<p>On my D awards letter from UB, there was no mention of a loan, and we received a total of 5500$. I am now trying to take a loan out, a PLUS parent loan, but when I put my school's name down, it says "our school does not accept that award year"- and the problem is, there is only ONE option (on the scroll down list) for an award year. The only year listed is 2010-2011, and if you don't chose that year, the PLUS loan that I was trying to fill online, will not go through- obviously. I do not want to take out a private loan i.e. Sallie Mae, as the cost would end up being more than through Federal Loans. </p>
<p>Question now is: How can my D take out a loan? She did the entrance counseling, and the MPN for a I believe "Stafford" Loan. Does she have to do what I started to do- go through the same process, just for a Stafford loan? Will that type of loan give us the complete amount she needs for school (about 10,000$), or only part?</p>
<p>And out situation is a little different. My Husband was out of work for about 6+ months and I am on disability and do not work(for a number of years now), so our income has drastically decreased- is it possible with these changes to get more Financial Aid? Should my D wait it out, go to school and to their financial aid office ( we live 7 hours away so its not possible to go there before "move-in" day August 26th.) that meaning we would have to somehow come up with the money to pay the first school bill that gets mailed out, I believe July 26th?</p>
<p>OR after signing the MPN, does the school get notified and will they send us a a new awards letter (I was confused with this, people mentioned the only thing they did was they signed an MPN electronically and within a week got a new awards letter where they could accept/deny the offers of the federal loans)...</p>
<p>Sorry this is so long, the process has been a night-mare so far. If only the school had written a loan offer in the original loans letter (which I also don't understand why they did not do) this would have not became such a huge hassle. Thank-you for any support that we receive on this matter.</p>
<p>CALL THE FINANCIAL AID OFFICE ASAP! This needs to be resolved before school starts.</p>
<p>Even with Staffords and ParentPlus loans this school may be unaffordable! You may well be turned down for ParentPlus loans if you are unemployed/bad credit. Do not do not send your daughter off to college without knowing EXACTLY how you will pay the bills and EXACTLY how much loans you actually qualify for/been awarded.</p>
<p>What is the max in loans you are willing to have your daughter and you take out for 4 years of college? Make sure you don’t take out more than about 1/6 of that number the first year because college costs go up every year!</p>
<p>If this is for Buffalo, I think you have to fill out and submit a form (see link) to request a Plus loan…you may also have to do some online MPN as well:
<a href=“http://src.buffalo.edu/pdf/1011ParentPlus.pdf[/url]”>http://src.buffalo.edu/pdf/1011ParentPlus.pdf</a>
You should probably call FA on Monday (716-645-2450) to make sure of the procedure and also inquire about making a special circumstance appeal due to your H’s unemployment. It’s possible they will adjust your EFC, which I assume is close to or over UB’s COA now since she didn’t get any aid other than Stafford loans, and she may become eligible for other types of aid…perhaps they may be able to help her become TAP eligible (which requires NYS taxable income of $80K or less). I don’t know the source, if any, of your disability income but if it is from Social Security it is not reported on FAFSA.</p>
<p>Btw, Buffalo does not include parent loans in their packaging as they aren’t considered to be financial aid! I know that some schools do “package” parent loans in the FA offer, but there are always extra steps that the parents must actually complete in order to obtain a Plus loan. </p>
<p>Your daughter did what she was supposed to for the Stafford (online counseling and mpn) so UB will take it from there on the $5500 loan in her name. She doesn’t have anything to do on the Plus loan side, as the loan will be in your name, or your husband’s. You can check a box on the application that will tell UB to offer her an additional amount of Stafford unsubsidized loans if the Plus loan should not go through.</p>
<p>The original post is a bit confusing, but I THINK I may have some answers.</p>
<p>The $5500 sounds like a Stafford loan offer for a freshman. What does it actually say on the award notice next to the $5500?</p>
<p>If you are trying to apply for the PLUS by using the online application on the studentloans.gov website, it is possible the school is not participating in the online PLUS loan application program. My school is not doing so at this time. We prefer a paper application with a parent signature on it. UB may be requesting the paper application, as well.</p>
<p>@mom2collegekids- I did pick 2010-2011, but UB (BUFFALO) did not allow for it, application did not go through. And my H was out of work starting October of 2009. EFC was around 37,000$, which is why I was amazed that we got 5,500- NOT a LOAN type- but it was “free money”, a Grant. @annikasorrensen- I will call them Monday, and thank you for your concern. We are willing to take out 10 grand each year. We have mortgage on another property which is why we need to take out loans, otherwise we’d be able to pay out of pocket. @cptofthehouse- Thank-you, will be done. @sk8rmom- you must be an official for this webste, I see many of your replies (which have helped me in the past) and the link you sent me looks like its what I’ve been looking for! I found last years link- so I thought the new year (2010-2011) was not out yet. You have been by far the most helpful! Also, in the awards letter with that Grant was Tap, around 500 per semester, or 550? (We sadly lost the paper-we never lose anything) and we called UB’s BIRD system to accept the offer. (Is there any way of getting another copy of that awards letter btw? Just to have my own copy, this time we would be sure not to lose it) Heh.
As for the steps my D took, what are the NEXT steps, do we go to a Stafford loans website, or does UB automatically send us some paper work for taking out a Stafford loan, or an offer? -If the FA office says we cannot do PLUS loans (my credit is spotless)-so why would they not allow me to take out loans- then I’d like to know what the next steps to Stafford loans would be. @kelsmom-Sorry for the confusion, but can’t be that confusing as I’ve gotten more help than I could have imagined! It didn’t say loan, it said it was a Grant. After you sent out the paper by mail I take it, how long till you got word/accepted offer?</p>
<p>Confusing because $5500 is the maximum Stafford loan permissable for a freshman. It is better if the student borrows rather than you simply because the interest rate is lower for them. If you want to help the student in paying off the loan or paying the accumulating interest while in school if for the unsubsidized part of the loan, you certainly can. With a $37K EFC, are you going to qualify for TAP? Your student will not qualify for subsidized Staffords as UB total costs are well under that figure, especially with that $5500 grant.</p>
<p>Also, when approved for a PLUS, the accounting office at UB will wait for the funds to arrive and not charge late fees. They are well aware that TAP and federal money sometimes take a while to arrive. </p>
<p>With spotless credit, you certainly will be eligible for PLUS. As I said before, their process is a bit different from other schools’. I remember having to go through with the office. They get their funds from a different source than the majority of other schools. </p>
<p>Right now the Cost for Attendance (COA) is about $21K for UB, is it not? My son has been out for a year and was off campus for his last two years, so I don’t really remember the COA. With $5500 in grant, another $500 in TAP grant, plus the $5500 from the Staffords , You are up to $11500 towards your costs. If your D has any money saved up or is earning something this summer, and you can scrape up a bit, you can probably come up with $15K or so towards the cost, making your PLUS loan amount needed about $6K. </p>
<p>Be aware that you have to start paying on that PLUS a few months after it is given, and at 9% it is not a fantastic deal. Even the Stafford at about 6% accumulates quickly. I remember the dismay of one young lady who borrowed $11k (parents denied plus) one year and accumulated about $700 in interest that year.</p>
<p>Anna, you only an estimated amount of TAP from the UB award letter as HESC will notify you of your final award after the NYS budget is settled (which is pending resolution of the SUNY proposal to allow campuses to set their own tuition rates, among other things). You should be able to hear her UB awards by calling BIRD (716-645-7800, option 3) again. You don’t have to accept grants from UB - they do it automatically for you - it’s loans and work study that are optional. Pretty sure UB’s fall bills should be in the mail any day now and that should also list her FA awards. Btw, if your D doesn’t need their health insurance make sure you submit the online waiver so you’re not billed for it!</p>
<p>I’d be interested in knowing what the $5500 grant was…it sounds suspiciously close to both Pell and Stafford amounts but, for Pell, they would have had to adjust your EFC due to the prolonged unemployment and you should have received an email notifying you of a new SAR. </p>
<p>Anyway, there is nothing more to be done on the Stafford side, as cpt said. UB has always been a federal direct lender and will simply credit your D’s account (1/2 per semester). We don’t have Plus loans, so no experience with exactly how those are handled!</p>