I was accepted a school with a full ride which I am very grateful for. Bar a few unlikely outcomes, Im probably going to go the school. I received an official financial aid package that include about 5000 in unsubsidized loans and the rest is the scholarship. The reason I am writing is because the scholarship amount for this year about covers the cost of attendance according to their website so i dont know why the loan would be necessary. Is it simply an option they are offering or is the amount of loans plus scholarship actual cost of attendance? Any help would be greatly appreciated.
The loan is optional, you don’t have to take it, but anyone with FAFSA can use it. Don’t take it at all if possible, some students might need it for books or college necessities.
Thank you so much.
I would actually suggest taking the loan if you will major in something that will pay decently after graduation.
Very few people can afford to live within a COA, and it’s better than working.
What does the award letter say? What is the cost of attendance including books and travel and personal expenses, and is that covered by the scholarship or not? If not, you may want the loan if you and/or your parents can’t cover those.
The scholarship covers all the cost associated with attendance on the schools website. It also includes an additional amount for books. That being said, parents and I are very aware that there will be costs not taken into account- for example we live far away from the school and i will probably have to fly in- and we have budgeted for that. I was just wondering whether the loan offered indicated that there were some costs the scholarship didnt cover beyond the amount for personal expenses, transportation. sybylla suggested that the loan is offered to everyone who fills the fafsa.
If the award letter shows books etc and everything is covered by the scholarship, the skip the loan. You can take it later in the year if you find you need it, usually.
Ok. I cant thank you enough for all your help. I really appreciate it!
Everyone is offered a direct loan, either subsidized or unsubsidized depending on your financial situation, after completing the FAFSA. Its optional.
You can accept the loan but never actually take it. Do not take the loan if you do not need it, IMO. You will be grateful when you graduate if you do not have loans to pay.
The total amount of financial aid can’t exceed the COA, so if the COA is $50k and the student gets $50k in grants and scholarship, there shouldn’t be a loan offered. It sounds like in this case the school listed room, board, tuition, fees and books. Usually schools then have an additional amount for travel, insurance, supplies,etc. and will offer the loans to cover those.
My son also received a full ride a few years ago and recently graduated. His scholarship covered everything. Room board, books, tuition and fees. He never took a loan out and didn’t need to. The scholarship more than covered all that. He shopped around for books so he saved money there (money that he got to keep). Changed up his meal plan and moved out of the dorms and saved a lot of money by doing that. They did not adjust his scholarship amount so he still received the whole thing. Technically, he could have moved home and used that money for expenses.
Congrats on a great scholarship. It’s a gift to be able to graduate debt free.
Do remember that the part of the scholarship that covers housing and meals will be considered taxable, so get some help planning how to cover that cost.
Just make sure you are aware of the interest accumulates from the day the unsub loan is disbursed. The interest rate is getting higher too. Don’t take it if you don’t need to.
Don’t take the loans if you don’t need it. Most students actually do live within the school’s published COA.
We have avoided loans no matter what. That’s us, but like many others, I would strongly advise not taking the loans.
I would call the college financial aid office to find out why you were offered loans for a full scholarship school. In our experience, no loans were offered by a school that gave a full ride, because they weren’t needed. Is it possible this school does not meet “full need?”
Please check details with the school before committing to anything!