How much will I be able to borrow?

Paying for College
1

<p>I am going to be taking out at least a subsidized loan and maybe an unsubsidized loan.</p>

<p>I went on the government website that tells you how much you can borrow and I am confused because they don't answer a question I have.</p>

<p>Here is what it says I can would borrow max:</p>

<p>2nd-year undergraduate - $4,500 / $6,000 (Independent)
(The first number is the base amount, which may be any combination of subsidized and unsubsidized loan funds. The second number is the amount of additional unsubsidized loan funds available.)</p>

<p>Then it says underneath it:
The amount a student can borrow is also limited by the student's school costs, other financial aid the student may receive, and (in the case of subsidized loans) the student's expected family contribution.</p>

<p>6 credit hours tuition costs: $2,604
7 credit hours tuition costs: $3,038
8 credit hours tuition costs: $3,472
(That's the max hours I would be taking the first year and the cost is for Fall/Spring semester both.)
I am going into the nursing program, first year there is a $80 fee for a Nursing course. </p>

<p>I will want to put like $600 on my student ID card for lunch at school.
No room/Board - Like I said independent student- married - 2 dependents.
Books and supplies - $600 a year
Then of course living expenses.</p>

<p>Pell Grant: $2,675
OOG: $250
My EFC is 0.</p>

<p>My FA package will cover tuition and books, BUT only if I don't go above 6 credit hours. We know how that works though, we end up with 7 or 8 credit hours, which would be more then what my aid provides.</p>

<p>I am guessing from the above that I "could" actually borrow the $6K in unsusidized loans, but what is the max I would be able to borrow on the subsidized loans (My first choice of course.)?</p>

2

<p>Your Pell grant appears to be based on you being enrolled 1/2 time. If you ended up enrolling more then 1/2 time then you should get additional Pell money. If you find you are taking 8 hours you may be better off trying to take 9 to get the additional Pell and loan money.</p>

<p>Financial aid amounts are based on the schools COA. The COA is not just tuition and fees. It includes estimated amounts for books, room and board. travel, miscellaneous expenses. Schools often have a different COA for students not living on campus. But you can get financial aid towards your living expenses when living off campus. (My daughter’s school has the same COA for living off campus and she uses her financial aid to help with her rent and utilities).</p>

<p>Your total aid, including grants and loans, cannot exceed the COA. So you would need to know the school’s COA for off campus students (and for 1/2 time) to know how much you can borrow. The subsidized loans are need based so of you show unmet need after your grants then you should be able to get subsidized loans up to the amount of the need, or maximum subsidized loans. For instance if the COA for a half time off campus student is $10,000 then you already have $2925 in grant aid leaving $7075 unmet need. If you are offered the full amount of subsidized loan of $4500 then $7075-4500=$2575. You would not be able to borrow more than an additional $2575 in unsubsidized loans as that would exceed the COA.</p>

3

<p>Thanks!! I went and looked up the COA! My school has a whole calculator!</p>

<p>(For a year)
Federal Pell Grant - $2666.00
Ohio Instructional Grant/Ohio College Opp. Grant - $500.00
Direct Subsidized Loan - $4477.00 *
Direct Unsubsidized Loan - $3184.00 **
Total Award Amount - $10824.00</p>

<p>Then it says that my my expected out of pocket would be $0. My FA package should be pretty darn close to that then. And at least I won’t have to take out the entire amount for the unsubsidized loan. (whew) I should walk away from college with about $20k in student loans, which isn’t bad for becoming an RN.</p>

4

<p>Gosh I am such a dutz sometimes. LOL</p>

<p>I logged onto my school account and they said:</p>

<p>Your estimated cost of attendance is $17,330.00</p>

<p>Then I went to another school calculator and it says:</p>

<p>Federal Pell Grant - $2,366
Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant - $600</p>

<p>Federal Direct Subsidized Loan - $4,500
Federal Perkins Loan - $1,000
Federal Direct Unsubsidized Loan - $6,000</p>

<p>Your Total Financial Aid Award Amount - $14,466</p>

<p>Each semester costs a little over $5,000 so I’ll be GREAT!!! (total COA)</p>

<p>Thanks so much, you sort of forced me to go to the school’s website and research this stuff.</p>