Sorry if this sounds stupid. Not sure how commonplace it is for students/parents to take out loans, but I think I will be doing so.
Is there a financial aid requirement (aka you need a certain income in order to be eligible)? I dod not apply for any financial aid so I am paying full tuition, and must request a loan.
Will I most likely be granted a loan? I am not “poor”, and there are definitely those who may need the loan more than me, but I am also not wealthy and it would be hard on my family to pay the full tuition without a loan especially because I have 2 younger siblings
Are you international?
If not you can get unsubsidized federal loans up to about $5500 freshman year. The amount increases a bit for later years. Anything more would be parental loans or private loans that would be cosigned by your parents. Private loans would require good credit on your parents’ part.
If you are international then it is up to your family to get loans on their own.
How much do you need in loans?
? Why didn’t you apply for FA if your family can’t pay??? That makes no sense.
You’ll need to submit FAFSA to get student and parent loans.
Wait…are you an int’l??
Edit…looks like you’re a Mass resident. Why didn’t you apply for aid??? You got into UVA! And other good schools!
@mom2collegekids @TomSrOfBoston nope I am not international! 
My counselor told me I could try to apply for FA but virtually I would get no aid (not even $5,000). He said it would be a waste of time and would also take money away from those students who need it more than me.
My family CAN pay. It would just be hard. No, I won’t be homeless if I pay full tuition, but I want to take into consideration my younger siblings and I want them to have the same financial opportunities that I do
Your GC gave you some bad advice. Did you receive any merit aid? Unsubsidized federal loans do not take money away from other students. Also when your younger siblings enter college, if you are still an undergrad yourself, you may qualify for need based aid. However some colleges will not allow you to apply for need based grants in later years if you did not apply for them as a freshman. Now if your family earns say $300,000/year then it is quite reasonable that they are full pay for you.
@TomSrOfBoston thank you for your advice! I’ll answer some of your “questions”:
My family doesn’t earn 300,000 a year.
My siblings will not be in college even by the time I graduate.
Yes, I wasn’t a fan of my GC 
I didn’t receive merit aid anywhere, most of the schools I applied to did not offer it. FA is not a huge deal to me, which is why I didn’t fill out FASFA or CSS profile. However, my parents and I do find it reasonable to get loans. Not huge loans, but small ones
How much money do you need?
The best student loan is the federal direct student loan program, which is only available to those who file the FAFSA.
After you file the FAFSA, a freshman may borrow up to 5500. If you have financial need, the government subsidizes the interest, but there are still a number of advantages to the unsubsidized loan in terms of payment plans and forgiveness programs.
@AroundHere when applying, I didn’t use FAFSA … can I apply for FAFSA after I have gotten accepted and then try to get loans? I think 5500 is adequate-- haven’t talked in detail with my parents but I think that is what they expect/want?
Yes, you can still submit FAFSA. And maybe CSS as well.
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FA is not a huge deal to me, which is why I didn't fill out FASFA or CSS profile. However, my parents and I do find it reasonable to get loans. Not huge loans, but small ones
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THIS makes NO sense. FA is a huge deal if you must resort to loans.
@mom2collegekids I say this with respect but I think it does make sense. I never said that I NEED loans nor did I say I financially depend on it. I said it would be ideal and reasonable. Am I in the worst economic condition? Luckily, no, not even close. But am I wealthy enough to pay full tuition not only for myself, but also for my two younger siblings? No.
I am not resorting to huge loans. I just think It would be easier and reasonable for my mom and siblings to get loans, especially if (which I just learned) I can get up to $5500.
If you haven’t had any sort of “money talk” with your parents, you need to do that, pronto. Like, get off the computer and go talk to them right now. Go over the cost of attendance for the school you want to attend and the budget.
Assuming you are correct that the federal student loan meets your needs, file that FAFSA. Once you file your FAFSA, the loan will be processed through your school. Contact the financial aid office after they have a chance to process the FAFSA. Generally, the next steps are accepting the loan through your school and doing an an “understanding your loan” class (usually an online video type thing).
Your schools are Profile schools. You got accepted at team as a full pay student…because you did NOT apply for need based aid…and mostmof those schools do NOT give merit aid.
You can submit the fafsa, and you will get a $5500 federally funded loan.
In terms of the Profile, and institutional aid…you sure have missed the deadlines for applying for institutional need based aid. I suppose youncan try…but don’t hold your breath.
And if any if your schools are need aware for admissions, you probably needed to apply for aid THIS year when applying tomgwt need based aid.
Those schools cost $70,000 a year.
@thumper1 no I don’t need need-based aid. I am sorry if it seems as if I need the aid. I am not in an economic state in which my undergrad experience depends on it. Hence why I didn’t apply for need- based.my Mom would just like to take out a loan. $5500 is enough for us— we never needed $20k or anything like that.
So I think all of you have answered my question (thanks all!) so yes, I think the federally funded loan of 5500 is what I need. I never intended on getting need based aid nor do I regret not applying for FA during the beginning of the process if that makes sense
Although there’s no means testing for unsubsidized federal loans, it really is need-based aid. If you don’t need it, you shouldn’t take it. It’s not free money. You’ll pay interest and there’s an origination fee.
Totally agree. If you don’t NEED a loan…don’t TAKE a loan.