They are provided by private lenders as opposed to the federal government. As such the terms and repayment conditions vary from lender to lender.

A couple I recommend trying is Student Loan Advisors at http://www.StudentLoanAdvisors.com/ and Chase Bank also has a dedicated online department you can reach though http://www.usadegrees.com/chase/

You will need to have a reasonable credit and employment history in most cases, if you have a co-signor that can help you get approved more easily.

Typically if you apply online tonight, you can be approved by Monday afternoon and the check sent to you by the middle of October.

Good Luck!