Can you get through college solely on federal loans?

<p>*I’m a senior and I applied to UCI, UCSB, UCSC, and UCR. I haven’t applied for FAFSA yet. I don’t think my dad would pass a credit check, he’s filed for bankrupcy recently. *</p>

<p>It’s likely that your parents will get denied for a Plus loan (because of the recent bankrupcy), but then there’s a good chance you’d get the $9,500 in Stafford loans to go towards room and board.</p>

<p>Did you apply to any UCs that you could commute to if you can’t get enough money to pay for room and board?</p>

<p>I was wondering the same thing. [can u get through college on student loans] i gues i got my answer -_- I can’t believe the most you can take out is 5,500??? I mean seriously!!! I know for a fact I can’t get FAFSA my brother goes to UCONN and got it through my father cuz he lived with him. When he moved back w/ my mom he lost his Fafsa cuz supposedly my mother makes “too much” money. She makes a little over 100,000 but she has 5 kids; which i guess counts for nothing. We’re not rich we rent a house, her credit sucks and she’s a single mother. I feel officially screwed when it comes to college and feel like giving up and just going to community college. The whole college proccess too me if way stressful and im over it! Good luck OP</p>

<p>I know for a fact I can’t get FAFSA my brother goes to UCONN and got it through my father cuz he lived with him. When he moved back w/ my mom he lost his Fafsa cuz supposedly my mother makes “too much” money</p>

<p>You’re getting your terms confused.</p>

<p>FAFSA is an application. You can’t “lose FAFSA”</p>

<p>You must mean that your brother lost his free financial aid. He can still get a federal loan.</p>

<p>Use an EFC calculator. Put in that there are 2 in college and see what your approx EFC is…</p>

<p>[FinAid</a> | Calculators | Expected Family Contribution (EFC) and Financial Aid](<a href=“http://www.finaid.org/calculators/finaidestimate.phtml]FinAid”>http://www.finaid.org/calculators/finaidestimate.phtml)</p>

<p>Are you a junior or senior?</p>

<p>(If you and your bro will not be in college at the same time, then only put 1)</p>

<p>Yes I meant financial aid, is what he lost because he filed w/ my mother. I just found out she makes 130,000 before taxes and 115,000ish after. Which is a lot I suppose. I did the quick EFC and it said 8,500 and they said based on that I probably couldn’t get Financial Aid. [i assumed that already] I’m out of high school. I hadn’t bothered to apply to any colleges because at the time my mother was/is paying for my brother at UCONN and my sister at graduate school Roosevelt U. So I didn’t wanna burden her with another tuiton. </p>

<p>I foolishly thought I could get enough money from Federal Loans, and take as much out as I wanted/needed since I’m the one who would be paying it back anyway? </p>

<p>He will be still in UCONN when I go to college.</p>

<p>Wait!!! You still don’t understand.</p>

<p>If your EFC is 8500, why do you think you won’t get any aid? While you won’t get Federal Pell, that doesn’t mean that you won’t get aid.</p>

<p>What state are you in? You need to quickly apply to a state school or something.</p>

<p>What are your stats?</p>

<p>I agree that it doesnt matter sense.</p>

<p>Doesnt the FAFSA EFC go up to 99,9999? </p>

<p>My friend whos single mom makes a lil over 60k w/ three kids efc is 5k.
So how does a person with 5 kids & 100k income get only 8500?</p>

<p>I dont think you checked it right. This is America & there are billions of dollars out there for people like us. I’ve been applying to scholarships since last year & I’m nowhere near done. Going to college free is possible & I plan to be living proof (hopefully lol)</p>

<p>Best of luck:)</p>

<p>mom2collegekids, </p>

<p>sorry about the late reply. my parents are paying it with the little amount of equity they had to take out. things have been getting really bad financially that I’ve been stressed out and feel as though I need to go home and bring in the household some money… huge debt right now.</p>

<p>IBSenior…</p>

<p>Does your friend have a sibling in college?</p>

<p>PrettyParanoia has a brother, so her EFC could be that amount.</p>

<hr>

<p>Jimgotkp…</p>

<p>So, you’re considering taking a break from your education? If you do that, will you have to start paying back any Staffords that you’ve borrowed?</p>

<p>Are your parents disabled? Is that why they haven’t been able to work for 5 years?</p>

<p>mom2collegekids,</p>

<p>i really don’t know what to do… my older brother is in afghanistan on deployment and im the only one left. i feel responsible that i have to help them out… i believe i have to pay my stafford loan because i wouldn’t be enrolled into any school. </p>

<p>my father is disabled and my mother has to drive him to the doctors and lawyers office everyday. they travel at least 4 hours a day since it takes 2 hours+ to go one way then another 2+ to come back home so my mom is busy as is.</p>

<p>I redid the EFC and it now says 29,183 and my financial need based on the school i wanted to attend would be 1,1267. The results said I don’t qualify for a pell grant but i probably can get other loans.</p>

<p>^^^</p>

<p>That sounds too high for that size family, income, and 2 kids in school. You did put 2 kids in school, right?</p>

<p>Jim…</p>

<p>Can’t your brother send them some money? It would seem like he could since most of his expenses are being covered while overseas.</p>

<p>Your dad goes to the doctor & lawyer everyday? That seems like a lot of appts.</p>

<p>My brother already sends them money. It’s not enough though cause they gotta pay their mortgage, living expense, credit card bills, a little of my living expense since I’m dependent on them, and my Parent Plus loan. Is there a way of having my PLUS loan payments postponed for a while? </p>

<p>Yup he has a lot of appointments. However, sometimes my mom gets a break if there are no appointments but its not really a break since she has to do the house chores and all.</p>

<p>I don’t know how Plus loan payments can get delayed, since they aren’t your loans, right? Aren’t they your parents’ loans? Maybe someone here knows if such loans can be postponed while your parents are unemployed.</p>

<p>Is your dad seeking a settlement of some sort? Is that why he has so many atty appts?</p>

<p>Is your dad permanently disabled? Can he receive permanent disability?</p>

<p>I can understand your desire to delay school for a bit to help out. But, will there ever be a time that you could return to school, or will they always need your help from now on?</p>

<p>They are close to settling I think but supposedly it won’t be much and we would be screwed financially since pretty much our lives depend on the settlement amount right now…</p>

<p>He is temporarily disabled but the insurance company doctors say he is fine even though ever other doctor says hes not. This is why I get furious over doctors who are hired by insurance companies since I seriously feel as though the examinations are rigged. </p>

<p>I think I would be able to find a time to return to school but my parents keep telling me they are fine and doing well in school is the only way I can help. However, I don’t feel that way.</p>

<p>I don’t have any solutions for you, but I just wanted to say you sound like a good kid and best of luck. I know it is a cliche, but things have a way of working out.</p>

<p>I was in a similar situation in college, but managed to graduate with far less debt (less than $20,000) than most of my friends with more affluent parents. The trick? get into a top school with a strong financial aid program – these want to justify their huge endowments by admitting a diverse class, and will attract qualified low income students with tons of free money. it doesn’t even have to be ivy league, I went to a high ranking liberal arts school that has recently replaced all need based loan offers with scholarship dollars, so had I attended now I’d have graduated with no debt!</p>

<p>I put 1 in college as in my brother. Im not sure if my sister is still in grad school. Why do you think that’s too high??</p>

<p>You need to put 2 in college, because YOU will be #2.</p>

<p>They want to know how many will be undergrads during the 2010-2011 school year. That is 2.</p>

<p>It sounds like some of the young people here are the victims of parents with relatively high income, but none of it is disposable.I also believe that states with a high cost of living are at a disadvantage as well,because you have a higher income based EFC while at the same time,it costs so much more just for living expenses That is very bad from a financial aid standpoint. Just because the family has a high debt to service…too bad from a fASFA standpoint.
I know a guy who had just the situation that you describe. His daughter was talented and deserved to go to college,but his income had declined [but was still relatively high] and he could not escape his high debt service requirements. A year before college,the daughter went to live with her sister, and it was the household income of the sisters that determined the FASFA EFC. I am not gonna judge the morality of all this,but without it,the daughter could not have attended college.
Asset positioning is almost never thought of with people earning wage income,but for small businesses,it can really affect the aid package. Our family paid off all our debts and had no money in the bank when filing for FASFA. This kept our EFC low,but it then becomes a challenge to reposition assets to minimize taxes. Fortunately, FASFA assets reporting is just a snapshot in time, while tax reporting goes on all year.</p>