It's different. Grants are issued by the school when the students meet the funding criteria, and students do not need to return them. However, the student loan is a personal loan and needs to be repaid by the lender after graduation. Therefore, students with poor family background and excellent academic performance can get grants and student loans at the same time, and there will be no conflict between them. But you can't apply for a student loan again that year, because you can only apply for a student loan once a year.

Can I only apply for a student loan as a freshman?

Not only freshmen can apply. Students can apply for loans every academic year, but they must apply within the specified time. Sophomore, junior and senior students can apply, and they are also allowed to stop lending or interval lending after application. Because student loans do not force students to apply continuously.

After a student submits a loan application, he or she must pass the loan review, otherwise he or she will not be able to obtain the student loan funds. Student loan is a loan for poor students, so as long as a student's family is poor and meets other requirements of student loan, he can successfully apply for student loan.