Do you jeopardize your finaid package if you don’t take the loans offered? D didn’t need to take them the first semester and it looks like we might squeak by the second semester as well but she’ll def need them in future years. Should she just take the loan this semester and use less of the 529 savings?
Your choice. If they are subsidized loans, you could take them this spring, and use them to lay the fall bill next year…
Some families take the loans and save them for future years when their money is tighter.
Not as far as I know. Ds2 has made the decision to not take out any loans thus far, but they continue to be offered. I’m thrilled that he wants to graduate debt-free – we are a debt-averse family so he comes by it naturally – but this has resulted in him being cash-poor. This past summer, he had wanted to do a certain unpaid internship but he couldn’t afford to; he had to come home and work because he didn’t have enough in savings to get him through junior year, which included a semester abroad and, therefore, lost income from work study.
I pointed out to him that maybe a small loan in the spring would take some of the liquidity pressure off, but he is determined to graduate never having taken a loan!
Thank you thumper1. Do you think finaid may lower the grants if we don’t take them the first year thinking we don’t need the assistance? Or is there no consequence?
@Youdon’tsay, that is my worry…study abroad years (and some cut into the summer months and thus earnings), unexpected expenses, etc. D specifically chose her school because they were very generous with her aid and was hoping to get through with only two years of loans.
What school? Our one kid was offered loans and didn’t take the full amount ever. Her small Grant was never reduced…and at her school actually increased annually at the same %age as the tuition increase.
Skidmore in NY.
I wish I had advised my kid to take the subsidized loans in undergrad. Now she will need to take more unsubsidized loans in professional school when the 529 money spends down.
Good point, thank you.
OP you could get lucky like my kids … studying abroad was cheaper than studying the semester at their private colleges. Ds1 got a fat check from his school upon graduation, in part because of all the extra aid that he didn’t use that semester, and ds2 has a fat overage in his account right now that should more than pay for spring semester, so it’s all worked out.
I would think it might vary by school, but no, not accepting loans didn’t seem to hurt my D.
Madison, that’s an interesting point. I wish ds2 knew whether he even intended to go to grad school. Of course, if he thought he was he’d probably be even more scared off of taking loans, knowing he’d likely have some for grad school.
Consensus seems to be that it won’t hurt. Thanks everyone !
^ correct. They’re from the federal gov’t not the school anyway. My S never took the unsub loans, just the sub ones.