<p>I just got accepted into UPenn and UPitt for social work a few days ago. I would love to wait around and see which one offers me more aid (my EFC is 0) but UPenn wants a decision by the 20th on whether or not I want to go. I want to go to UPenn the most (I mean, I really want to go) for several reasons, including proximity to my family and my activist organization, their offer for my field work, keeping my job, possibilities for free room and board with a GA position, etc, but it is also twice as expensive as UPitt.</p>
<p>Does anybody know if UPenn will offer me in my award letter all the loans I need, or will I have to seek out additional loans? Does anyone have any experience with the amount of aid UPenn offers? I filled out their aid form and a FASFA. Any general advice on the schools would be helpful as well.</p>
<p>I have a co-signer for all loans, and my mother is willing to loan me some money without interest. Anyone know of lower-interest private loans that I could take out if I needed to?</p>
<p>Don’t guess, call them.</p>
<p>Thank you, but I already did! Not helpful. They won’t know until next week when they meet to discuss aid.</p>
<p>Graduate school financial aid is typically based on merit…not on need. Grad schools typically award merit awards based on your demonstrated merit as an applicant. These awards can be scholarships, fellowships, assistantships, grants, loans and sometimes work/study. Grad students can take Stafford loans, and work study is also federally funded. </p>
<p>I hate to say this but your need isn’t usually considered. Think of it this way…many grad students have an EFC of $0 as the previous year they were full time students earning no appreciable income. There are no Pell grants or the like for grad students.</p>
<p>I would suggest you contact someone in the department in which you plan to study to see if you are possibly being considered for any aid.</p>
<p>They should either give you guidance as to typial aid or extend your deadline so you can consider finances. Borrowing a lot for a degree in social work which will not yield a high paying job does not seem prudent.</p>
<p>Why can’t you accept UPenn, see what their package is, and then change your mind if it’s not good? They can’t force you to go.</p>
<p>I agree with M2CK, unless they want a huge deposit you can’t afford to forgo. On the loan question, I’d strongly recommend you look at Grad Plus loans first - they do not require a cosigner, the credit check is minimal and is for adverse credit only, the interest rate is fixed, and they are eligible for federal loan consolidation, income based/income contingent repayment (IBR/ICR) options, and, most importantly, public service loan forgiveness. You may want/need IBR/ICR if you want to eat and have a roof over your head on the typical starting salary for social work and you should definitely look into the new 10 year loan forgiveness program for public service/non-profit employees and keep careful records! Private loans will NOT be eligible for any of these programs.</p>
<p>[IBRinfo</a> :: Can they help me?](<a href=“http://www.ibrinfo.org/can.vp.html]IBRinfo”>http://www.ibrinfo.org/can.vp.html)</p>
<p>Can you call Penn and ask for an extension on your decision deadline? I know in doctoral admissions it’s fairly easy to get an extension when you’re waiting on other offers if you just ask.</p>
<p>Ask about:
TAships
RA positions (dorm)
Research Asst (work study)
Tuition remission</p>