How can I get a loan ONLY for living expenses??? Forum

[geoduck]

What? No. Once you do the FAFSA you don't have to apply for any individual loans. The office handles all of that. They like getting their students the money required to live.

Depends on the school. My grad school required me to complete all of it myself, my law school did it for me. But those are the basics if the person has to apply for it themselves.[/quote]

Yeah. Professional schools generally handle it all.

[givemea170]

The reason I ask is because I only think I'll need about 10K in living expenses so I'd like to know how much I actually need and was wondering if I could apply for the plus loan maybe a month into the semester?

10K? What about travel expenses to get there, to get home for Christmas, to get to your summer job, to get back to school the following fall? And books, supplements, health insurance, coffee and booze?

I've got some money saved. I'm still on my parent's health insurance for a couple of years and my car is paid off so that helps.

[givemea170]

What? No. Once you do the FAFSA you don't have to apply for any individual loans. The office handles all of that. They like getting their students the money required to live.

Hmm... trying to follow along here... My tuition at the school I will likely attend is 44K out of state... I have a 50% scholarship and my parents will probably write a check for 22K to cover the other half. The question is, will I be able to take the 10-12K I want out of the 20,500? Seems like you two disagree on that.

[GreySkyEyes]

What? No. Once you do the FAFSA you don't have to apply for any individual loans. The office handles all of that. They like getting their students the money required to live.

Hmm... trying to follow along here... My tuition at the school I will likely attend is 44K out of state... I have a 50% scholarship and my parents will probably write a check for 22K to cover the other half. The question is, will I be able to take the 10-12K I want out of the 20,500? Seems like you two disagree on that.

Depends on if you qualify for the full 20,500 (you'll know soon enough through the FIN AID packet put together by your school). Like I said, I don't know particulars to if you qualify for the subsidized(need based) loans, but you will qualify for the 12k(all grad students qualify). If you do qualify for the whole amount, then you can borrow whatever amount you want from the, 20.5K. You could also borrow beyond that, with the PLUS loan, if needed/wanted.

[geoduck]

What? No. Once you do the FAFSA you don't have to apply for any individual loans. The office handles all of that. They like getting their students the money required to live.

Hmm... trying to follow along here... My tuition at the school I will likely attend is 44K out of state... I have a 50% scholarship and my parents will probably write a check for 22K to cover the other half. The question is, will I be able to take the 10-12K I want out of the 20,500? Seems like you two disagree on that.

You can choose how much of your financial aid to take. The 20500 is the Stafford. So yes, you can elect to only take 10k of your Stafford then have your parents pay the school and/or your student account the balance of tuition.

And to grey eye's new post. Please stop misinforming him. ALL of the money can be unsubsidized. How much is subsidized is limited based off your EFC. Everyone qualifies for the full Stafford and you need some huge credit mistakes to not qualify for the GradPLUS.

[GreySkyEyes]

What? No. Once you do the FAFSA you don't have to apply for any individual loans. The office handles all of that. They like getting their students the money required to live.

Depends on the school. My grad school required me to complete all of it myself, my law school did it for me. But those are the basics if the person has to apply for it themselves.

Yeah. Professional schools generally handle it all.[/quote]


Didn't know if that was the mainstay for professional schools or just mine. I had to pretty much walk my grad school through the FA process instead of them having the knowledge to help me (it was a nightmare). My LS's FA department thought I was a lunatic for trying to apply for a PLUS loan on my own.

[geoduck]

What? No. Once you do the FAFSA you don't have to apply for any individual loans. The office handles all of that. They like getting their students the money required to live.

Depends on the school. My grad school required me to complete all of it myself, my law school did it for me. But those are the basics if the person has to apply for it themselves.

Yeah. Professional schools generally handle it all.

Didn't know if that was the mainstay for professional schools or just mine. I had to pretty much walk my grad school through the FA process instead of them having the knowledge to help me (it was a nightmare). My LS's FA department thought I was a lunatic for trying to apply for a PLUS loan on my own.[/quote]

Law schools make money for the school. They want the students to pay and stay. How do you think law school students have such high general debt? By fighting the system?

[GreySkyEyes]

What? No. Once you do the FAFSA you don't have to apply for any individual loans. The office handles all of that. They like getting their students the money required to live.

Hmm... trying to follow along here... My tuition at the school I will likely attend is 44K out of state... I have a 50% scholarship and my parents will probably write a check for 22K to cover the other half. The question is, will I be able to take the 10-12K I want out of the 20,500? Seems like you two disagree on that.

You can choose how much of your financial aid to take. The 20500 is the Stafford. So yes, you can elect to only take 10k of your Stafford then have your parents pay the school and/or your student account the balance of tuition.

And to grey eye's new post. Please stop misinforming him. ALL of the money can be unsubsidized. How much is subsidized is limited based off your EFC. Everyone qualifies for the full Stafford and you need some huge credit mistakes to not qualify for the GradPLUS.

I apologize for the misunderstanding(mine), up to 8,500 can be subsidized loans (preferenced-imo- because you won't be charged interest before repayment/during a deferment).

[GreySkyEyes]

Yeah. Professional schools generally handle it all.[/quote]


Didn't know if that was the mainstay for professional schools or just mine. I had to pretty much walk my grad school through the FA process instead of them having the knowledge to help me (it was a nightmare). My LS's FA department thought I was a lunatic for trying to apply for a PLUS loan on my own.[/quote]

Law schools make money for the school. They want the students to pay and stay. How do you think law school students have such high general debt? By fighting the system?[/quote]


My experience with financial aid thus far has been me being the living version of Murphy's Law... sadly I expect it to be a much bigger pain in the ass than it needs to be.

[givemea170]

Very helpful thread. I actually just filled out my FAFSA, will I know pretty soon how much I've been approved for?

[geoduck]

Very helpful thread. I actually just filled out my FAFSA, will I know pretty soon how much I've been approved for?

Mmm.. Hopefully. Ask your school's finaid office when thy expect 1L award letters to be released.

[givemea170]

Very helpful thread. I actually just filled out my FAFSA, will I know pretty soon how much I've been approved for?

Mmm.. Hopefully. Ask your school's finaid office when thy expect 1L award letters to be released.

I've already received my scholarship reward... so they release those separately?

[geoduck]

Very helpful thread. I actually just filled out my FAFSA, will I know pretty soon how much I've been approved for?

Mmm.. Hopefully. Ask your school's finaid office when thy expect 1L award letters to be released.

I've already received my scholarship reward... so they release those separately?

Yes. The award letter will be a summary of all school financial aid.