<p>I know I have seen it explained somewhere before on this forum but I can't locate it . My D only worked half the summer , therefore , short of meeting her needs for Fall semester . Our EFC is zero . Will the EFC of zero for the family automatically reject us for the PLUS loan ( which I know we can't do ) , and therefore , qualify her for additional Stafford loans ? This semester , she received $1300 Perkins , and $1100 Stafford subsidized & $900 work study . She needs $3000 . Will she be able to receive that amount in unsubsidized Stafford ? Does she have to have a co-signer for unsubsidized ? Does it have to be a parent ? WHERE does she apply for it ?</p>
<p>You can apply for Staffords just about anywhere: Major banks, sponsers of CC, SallieMae, NellieMae, StudentLoanCorp, the attending college. They all will have the the same criteria and terms. The difference will be in the initial fees and discounts in repayment. Your school probably has a preference of lenders or is a direct lender. </p>
<p>Both Staffords (unsub and sub) are max'd at specific levels-You cannot exceed that level, Any site will tell you. You are either eligible for subsidized or you are not. There is no co-signer. You do need references (2.)</p>
<p><a href="http://www.finaid.com%5B/url%5D">www.finaid.com</a>, <a href="http://www.aessuccess.com%5B/url%5D">www.aessuccess.com</a> (private agency of the State of Pennsylvannia), <a href="http://www.studentloan.com%5B/url%5D">www.studentloan.com</a> (citibank). Compare them and learn.</p>
<p>wow your EFC is zero and she isn't even getting the maximum subsidized Stafford?</p>
<p>for sophmore year she can borrow up to $3,500 on Stafford.
<a href="http://finaid.org/loans/studentloan.phtml%5B/url%5D">http://finaid.org/loans/studentloan.phtml</a>
also gives info about private loans</p>
<p>I noticed the shortfall also, maybe they are a direct lender and taking out fees?</p>
<p>Have you asked the college to increase her subsidied stafford loan? </p>
<p>You may have to go through the process of filing for a plus loan and getting turned down . THis would then make your daughter eligilble for and additional $4000 as an unsubsidized loan. </p>
<p>I agree with EK, that you should first persue the subsidied monies that she is eligible to borrow.</p>
<p>You were right . The school filled in the rest of her allowed Federal subsidized Stafford . But they could not increase her Perkins because they already gave most of it away this late in the game .</p>
<p>So we were told that we would be DENIED by PLUS at a certain lender , so this morning we did the preapproval at PLUSFAST ( recommended by school ) and they did the preapproval based on our credit rating within 60 seconds . Imagine my surprise when it came back approved ! </p>
<p>Totally surprised because we were rejected at two credit unions for a car loan recently !</p>
<p>With $20,000 in credit debt from years ago ( when we did not have health insurance ) which we pay steadlity without fail --of course , the credit score is good . We pay $300.00 a month on an income of $25,000.00 a year and can not take on the burden of more loans.</p>
<p>1) Does anyone know of preapprovals that were later denied after further investigation into family 's finances?</p>
<p>2) Other alternatives for student to loan money .......</p>
<p>wow, I am glad that everything worked out with the school increasing her subsidized loan. I also know that this has to be pretty frustrating for you because now you are pretty close to filling the gap (based on earlier post now $600).</p>
<p>Could you go back to FA, explain your situation with the hope that maybe they could increase her work study? </p>
<p>If the balance of the monies needed is not for tuition, room, board or books, would your daughter be able to help make up the shortfall by tutoring, babysitting or taking on a part time job during the school year?</p>
<p>This spells it out......very nice info and thanks for sharing. I do appreciate this, especially since bills are now due and some new students are not so informed. Thanks to all.</p>