<p>@Thumper, i’d have no problem reporting it to the college, I’m just wondering if I could use that money to pay off the deposit debts if needed. </p>
<p>And picapole thank you for that reference! I’m actually homeschooled, so getting advice at my ‘‘high school’’ certainly isn’t an option at the moment. And thank you guys, I won’t make a rash decision I assure you! It’m waiting for my aid and scholarship information to be in my hands before making decisions–I’m just trying to do some thinking early on =) </p>
<p>I know you can’t make the decision for me–but for taking out federal loans–what should be my goal number to get my yearly college debt down to? As in, if my scholarships and financial aid pays off, what should be my ‘‘i can do this’’ mark and my ‘‘I’m sorry, this isn’t an option mark.’’ I was -thinking- my goal is to get it under 5k a year, so that i’d be able to take government loans for roughly that per year and work full time in the summer/part time through the school year.</p>
<p>Thank you all once again, and I will contact Sally 
</p>
<p>@picapole, could you give me Sally’s username so I could PM her? I’m trying to look it up on the website but not having success. I’m fairly new. Thank you!</p>
<p>Your guaranteedDirect federal loans have a limit. $5500 for freshman year, $6500 for sophomore year, $7500 for junior year, $7500 for senior year. Those are guaranteed, in your name without a cosigner.</p>
<p>At some schools, if you are low income, you might get a Perkins loan, but those are NOT guaranteed. I wouldn’t count on that.</p>
<p>Any loans beyond the Direct Loans and Perkins (IF you get a Perkins) will require a cosigner.</p>
<p>Is this an actual FL community college you’re considering or a private 2-year school? If it’s the latter, please make sure it’s accredited.</p>
<p>Did you get accepted to any of your RD schools? If you get accepted at a FL community college, are your parents going to be able to help you pay to get there, or are you totally on your own financially? If your parents can’t help pay for school, it might be better to start out near home and transfer. </p>
<p>@picapole Done! Thank you so much</p>
<p>@thumper I believe I’ll be able to get a cosigner–if my mom works as that. And, since they aren’t guaranteed, what helps to boost your potential for them?</p>
<p>@austinmshauri It’s a 4 year private FL university, I won’t be attending the community college. :)</p>
<p>Thank you all once again for bearing with me!!!</p>
<p>What helps to boost your potential for Perkins loans?</p>
<p>Also, is it a good idea to call in and request for fee waivers for tuition/housing deposits if you have 0 EFC, etc? Anyone have experience with this?</p>
<p>Perkins loans have very limited funding per college campus. The SCHOOL actually awards these funds. Usually Perkins are given to the lowest income accepted students, and the earliest FAFSA filers. So to maximize your chance for a Perkins, file your FAFSA on January 1 of your senior year in high school using excellent estimates for the previous year income/taxes. </p>
<p>There is NI guarantee that even with an early filing you will actually receive a Perkins Loan. Also, there is no guarantee on the amount.</p>
<p>Some schools will waive a housing deposit and some simply will not. Many schools expect a student contribution even with a $0 EFC.</p>