independent student

Paying for College
1

<p>Hi</p>

<p>My son is considered an independent student for the 2009-2010 school year. He has been told he will be getting the Pell Grant (not sure how much yet) and possibly work study. As of right now he is thinking about taking out $7500 in student loans. We are hoping to help him pay for college next year instead of him taking out the loans. My question is this....if we pay the tuition that the Pell Grant and work study doesn't cover, will it affect him getting the Pell Grant and work study next year?</p>

2

<p>How does your student meet the requirement to be an independent student? It’s hard to say if your paying will make a difference without knowing this.</p>

<p>DS is a grad student. We pay well over half of his support. He is STILL independent for financial aid purposes because he is a GRAD student. However he was NOT independent for TAX purposes in 2008.</p>

3

<p>He is considered independent for Fafsa. He will be turning 24 this fall. We did claim him as a dependent on our 2008 taxes.</p>

4

<p>Why not make the payment a loan to your son, on which you defer payments, and then when he graduates you can forgive it? Additional loans should not affect his Pell Grant or work study.</p>

5

<p>Let your son take out the loans. If they are subsidized, they will be interest free while he is in school. If you want to help him with school, if he has unsubsidized loans, you can pay those off (then pay the subsidized loans off after he graduates).</p>

6

<p>So if a parent helps to pay an independent students tuition will it possibly affect him getting future Pell Grants?? </p>

<p>If it does, then we would let him take out the loans and help him pay them off when he graduates like you suggested sybbie719.</p>

7

<p>If a parent of an independent student pays any of the student’s bills, tuition, living expenses, etc, the amount has to be reported on the FAFSA, so sybbie’s suggestion would be the best.</p>

8

<p>Chedva …how would a parent go about making a loan to their son and documenting it so that it wouldn’t affect their aid?</p>

9

<p>Just get a standard promissory note (you can find them on-line), modify it so that no payments are due until 6 months after graduation, and have him sign it. You can do that each year. You should have some interest rate in there.</p>

<p>Then it’s a binding loan, which you can forgive when it becomes due if you so choose.</p>

10

<p>Thank you for the advice.</p>