<p>Say I wanted to go to a college where I have to take a plane.
Could I add the plane rides to and from college into my student loans? Is it possible?</p>
<p>You probably can not add it but it is already included to a certain extent. The amount of aid you can get (including loans) is based on the schools COA (Cost Of Attendance). You cannot borrow more than the COA (less other aid). The COA does generally include an allowance for travel but it is an average amount for all students at the school. Although that allowance may be more or less than your actual travel costs it is the allowance in the COA that is used.</p>
<p>Here is a quick lesson in financial aid:</p>
<p>When you fill out a FAFSA, you get a number called an EFC (expected family contribution). This is simply a number that is used to determine your eligibility for a Pell grant. It is also used when awarding financial aid. It is NOT how much your family will actually have to pay.</p>
<p>Each college has a COA (cost of attendance). The COA includes average tuition, room, board, books, travel, and miscellaneous expenses for the school. </p>
<p>Aid CAN be awarded up to the cost of attendance. Not all schools do this (although a parent can borrow a Parent PLUS loan to bring the awarded aid up to the COA - the PLUS requires a credit check, though, so is not a guaranteed award). </p>
<p>The COA minus the EFC is “Need.” Need-based aid <em>may be</em> (not necessarily IS) awarded up the the amount of the Need. Every freshman is eligible to borrow up to $5500, of which $3500 CAN be a subsidized Stafford (no interest while in school/grace period). If there is no Need when the loan is awarded (after scholarships & grants), the remainder of the $5500 is an unsubsidized loan (interest accrues as soon as the loan is disbursed). Note: if you have a ton of scholarships, you might not get the whole $5500 if COA-scholarships/grants is less than $5500.</p>
<p>I am an aid officer. We have a large commuter population, so students don’t seem to understand that we do budget in living expenses. We are often asked if we will give “extra aid” for on-campus housing. Students seem to be surprised when we say no. The COA includes your travel expenses … you may or may not receive enough aid to cover your COA. If not, you will have a “gap,” and you may have to consider a parent PLUS loan or a private student loan to cover the extra expenses. Just know, though, that a school cannot authorize a private loan in excess of the COA. That is, COA - scholarships - grants - work study - Stafford/Perkins loans = the amount that you can borrow in a private student loan. If you need more, you either have to ask your school to increase your budget (you’ll need to provide proof of legitimate expenses that are not included in the COA budget) or find the money some other way.</p>