Utah College Advising Corps manager Aretha Minor has seen improprieties with Internet offers. At a recent high school workshop, one student went to what looked like a government site to fill out the free application for federal student aid. Instead, the student ended up on a site asking $50 to seek financial-aid options.

"There are a lot of schemes, if you will, with Web sites that say, 'We can help you pay for school if you pay us this.' You do not want to use anything that asks you for money," Minor said. "A lot of times, students aren't aware, families aren't aware, and (in) our desire to make sure our kids or nieces or nephews get what they need financially to go to college, sometimes we look at these and say, what a great opportunity, but end up falling victim to some of these schemes out there."

But Feitz said consumers shouldn't assume all private lenders are predatory.

Rob Brough, executive vice president of marketing and communications for Zions Bank, said people are certainly jaded as they look at the private-loan programs, but many lenders are reputable.

"It certainly is not in our best interest for us to put students in a position where they can't repay their loan," he said. "It is in our best interest to provide them with financing ... to go to school and get the education they need but also provide them a reasonable method in which to pay it back."

Smart shopping

Zions' upcoming private student-loan program will contain repayment options similar to the federal program, Brough said.

Janice Walker, spokeswoman for First Marblehead Corp., a for-profit company that works with major banks to provide student loans, said private student loans should offer protections, not penalize students for paying off loans early, and engage in responsible marketing. But students should seek scholarships and federal loans before resorting to private loans, she said. "We believe students should get loans and aid elsewhere first."

Feitz recommends that students go to a public college's financial-aid office, where they can check for scholarships, grants or work-study options at no charge. If that doesn't cut it, look to federal loans. And lastly, students can consider private student loans, with the idea that they are going to shop around and ask a lot of questions.

Lovell has done all that. She's looking at a private student loan with a variable interest rate that she says could start at 5.6 percent and go up to 7 percent, to come up with that extra $29,000 a year she'll need at Simmons.

But debt is not her chief concern.

"I think I'm too naive," she said. "It sounds so stupid. But I'm really excited to go to school there. I won't let money stand in the way."