About loans

AlexS · May 22, 2010

Hey!

I'm not sure about your specific situation, but I'll just explain school loans broadly and you can pick and choose what you need from that.

Assuming you are a first year student with no prior credits you will be eligible for 3,500 in subsidized (the government pays interest while you're in school) and 2,000 more in unsubsidized (you either pay or put off interest payments until repayment). This is also assuming that you are an independent student. If you are not an independent student you will not be eligible for the 2,000 in unsubsidized, and instead will need to have your parents apply for a parent PLUS loan. If they are approved, you can take out what you need to cover the gap between all scholarships, grants and subsidized loans, and if they are denied you are eligible for 4,000 in unsubsidized loans. As you increase in class standing (freshman, sophomore, junior and senior) you can take out more and more in subsidized (I believe it increases by 1,000 until your junior year, and then it caps at 6,500).

As for private loans, these are a lot like a car or house loan in the sense that you will need to apply and be approved or denied. Most, if not all, private student loan programs do provide deferment of payments until six months after graduation.

If you have any questions let me know, I've been through this process a lot. Haha

Good luck!

Alex

EDIT: The school can help you apply, if you call their financial aid office. Also, if you have loan money left over they will issue a check that you can use for living expenses, but you are still capped at the limits mentioned above.

ybq2008 · May 22, 2010

hi yisy4u,

congratulations on being accepted into your nursing program. i'm sure you're really excited and anxious to square away everything before you begin. as for federal aid programs, eligibility for loans vary by institution. i attended a community college for my prerequisites and the school was not eligible to offer federal loans. i would definitely contact your school's financial aid department to verify eligibility. as long as you meet the income requirements and do not have a bachelor's degree, you are eligible for the pell grant and other need-based aid. private loans usually require school certification, so if you need a private loan and your school isn't eligible to offer loans, you may not be able to have them certified. private loans also require great credit and often need a cosigner for approval.

i would say that your best bet would be to start with the financial aid office at your school. they will explain the types of aid you are eligible within your program as well as the institution at large. also, complete your fafsa as soon as possible, but understand that it is not an application for loans or grants. it is simply a verification of your eligibility to receive financial aid based on the federal government's standards. check out this link for more info: http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/what010.htm

good luck!

happy2learn · May 22, 2010

Here is a link that shows a chart of how much loan money a person can get each year.

http://www.finaid.org/loans/studentloan.phtml

Here is a link to the Expected Family Contribution Calculator. It's the best "guess" you can get because it goes off your numbers.

http://www.finaid.org/calculators/finaidestimate.phtml

Please keep in mind that this does not include any grants you may be eligible for from the State.

Every school is different in how they calculate and handle student loans. I go to a community college and they calculate the cost of living when they do the loans. They give the maximum loan amount every year(not including subsidized). You will need to just fill out the Fafsa, it only takes a few minutes, and wait on the school to process the information. You are already past the priority date so it needs to be filled out asap.