<p>Have a look at your SAR from the FAFSA you filled out (you should be able to access it online). If it is the same as last years there you would have been asked some questions that referred to the ACG and it would show on the SAR after step 6 whether your answers indicated you are eligible. If not check the link I gave you and see if you think you completed the 'rigorous curriculum' for your State. If you are still not sure - ask your school.</p>
<p>We found that, though the FAFSA indicated she qualified, the college had to check my daughter's transcripts etc to verify it before they awarded the ACG. And it was very late.</p>
<p>ACG & sMART are pretty new and still confusing to some schools. Read the info on the website, if you feel you qualify and it is not showing on your finaid package, do not be afraid to email your officer and ask about it, pointing out how you believe you qualify. They may also wait until the fall to see your HS info and verify you qualify before offering it so they don't end up surprising people by taking it away in the fall.</p>
<p>How about the loans? What is going to happen after I graduate?</p>
<p>Stafford loans which are subsidized means the govt pays your interest whilst you are in school and you begin paying back 9 mos after graduation. Unsubsidized loans mean interest accrues during your school years, you also begin paying those back 9 mos after grad</p>
<p>Should I take the unsubsidized loans, which is $2300</p>
<p>If the unsub loans are part of your package, you may need to take them, but you should just be aware. For instance my D who is a grad student had some subsidized and some unsubsidized loans both- when she got a TAship and needed less in loans overall, she immediately paid off the unsub loans and used only subsidized ones- so if your package improved (SMART grant added) you might be able to reduce the unsub loans</p>
<p>so if I take the $2300 unsub loans, whose rate is 8.5%, it will be $2500 after one year? $10000 after 4 years?</p>
<p>8.5% APR would be about $200 a year in interest</p>
<p>Unsubsidized Stafford loans for students have an interest rate of 6.8% right now. This rate will go down each July for the next several years. Only parent PLUS loans have an interest rate as high as 8.5%.</p>
<p>The site FinAid (finaid.org) has a bunch of useful calculators you can use to explore different loan scenarios. For example, you can compute what the monthly payments will be after graduation for different loan amounts. </p>
<p>If you're considering an unsubsidized Stafford loan, then you might find it helpful to try the FinAid calculator called "cost of interest capitalization". But read the explanations of loans on FinAid first, so you'll know why you should care about this.</p>
<p>yeah. I am talking about the Parents Plus loan, which is unsubsidized 8.5%.
If I take $2300 Parents Plus loan for four years as it shows (assuming the amount doesnt change much for the next 4 years), it will be a lot after four years.
really frustrated</p>
<p>You're a student, right? Then you can't take out a parent PLUS loan. Only your parents can do that. They will be responsible for signing the promissory note and repaying the loan.</p>