for lenders who waive your federal default fee and your origination fee…and offer rate reductions for electronic statements and automatic debit of payments; I’m getting 2% knocked off just for setting up the e-statements and auto debit, plus I’ll get interest reduction for on time payments after 12 months, which will bring my rate down to 4.3%.

I don’t think it really matters their either going to be subsidized or unsubsidized. The only way I got my interest rate down to 4% was when I consolidated them after graduating. Although I don’t agree with consolidating personal loans, but for school loans, I was able to lock in a low interest rate with a fixed low payment schedule and if I ever strike it rich, I can pay off my balance without any penalties. But if you find a lender that offers a reduction on your balance, please let me know.