Here’s how to figure out whether you should use private loans to pay for college and how to find the right lender.

Loans are money you borrow that must be repaid with interest. Along with scholarships, grants, and work study, they are a vital form of financial assistance that can offset your cost of attendance.

“There is no way of knowing if the private loan market will offer loans to people with no credit history or who come from low and moderate-income families.” A demonstrator holds a sign reading ‘Bad ...