<p>Hi guys this is my first post on the site ( always lurked as a guest but decided to finally sign up) and i want to try and understand my financial package. My school St. John's sent me my confirmation that my financial aid package is ready, but i really don't understand and need your help to understand it.</p>
<p>Fund Total</p>
<p>Fed Direct Subsidized Loan $3,500.00
Fed Direct Unsubsidized Loan $2,000.00
Fed Direct Parent (PLUS) Loan $24,345.00
St. John's Univ Resident Grant $2,681.00
St. John's University Grant $13,500.00
Federal Pell Grant $1,395.00
Academic Promise Award $8,000.00</p>
<p>Total $55,421.00</p>
<p>Good?Bad? i don't know and need help with all this before i start sending deposits</p>
<p>Basically, they expect YOU to take out loans totalling $5,500. They expect YOUR PARENTS to take out loans totalling $24,345. The rest of the total cost (COA) will be covered by grants/scholarships that you don’t have to pay back. </p>
<p>If you or your parents don’t want to take on that much debt, then you will have to come up with $29,845 per year (savings, summer earnings, etc.) Are your parents prepared to pay this or take on this debt?</p>
<p>Jetdroy - If you go to the College Board or Finaid.org sites, you will find calculators to show you the repayment amount for the amount of debt you are contemplating. For all four years of the maximum fed sub and unsub loans, the total borrowed is $27,000, and the payment over 10 years is $299/month. The PLUS loan (over 4 yrs) comes to $100,000, and the payment is $1208/month over 10 years. WOW</p>
<p>Bad! Your parents and you will be borrowing $29845 x 4 = $119380 plus interest.</p>
<p>26345 x 4 = 105380 will be accruing interest while you’re in school</p>
<p>Look at it this way:</p>
<p>Since you qualified for a pell grant of $1395, you probably have an EFC of around $4000. Please do correct me if I am wrong.</p>
<p>The COA at this school is $55,421.00. Your need is the COA - EFC = Need.
$55,421 - 4000 = $51,421 is your need. They gave you $24,181.00 which covers about half of your need. The rest is loans. </p>
<p>This school has a high COA. I hope you applied to more affordable schools unless your parents have $25,000 to pay per year or plan on taking out massive loans.</p>
<p>The school is assuming that your parents can and will take out a loan for over $24K this year, for which they have to qualify, by the way. A parent does have to undergo a credit check for approval. The interest rate for the loan is about 8% and starts to accrue immediately. And that is just for this year. So as someone says, they will likely be asked to borrow over $100K over 4 years. In addition you are given loans, though that will be the usual case for you at most schools. </p>
<p>Unless you have a noncustodial parent or grandparent or other outside source for that $24K, it’s simply not doable. For a family that is PELL eligible to take on that much debt is too risky, IMO.</p>
<p>Thanks for all the replies I’m guessing I’m going to a cheaper school. I really don’t want to owe a lot of money coming out if college</p>
<p>^ Good for you. Avoid crippling debt.</p>