Multiple student loan types complicate payback

When former college students fall so far behind on student-loan payments that the state sues them, the confusing universe of federal loans — in particular, a supplemental loan program aimed at the poorest students — often is to blame. Those Perkins loans are federal money, but unlike in the much larger Direct Loan programs, the 1,700 participating U.S. schools handle the decisions and paperwork for them. Many students have both kinds of loan.