Help! My Financial Aid Package doesn't cover the Cost of Attendance

[emeraldkity4]

<p>PLUS loans begin to be paid back as soon as final amount is sent to school- I believe you can get a hardship waiver for the loan until student isn’t in school- but interest has to be paid back before that.
Also PLUS is only for parents of dependent students.
For independent students- loans are

Federal Direct Student Loan Limits</p>

<p>The following criteria have been established for determining the amount of subsidized money to be distributed to a student in the Federal Direct Student Loan Program:
Students who have not completed their first year may borrow up to $2,625 per year.
Students who have completed their first year but have not completed their sophomore year, are eligible to borrow up to $3,500 per year.
Students who have completed their sophomore year but have not completed their senior year may borrow up to $5,500 per year.
Graduate students may borrow up to $8,500 per year.
The annual maximum amount may be awarded to you as a combination of subsidized and unsubsidized William D. Ford Federal Direct Stafford Loan. You must pay the interest on the portion that is unsubsidized while in school, and during any grace or in-school deferment periods, unless you elect to have the interest added to the principal. This is called capitalization. Having the interest capitalized will mean larger payments when you begin repayment. </p>

<p>Independent students may borrow additional funds beyond the annual limit of the subsidized Federal Direct Student Loan. Additional unsubsidized Federal Direct Student Loan limits for independent students are as follows:
Undergraduate independent students who have not completed their sophomore year may borrow up to $4,000.
Undergraduate independent students who have completed their sophomore year but have not completed their senior year may borrow up to $5,000.
Graduate students may borrow up to $10,000 per academic year.
The aggregate amount for Federal Direct Student Loan for undergraduate students is $23,000 (subsidized or unsubsidized) plus $23,000 additional unsubsidized for independent undergraduate students.
The Federal Direct Student Loan subsidized aggregate amount for graduate students is $65,500, including amounts borrowed as an undergraduate. The aggregate amount of additional unsubsidized Federal Direct Student Loan for graduate students is $73,000, including amounts borrowed as an undergraduate.
Dependent undergraduate students may not borrow the additional amount under the unsubsidized Federal Direct Student Loan because of the availability of the Federal PLUS Loan for parents. Exceptions may be made by a financial aid counselor if the parent is denied a PLUS Loan.
Consistent with federal regulations, Federal Direct Student Loans have an origination fee of 1.5% that is deducted from the amount borrowed. This is called the origination fee.

</p>