Financial Aid/Loans not going to cover college?

Paying for College
1

<p>I am 25years old, I have been trying to straighten out finances to be able to go to school for years now. I even waited until I was "financially independent". Having filled out my FAFSA for this year with a personal annual income of ~20k I am being told I have ~3k EFC. </p>

<p>The school I have been accepted to runs at about 10-11k per year. As far as my FAFSA goes, it was saying that I may quality for pell grants of up to ~1000. Curious I messaged my college for information on how much loans would cover. I received the following:

[quote]

"Federal Stafford Loans are based on grade level. Freshmen are eligible to receive $5,500 for the year, Sophomores can receive $6,500 and Juniors and Seniors are eligible to receive $7,500. This amount is for the year, therefore will not be enough to cover the full amount of your tuition, fees, room & board. Your total bill for the year will run closer to $11,000."

[/quote]
</p>

<p>Now my math is not amazing, but that comes out as me having to meet a cost of approx.
$4500 based on 11k cost of school. </p>

<p>Can someone help me here? I was wanting to try and take out loans to cover the full amount. I don't have enough credit rating (nor to my parents) to take out private bank loans, and my parents don't have the money to pay either. </p>

<p>Is there something being missed here? Also I am finishing up paying on my car for at least the first year.</p>

<p>I also won't be able to continue working full time and therefore $20,000 income reflected on my current FAFSA will not be reflected as I head to school. </p>

<p>I feel like I am in a hole here, I just want to go to school and get an education. My younger brother is also planning on attending and in a similar situation. </p>

<p>any info would be appreciated,
thanks,
-Liam</p>

2

<p>Since you’re an independent student, you can borrow a bit more…about 9500 your first year…however, I wouldn’t recommend that you borrow that much each year.</p>

<p>Since you make about $20k per year, you really should be able to put more of your income towards college costs.</p>

<p>FA doesn’t usually cover college costs. EFC doesn’t really indicate how much you have to pay…usually you have to pay for more. </p>

<p>Are you living at home?</p>

<p>(Frankly, with that income, I’m surprised that your EFC isn’t higher. I would think it would be at least $5-6k per year).</p>

3

<p>Ok. You may have misunderstood me. I am working full time at the moment I will be having to quit this job once I head to school as I will be attending full time (1hr 30mins away). I will be having to work part time around campus to try and make ends meet for my car payments (my parents may be able to help with this a little).
I plan to live on campus in the dorms. </p>

<p>Are there any other lending options available beyond federal loans that do not require amazing credit? My parents have poor credit rating, and I have not enough credit history (when I tried to take out a 3,000 car loan recently).</p>

<p>all I can say thus far is /sigh.
to think how many people are probably in the same situation, just wanting to better themselves.</p>

4

<p>That is tough. Since you don’t seem to be worrying about room/board I assume you live at home.</p>

<p>In that case it wouldn’t be impossible to make the $4500 a year while going to school. You could also look for scholarships. I found one at my current school, almost by accident, that is now paying $3500 a year for me. </p>

<p>Start saving like crazy now before you start in the fall. That’s about 5-6 months so you should be able to save something substantial.</p>

5

<p>Your school is 11k for total tuition, room, and board? That’s really cheap.</p>

6

<p>Just for clarification.

</p>

<p>also. Yes the $11,000 is the total costs including room/board.
[WSC</a> | Admissions | Tuition & Fees](<a href=“http://www.wsc.edu/admission/paying/tuition_fees/]WSC”>http://www.wsc.edu/admission/paying/tuition_fees/)</p>

<p>Obviously the cost of this particular school is a major reason, besides having friends that already attend. It’s the cheapest 4 year school in the region afaik. </p>

<p>I am living at home now. But I pay rent and have a car payment/insurance/gas.
I have a little bit saved (~1.3k) but still owe ~$4000 on my car, which I am trying to get paid off. </p>

<p>Obviously once I am done with paying off my car (plan on using my entire tax return next year), Things will no doubt get a little easier. But this is also very dependent on the amount I am able to work/earn at a part time job around campus.</p>

<p>I am awaiting information on the financial aid award packets (eta end of the month). </p>

<p>So besides Federal Stafford Loan, Pell Grants, and or Scholarships. There are no other options in my case?</p>

<p>I am not hearing much of anything about “Federal Perkins Loans”, at least not from the e-mail I received from the financial aid office at the school, nor on here. What is the deal with that loan? would be be possible to take advantage of both loans to meet the full cost? or can I only use one or the other? Which is best (allow for a higher loan)?</p>

7

<p>*I am living at home now. But I pay rent and have a car payment/insurance/gas.
I have a little bit saved (~1.3k) but still owe ~$4000 on my car, which I am trying to get paid off. </p>

<p>*</p>

<p>Since you say that your parents may be able to “help a little”…why not ask them if you can stop paying rent NOW, and put your money towards paying off your car? Also, work as much as you can between now and fall semester…even if it means taking a second job.</p>

<p>If you weren’t offered a Perkins loan then you probably won’t be. They are very limited and schools dole them out in a limited number. Your school might only be able to offer them to those with 0 EFCs. </p>

<p>You can borrow $7500. Add to that your $1k Pell and your EFC, and you’re at about your full cost of attendance.</p>

8

<p>You can borrow as an independent student which with your PELL will bring you just about to the $11K figure. Part time work, a little savings, a little bit from your parents and you will be able to make it. Since your income will be lower while you are a full time student working only part time, next year your PELL will increase so you won’t have to borrow as much. And so it will go your third and fourth years when you won’t have the 12 months of full time work you had to include for year 1 and the 9 months in year 2.</p>

<p>Once you get to the school, you might want to visit the financial aid office and let them know you are interested in any opportunities for more aid. You can also find cost cutting and some odd jobs to supplement your income. My one son saved a lot of money his senior year by living off campus in a house with a bunch of kids and cooking at home. The one in college now is going to be doing the same next year. By cutting costs, you can reduce the amount you have to take in loans, but this first year, because of the full time income from 2010, you will not get as much PELL money as you will in future years.</p>

9

<p>You haven’t received your award letter from the school yet, correct? There may be other awards … you will have to wait to find out. You might get work study or institutional money. If the school has Perkins loans, you may be offered one. You won’t know any of this until your awards are packaged. The award notification should be coming in the next month or so. Make sure that if you are selected for verification, you submit all requested documents right away.</p>

10

<p>*You can borrow $7500. Add to that your $1k Pell and your EFC, and you’re at about your full cost of attendance. *</p>

<p>oops…I made a typo above…an an independent, you can borrow up to about 9500 (as indicated in post #2). With your Pell and some/all of your EFC, you should be fine.</p>

<p>hopefully, Kelsmom will chime in…</p>

<p>As an independent, what’s the most he can borrow as an undergrad? Would he be able to borrow $9500 (or more) each following year and still be under the max for an independent undergrad?</p>

11

<p>Got a question for you. Do you need a car once you start college? Will you earn enough to cover it’s expenses and still have spending money. If you can work on campus, without the expense of a car, do you come out ahead if you sell it? </p>

<p>I know, it limits your freedom. Without wheels, you’re stuck in Wayne, and there’s not a whole lot there besides the college. And at 25, the dorm scene full of 18 year olds might wear thin pretty fast. But, run the numbers and see what happens. We pulled the car from my d1. Even without car payments, she’d be working a certain number of hours to cover car expenses and then a certain number more for personal expenses money, and in the end it would have been just too many hours. </p>

<p>BTW, I love this CC forum for it’s level headed advice. The posters hear seem sincerely concerned about helping studetns and parents make affordable choices. I’m insisting my younger d look at WSC as a financial safety (yes neighbor, I’m within driving distance of Wayne, too). Sadly, it doesn’t offer the major older d wanted. The place is community college cheap.</p>

12

<p>Being the guy with the over 21 license, this guy will get plenty of rides.</p>

13

<p>As an independent student you will be entitled to borrow more Stafford loans than the typical dependent undergraduate. Plus with Pell, you should be fine. But I agree with Kelsmom, that you don’t know yet what your FA award is yet. You might be pleasantly surprised.
Good luck and let us know what you eventually do get in the way of FA.</p>

14

<p>Independent undergrad borrowing limits:
Freshman $ 9,500 (up to $5500 of that can be sub)
Sophomore $10,500 (up to $4500 of that can be sub)
Junior $12,500 (up to $5500 of that can be sub)
Senior $12,500 (up to $5500 of that can be sub)</p>

<p>Aggregate limits for independent undergrads:
Subsidized=$23,000
Combined sub/unsub cannot exceed $57,500</p>

<p>Students must be classified at the grade level by the school to borrow at that grade level. That is, just because a student is second year doesn’t necessarily mean he is a sophomore.</p>

15

<p>Wayne State looks like a great deal. A good friend of mine went to medical school there, I believe and commuted. </p>

<p>I agree about the car, but it 's tough to give up a car when you are 25 years old and used to having one. You have insurance, maintenance, gasoline administrative expenses along with having to worry about the car. My kids have always found jobs right on campus at about the same pay as anything any distance. A car can really eat up the money.</p>

16

<p>Different Wayne State for med school, I believe. That would be WSU.</p>

17

<p>*Wayne State looks like a great deal. A good friend of mine went to medical school there, I believe and commuted. </p>

<p>*</p>

<p>I’ve also seen students who’ve graduated from WSU and then go on to some very good grad schools. So, if you can make WSU happen, you should.</p>

18

<p>You would know, better than I, Kelsmom. Michigan is the state.</p>

<p>Regardless, the price is right for the school and though the OP might have to borrow more heavily than he would like at first, it will work out as he segues into full time student status. I wish there were more schools like this that can accomodate kids at that price range.</p>

19

<p>This Wayne is in Nebraska.</p>

20

<p>Thank you for all of the advice. As fas as assistance from my parents, they can’t offer me too much which I can understand. </p>

<p>My mother has offered to cover my cell phone bill though, which I am sure will help a lot. My father (divorcee living out of state), has offered to assist with my car payments although I am not holding my breath on that one. Great if that is the case.</p>

<p>As far as gasoline goes, I plan to use my car only for trips back home and stick with liability insurance once it is paid, I would break even if I sold it now, but selling a car that you owe on is very hard and my mother (co-signee) does not condone the idea.</p>

<p>I really don’t think I can do without my car, atm. But once it is paid off, that is certainly and awesome idea to help make ends meet if need be. (Maybe even find a cheaper car with the money). I plan to use my first tax return after fall to finish paying off my car.</p>

<p>I understand I will be surrounded by youngsters and older students alike, (it honestly doesn’t bother me too much). I will certainly attempt to take advantage of rides given my situation though. </p>

<p>I can be a little bit of a hypochondriac, but I am really trying to make sure this works out. It’s been long enough, I’m not a dummy, and I need my education (no offence to ppl without college). </p>

<p>I am fairly confident that I will be able to do pretty well with my major (Comp Sci). Somewhat hopeful that I can get a little work with websites or something that will be able to be done during my studies from the comfort of my dorm room at some point. But hard to tell what kind of money I could generate from that.</p>

<p>Then there is my younger brother who may be a little worse off than myself?. He is not an independent student. </p>

<p>I guess we shall see when our award letters arrive, I can certainly rest a little easier now I am a bit better informed. Thanks again. I will keep you guys posted once the award letter comes.</p>