<p>I'm currently entering my senior year. I'm now anticipating a super senior year due to a late major change. I have not had to take out any loans thus far due to my school's generous financial aid. However, my school expects all students to take out loans once they make it past the fourth year. So, a few questions:</p>
<p>1) Your Pell grant amount/eligibility does not change in the fifth year, correct?<br>
2) It seems that the maximum amount in Stafford loans I could take out would be $7,500 for the fifth year, correct? Well, my estimated Pell grant + Stafford loan combo does not cover the cost of attendance at my school. I'll still need to come up with another $5-10K (depending on how much I'll be able to earn from summer jobs and work during the school year). So how do I cover the remaining amount? Are there any other government loans available or would I be expected to take out private bank loans?</p>
<p>I'm sorry if these questions could've been answered using the search feature but I really appreciate your input! Thanks in advance for any help!</p>
<p>You can receive a Pell grant, as long as you’re still an undergrad and haven’t received a bachelor’s degree yet. Depending on your school, they may also offer you a federal Perkins loan and work study. Your parents could apply for a Parent Plus loan, which is a fairly simple process and does not require much in the way of credit (they do check for bankruptcies and delinquent accounts over 90 days). If they aren’t approved for some reason, your school can give you an additional $4K in unsubsidized Stafford loans.</p>
<p>Btw, are you receiving any state aid? If so, check the time limits on that - many states specify their grants are for a certain number of semesters only.</p>
<p>For the Parent Plus loan, my parents can sign for loans that cover the entire cost of attendance or is there a limit depending on my parent’s income?</p>
<p>Interest does not start accruing on the unsubsidized Stafford loan, until 6 months after I graduate? Is that right? </p>
<p>What about for a Parent Plus loan? Do they immediately start charging interest on that the moment they disburse it to you or do they wait until after you graduate?</p>
<p>Also, I do not think I’m receiving any state aid, unless grants provided by my public university count as state aid, in which case I was planning on that not being a source for my fifth year.</p>
<p>I’m 99% sure that my financial package only consists of: 1) Pell grants, 2) institutional grants provided by my college, and 3) scholarships I got when I graduated high school. Financial aid sources 2+3 are no longer going to be provided once I enter my fifth year, so I’m going to have to take out loans to cover the gap.</p>
<p>Not sure about Parent Plus but UNSUBsidized Staffords start accruing interest upon disbursement. You don’t have to start paying back until 6 months after you leave school but interest will have accrued during that time.</p>
<p>Wow, that’s pretty tough with the interest beginning to accrue the moment that it is disbursed. Thankfully, my loans will be only accruing interest for the one year prior to graduation. I suppose it’s a lot worse for other graduates who take out unsubsidized loans and have some of it accruing interest for 4 years or more!</p>
<p>So, just to gain some input on how I’m seeing this right now.</p>
<p>Total Cost of Attendance at My school for the 5th year: ~$20,000</p>
<p>Pell Grant: $5,500 (Assuming max eligibility)
Stafford Subsidized Loan: $5,500
Stafford Unsubsidized: $2,000
Total in Pell + Stafford = $13,000</p>
<p>Leaving ~$7,000 I need to cover on my own or through different loans. </p>
<p>So does that look right? I think it does, but I just want to make sure I’m not missing something that I should’ve taken into account. All schools are required to disburse Pell + Stafford to eligible students through the tenth semester of study? Those are like government mandated programs like Social Security and Medicare, right? </p>
<p>Thanks again for any help! I just really have no experience with student loans so I sort of want to be able to plan this out a bit so I know what I’m getting into…</p>
<p>People who are lucky enough to have the financial resources to (and are aware enough to realize this) pay off the interest each month instead of having it added back to the loan. That makes the loan much easier to pay off (you only have to pay off what you borrowed, and the interest stays the same amount).</p>
<p>Im under the impression that with Stafford loans, you can borrow the unsibsidized even if your COA is already met and the subsidized amount can only be used to get you up to your COA?</p>
<p>Correct me if I’m wrong but that’s the way I read it.</p>
<p>Eligibility for subsidized loans: COA-EFC-Pell-scholarships-federal and/or institutional grants-work study (if awarded)-Perkins loans (if awarded)=eligibility for subsidized loans up to the maximum for year in school.</p>
<p>Eligibility for unsubsidized loans: COA-Pell-scholarships-federal and/or institutional grants-work study (if awarded)-Perkins loans (if awarded)-subsidized loans=eligibility for unsubsidized loans up to the maximum for year in school.</p>