<p>Okay, so today I looked at my account and saw the aid show up. This is what I got:
FEDERAL PELL GRANT- $5550
FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY GRANT- $1800
SUPPLEMENTAL EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITY GRANT- $950
Total- $8300</p>
<p>I need help because I clicked "Saved Changes" thinking that if I save then I'm set. Tough luck for me, that was the loans:
FEDERAL SUBSIDIZED STAFFORD LOAN- $3500
FEDERAL UNSUBSIDIZED STAFFORD LOAN- $2000</p>
<p>I DO NOT WANT TO TAKE OUT LOANS! How can I decline the loans once I saved the changes. If I end up taking the loans, I'm dead meat because there is no way I could repay that. </p>
<p>Also, I'm In CARE and how is it that I didn't get first generation aid? And anyone have a clue for when the summer aid will come out? And how to we check the bright futures grant?</p>
<p>Also, is this amount ($8,300) any good? I will be living off campus, so I know I will pay a bit less.</p>
<p>natty - There were only 9 First Gen grants available this year across all of the CARE population (~360 students x 4 or 5 years). We didn’t get it either even though it’s “renewable” and we had it last year. Overall, your financial aid package (excluding loans) is only about $1,000 less than what my daughter got last year. So not bad at all. She did take the loans - it was necessary to meet her need. </p>
<p>Summer aid, according to the financial aid office, should be up first week of April but they have been unreliable (not always in a bad way). Initially, I was told it would be up last week but then what was up last week turned out to be Fall/Spring. If you’re in CARE and you qualify for the Pell your whole summer will be picked up by an FSUG that covers everything you could possibly need at all. Try to save some of that money to help in the fall (my daughter had an overage of $1,000 from summer that she took with her into the fall semester).</p>
<p>Call the financial aid office and tell them that you don’t want to take out the loans you “saved.” They should be able to sort that out for you with very little problem. :)</p>
<p>Unless you have a few thousand dollars saved in the bank, or you can get money from home, you might want to give some serious consideration to at least borrowing the subsidized Stafford loan. Adding your Bright Futures money of maybe $2000 to the $8300 will work out to $5150/semester available to you now. For an absolutely bare-bones budget for a semester figure you’ll need approx: $3000-tuition; $300-books; $2500-rent; $800-food…$6600 total. You’d be short $1450 for the semester, or almost $3000 short for the 2 semesters! The $3500 subsidized Stafford loan might be needed also by you to get through the year. I didn’t factor in health insurance premium if you have to buy that extra additionally.</p>
<p>I don’t get why people are so adverse to the idea of taking out student loans. Every single person so far that has complained about getting offered them- something EVERY STUDENT is offered, no matter their financial situation- has had a financial aid package that would not be sufficient for them to attend FSU without taking out the loans.</p>
<p>The student loans are a LAST RESORT for the school to offer you, to get you towards being fully covered by your financial need. If the University is offering you the student loans, that means that they either ran out of funds from other sources (grants, FSU scholarships, etc), or you didn’t qualify (Pell Grants, etc) for other aid, and loans were the ONLY WAY that they could come close to fulfilling your financial aid, per your FAFSA.</p>
<p>Be glad you got offered what you did, because some weren’t as lucky. Sometimes student loans are your only option. </p>
<p>If you’re really that adverse to the idea of taking out student loans, maybe attending FSU (or continuing, if you already attend) isn’t possible. Maybe you should go to a local community college, get your AA, and transfer to FSU, saving as much as you can during that time period.</p>
<p>@pasbal
I think it’s quite obvious why many want to avoid loans. They can plague you after college of you don’t get hired right out of college.
I was offered a loan, but I have a job that will at least help me pay for food and books. So there is no need to take out a loan. If you can avoid loans I strongly suggest it especially for undergrad. If you can’t avoid it then take advantage of the loans and try getting a part-time job at the same time to at least get a little head start before you get that “real job” after you graduate. </p>
<p>Oh, I understand why people are so against the idea. If you can avoid them, do so. That’s the advice you’ll hear from pretty much everyone. But if it’s the only way to afford to attend FSU, that’s the only way. Don’t completely avoid them just because you don’t “like” the idea- sometimes they’re the only way you’re going to afford college.</p>
<p>$8300 in financial aid won’t be enough to attend FSU. For one semester, sure, but with the uncertainty of how much tuition will be next year- whether the standard 15% increase will happen or whether the 40% hike will be implemented- and whether Bright Futures will even exist next year is still something you will have to plan against. </p>
<p>$8300 in financial aid will likely only cover tuition and housing- and that’s if you’re lucky. I’m expecting tuition next year to run $220/credit hour (after fees), with the standard 15% increase, or $275/credit hour if the 40% hike is approved and implemented.
That’s $3300 a semester right there if you take 15 credit hours worth (although funny enough, Bright Futures is actually at its best “value” at 12 credit hours per semester), or $6600 for the year.
Unless you are living on the streets somewhere, I doubt housing for two semesters will be anywhere near the remaining $1700 that the OP would have left, and that doesn’t include food. </p>
<p>In short: $8300 isn’t going to be sufficient, and if the OP wants to attend FSU (or continue) they will likely have to accept at least some of the student loans they were offered. </p>
<p>Remember too that if you give back any of the student loan money you receive within 120 days of disbursement, you aren’t charged interest at all (unless this changed recently). So if the OP was disbursed loans but decided that they didn’t need them and ultimately returned the funds, they wouldn’t be hit with interest or penalties.</p>
<p>Well obviously $8300 isn’t enough for Uni if you don’t have any income or savings to help pay for the remainder of college expenses. I’m just saying I understand why people freak out about loans and try to avoid them.
If OP doesn’t have a P/T job or any savings than getting a loan is the only option to help pay for everything else.</p>