I’ve been accepted to top private schools, but have not received my financial aid package yet. However, what I’m wondering is how do loans work? I always hear people saying like “oh, you’re going to come out of college with $50,000 in debt if you go to USC.”
Is there a maximum amount of $ loans one can get? I heard something about federal loans and private loans? idk
Please help :)) any info is much appreciated!
For federal loans, you have a cumulative maximum you can borrow as a dependent undergraduate student, which is at $31,000. In Direct Stafford loans, you can borrow $5,500 as a freshman, $6,500 as a sophomore, and $7,500 as a junior and a senior. For students who end up with debt higher than that figure, they either borrow private loans, are independent students with a higher aggregate limit, or their parent has been denied for the federal PLUS loan, allowing said student to borrow additional amounts in their federal loans.
Do your schools meet full need?
Can your family meet the EFC?
Most importantly, did you file for financial aid by the deadline?