Federal Direct Student Loan Program (FDSLP) loans, administered by "Direct Lending Schools", are provided by the US government directly to students and their parents. Some other schools offer Stafford loans to students through banks or other lenders. You usually can find an abbreviation used for such schools- FFEL schools (Federal Family Education Loan). If you want to obtain a federal Stafford loan through a FFEL school, you will need to find a lender.