<p>I transferred to a Community College this semester and they changed their policy to where anyone who has taken out more than $12,500 in federal student loans have to submit a loan appeal request every semester for Direct Subsidized and Unsubsidized loans.</p>
<p>I was denied loans for this semester because "After careful evaluation of your overall transcript(s), the committee conclusively agreed that you have not advanced successfully toward a degree or certificate. Whereas we wish to be sensitive to the reasons for borrowing a student loan the fact remains that you already owe over $21,000 in student loans not including interest. At this rate, we fear you would reach your aggregate limit for financial aid before finishing program. The Loan Appeal’s Committee may reconsider your request for student loans after you accepted into your program."</p>
<p>I am an independent undergraduate student, I have not reached my aggregate loan limit of $57,000 (they say they aren't going to let me reach this at a community college, my former community college had no problems with this). I am in good standing with SAP, I got Pell Grant, my EFC is 0. I also am not near 150% of my degree. This is my last semester before I start my program (if I get accepted to start this summer), they know this and know I have already applied with a 3.88 GPA.
The reason I'm at $21,000 is because I previously went to a university and have since switched majors. I will not pass my Aggregate Loan Limit by the time I graduate!</p>
<p>They also stated "All decisions made by the committee are in accordance with the regulations set forth by the U.S. Departments of Education. This information can be found in the Federal Student Aid Handbook (34 CFR 685.301 (a) (8) GEN-11-07)"
I looked up 34 CFR 685.301 (a) (8) GEN-11-07 and this is what I found <a href="http://ifap.ed.gov/fsahandbook/attachments/Vol3Ch51213Jun14.pdf%5B/url%5D">http://ifap.ed.gov/fsahandbook/attachments/Vol3Ch51213Jun14.pdf</a> on page 3-86 under Refusing to originate a loan or originating for less than maximum eligibility. Not sure if Direct Loans and Stafford Loans are the same thing?</p>
<p>Do they have the right to deny me Subsidized and Unsubsidized loans to help me fulfill my need for cost of attendance, for the reasons they are stating?</p>
<p>I am an independent undergraduate student, I have not reached my aggregate loan limit of $57,000 (they say they aren’t going to let me reach this at a community college, my former community college had no problems with this.</p>
<p>As far as I know, Stafford & Direct loan are the same.
How many semester have you received Pell Grant?
Disregarding the change in majors, how many credits combined do you have?
Community Colleges are trying to stay on top of where the money is going.
In my city, community colleges do not even participate in the Direct loan program, only Pell.</p>
<p>Schools are allowed to set their own policies regarding awarding loans. Your school’s policy seems prudent, as they are seeking to limit the amount of loans a student takes - you will not be getting a bachelors degree from their school, so it makes sense for them to limit your borrowing to less than what you would be able to borrow to obtain a bachelors degree. It is worth a try to point out that you are not a dependent student, and you will not approach your aggregate limit. Maybe they didn’t realize that you are independent. It may not change anything, but it is worth a try.</p>
<p>first of all, it seems like your goal is to borrow the $57k. That is way too much for a BS degree. You’ve already borrowed too much for an Associates degree ($21k). Right now, you’re at the amount that many have borrowed when they get their BS degrees. </p>
<p>You may not reach the $57k, but you’re on track to get quite close.</p>
<p>I think that you’re so focused on borrowing the nearly $57k without any thoughts about how hard it will be to pay that much back. </p>
<p>What are you getting your degree in? Will you be getting a bachelors degree? What is your future career? How much do you think you’ll be earning?</p>
<p>Oh no, my goal is definitely not to borrow $57K. I know what I’m doing and if I didn’t need to borrow these loans, I wouldn’t. Who would WANT to!? I only have this much because I have since changed my major.</p>
<p>I’m getting a degree in Radiologic Technology. They make about $55K starting out, much later down the road it could be up to $81K depending. Also, I’ve seen jobs for instructors in this field that make $120K. A bachelors is not required for this job, and there are very few BS programs.</p>
<p>My husband is almost done with his bachelors and will be making a little more than me starting out. We have a plan to pay off our combined student loans in 5 years or less. If all goes well, it is doable. I know people who have $100K in student loans, just by themselves and are getting degrees that aren’t worth that at all.</p>
<p>This is my last semester before I hopefully get accepted into the program. Let’s just hope they actually give them to me once I am accepted or it won’t work out!</p>