<p>i was arguing with my mom about this today. my mom said that she heard that after graduating and getting a job, a student must pay back the money he/she got off the financial aid. my argument was that that's called school loan, not financial aid. isn't financial aid something the schools 'give out'???</p>
<p>i really need the answer on this. we( my mom and i ) are both convinced that each other's truly clueless.</p>
<p>it depends on whether aid is given in the form of grants or loans. grants don't have to be repaid but you must pay back the loans.</p>
<p>for example, Pell Grants - don't have to pay back. Stafford Loans - have to pay back. </p>
<p>in most cases, the aid you get will include both grants and loans.</p>
<p>Well you both are right as usually financial aid packaging consists of :</p>
<p>Grant/ scholarship aid (which does not have to be repaid)
and a self help component: work study and loans (which do have to be repaid).</p>
<p>Some schools can give you financial aid that consists of all loans.</p>
<p>It depends a great deal on the school, their policies, your income, and outside scholarships.</p>
<p>Harvard, Princeton, and Yale provide a virtually free education if your family makes under $40,000 a year. Princeton does not include loans in any financial aid package.</p>
<p>In most cases, though, loans will be a substantial part of your financial aid package. In general, you're looking at graduating $15-25,000 in debt. However, there is a good side to this.</p>
<p>1) The loans do not start gathering interest until you graduate (or leave school if you go on to further eduaction). </p>
<p>2) Loans can be reduced or entirely eliminated through outside scholarships. $4-5000 a year can remove your loans.</p>
<p>thank you everyone =)
in my case, i'm applying for private boarding school financial aids. i had to fill out PFS and all....does anyone know about this?</p>