Today the Student LoanDown blog is excited to introduce a new tool for our community called "Ask The Expert." You'll see it in the right -hand navigation section here on the blog. If you have a question about student loans, credit, budgeting, or something else that isn't addressed in one of our posts, this is your place to ask. Submit your question via email, and we'll do our best to answer it!
One caveat: If your question is about what happened on the latest episode of MTV's The Hills 
, this blog probably isn't the best venue to ask that. But you already know that I could help you out there, so 'nuff said. 
Hello I have a quick question... If I graduated in May but still had a remaining balance lef to pay of my tuition... is there anyway to still recieve a loan to cover it?
Hey Jessica -- You may be able to find a private student loan that allows you to cover a past due balance. You could also check with your financial aid office to see if there are other options for paying off the balance. They may offer some type of payment plan that could work for you. If you want to chat in more detail about your situation go ahead and send us an email through our Ask the Expert tool -- there's a link on the right-hand column of the page.
Which is better a Parent Plus or a private loan? The 8.5% on the parent plus is killing me. I'm actually studying abroad and need some extra money for living expense while abroad. Is it possible to see what my APR on a provate loan without obligation?
Mai -- we always recommend that when you need to borrow, you exhaust your federal options first. With federal student loans the interest rate is fixed and you have more repayment options. On a private loan, the interest rates are based on credit and are variable, so they could go up and down over time. You can see the current interest rates on Wells Fargo private student loans at http://wfefs.wellsfargo.com/jump/rates.html. You would have to apply for the loan to see what interest rate would be offered to you, but you would not be obligated to take the loan.