<p>My daughters school just posted her Aid Awards:</p>
<p>Financial Aid Award 2011/2012</p>
<p>Fed Direct Parent Loan (PLUS): $10,000.00</p>
<p>Federal Direct Loan Subsidized: $3,500.00</p>
<p>Federal Direct Loan Unsubsidized: $2,000.00</p>
<p>Total: $15,500.00</p>
<p>Her total COA is 22,204 and our EFC is 16421</p>
<p>My question is this, why is she only offered $10,000 for Parent Plus Loan? I thought this could be borrowed at the total COA. Also, are Parent Plus Loans deferred? Does this mean we will have to get private loans for the balance? I guess our plan will be to use the Sub & Unsubsidized Loans towards tuition, the Parent Plus towards the tuition and room and maybe try to just pay for the rest monthly to void more loans. I keep trying to remind myself that some of these expenses we are already paying for...... They're not free before college, in fact high school is pretty expensive too. I think we can do this, I hope!</p>
<p>Below is a breakdown of the COA:
Books and Supplies: $1,748.00
Board: $3,516.00
Fees: $638.00
FFELP fees: $142.00
Personal Expenses: $2,078.00
Room: $4,210.00
Transportation: $2,592.00
Tuition: $7,280.00</p>
<p>Wow. No gift aid at all mean you are really paying the full cost. In looking at the loans you should determine whether that is the best option for your sitiuation. The interest rates on Parent Plus loans are fairly high. Personally, I would take a home equity loan before I would take a Parent Plus. We happen to have a lot of equity in our home becasue we have lived here for a very long time. </p>
<p>The transportation and personal expenses are variable. It may or may not cost you what is listed. If the school is not far away you may have very little in transportation cost.</p>
<p>Yes, no gift award. It’s a fairly small out of state public school. She did receive WUE tuition which is already reflected in the COA. I thought Parent Plus loans had a low interest rate, I guess we better start looking around. We will try to cut costs wherever possible, used books, keep personal expenses down where we can. She will be flying home from Colorado to Southern Cal. but I have been looking at airfare and its just about $300 round trip right now, or we can use airline miles whenever possible. She was given permission to live in the on campus apartments, about $2000 a year more than the dorms shown on the COA, but she will be able to save on groceries instead of the meal plan.</p>
<p>I’d think long and hard about the apartment versus the dorm. $2000 extra for the apartment is a lot. To break even, you would have to allow for only $1516 for food or $168.44 for 9 months. Will she be able to get to grocery stores easily and will she have time to cook?</p>
<p>I’d try and pay as much of your EFC as possible and minimize the loans. They will add up fast. Best of luck to you.</p>
<p>You should be able to borrow more for Plus if you want. The school may be assuming that you intend to pay for some of it “out of pocket” - but you can do your EFC, your D’s loans, and any gap in Plus if you want. </p>
<p>*Her total COA is 22,204 and our EFC is 16,421
*</p>
<p>So, need is about 6,000 …about the amount of a student loan. </p>
<p>books and suppllies estimate is HIGH. She can do better buying books elsewhere and buying used.</p>
<p>I’d have her get a summer job to pay for personal expenses.</p>
<p>But, yes, if you want, you can borrow the entire amount in Plus since she got no merit aid or grants.</p>
<p>However, do you really want to borrow 100k for her undergrad? Yikes!</p>
<p>I would strongly encourage your daughter to live in the dorm so she can meet people. If she’s isolated as a freshman, she won’t be happy and want to give up and move home. Then all that money you borrow will be wasted.</p>
<p>I agree that the dorm will be better socially, maybe even financially. You don’t want her to skimp too much on food to save money. Buying the minimum meal plan usually ensures one square a day, she can skimp after that. You may find the reality is she stays on campus during the day rather than return to the apt. and ends up buying more pricey food on campus.</p>
<p>I’d also like to reiterate the point that if you borrow the full COA each year, you’ll be looking at $100K+ in debt. I think the term Aid Award is a misnomer. It’s not much of an award if you have to pay it all back.</p>
<p>Are the airfare estimates you’re using accurate for Thanksgiving, Christmas and spring break? You’d hate to tell her to stick it out there because double the fare isn’t in the budget. OTOH, I went home with friends for several breaks and had a lot more fun.</p>