Financial Aid Questions

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Alabama
1

<p>I will be a freshman at Alabama next year.</p>

<p>My mom and I were working out financial aid things today, adding up scholarships and FA offered from bama, etc. At some point, (I’m not entirely sure when; I think she was talking to a FA lady from UA) my mom was told that freshmen get $5,500 off tuition the first year. I, myself, had never heard this so I"m asking you guys to verify or disprove it. </p>

<p>Secondly, we were looking at the offers. I was offered subsidized loan, unsubsidized loan, and work study, in addition to the presidential. We’ve accepted the presidential and work study because I’m willing to work on campus. From the little research I’ve done, I know that subsidized loans are better because the government pays the interest while I"m in school and for a 6 month grace period. There was a note that loans given from 2012-2014 would not have interest paid during the grace period after graduation. Is this true?
Also, are we right in accepting the subsidized and not unsubsidized because it’s not crucial we accept both? </p>

<p>Any insight into these issues is greatly appreciated :)</p>

<p>classes</p>

2

<p>Freshmen do not get a tuition discount. Freshmen are allowed to take out $5,500 in Stafford Loans, be they subsidized or unsubsidized, while sophomores, juniors, and seniors can take out more. </p>

<p>You are not required to take out any loans if you can otherwise pay your expenses. Subsidized Stafford loans are better than unsubsidized ones because the government pays the interest while you’re in school (I’m not sure if the 6 month grace period after graduation still applies).</p>

<p>Freshmen are offered smaller work study awards that only fund around 11 hours of on-campus work per week while sophomores, juniors, and seniors get funding for around 16 hours of work per week.*</p>

<p>*Federal Work Study awards seem to assume that there are 17 weeks in a semester when there are actually 16, so funding for 10 and 15 hours of on-campus work per week is actually funding for 11 and 16 hours of work, respectively. You are not required to work all of the hours for which you have work study funding, but you won’t get any work study money that you didn’t earn from working.</p>