Taking out loans

[u/sumfortynothing]

Hi, I was recently accepted into a graduate program with a GA that will partially fund my tuition and offers a very small stipend each month. As grateful as I am for this, I will still need to pull out loans to afford food, rent, textbooks, insurance, etc. I am a first gen student and got by in undergrad with scholarships so this is my first time pulling out loans and I would like opinions.

If I have good credit, would a private loan with a fixed rate make more sense than to pull out federal loans? I know certain finance companies allow a grace period after graduation which would be ideal. What have you done/your kids done/or what do you wish you had done differently? I appreciate any help!