Hi All,
First time posting. Please help. Senior year (last year/ 4th year) student at a private college in Long Island, NY. GPA 3.42 senior year. Total tuition is around 72k scholarship awards and aid around 42k. 29k balance roughly for the year. Did one year in community college so won’t have to take out too much debt. (Let’s not make this a you took out too much debt discussion please I really need help). Last two years school was covered by Parent Plus Loan everything worked smoothly, schools about to start this semester. Just got email last week saying I turned 24 therefore not eligible for parent plus loan anymore. (Turned 24 in July 2019). Me and my family are recent immigrants. No established credit therefore applied with 5-6 different private lenders from schools suggestions and online research using both parents and siblings as cosigner’s. Absolutely no luck. I have tried international lenders and ones for bad credit and no I do not have any other family, friends or endorsers or cosigner’s either. My question is in a situation like this is there anyway I could appeal the Parent Plus decision due to me turning 24? I was claimed as a dependent on last year’s taxes filed by parents and will be next year as well. And yes due to being denied Parent Plus they bumped up my direct loans to 12500 for senior year and also offered another need based scholarship for 5k therefore I’m just in need of around 23k for my last year or I would have to drop out due to turning 24 and not having credit and would end up without a degree and parent plus loan payments would also start in another 6 months…really don’t know what to do at this moment. Someone please help. I’m based in New York if there’s any orgs or scholarships for hardships that could help. Also my mother was diagnosed with Cancer last year who took out all the parent plus loans for me. Feeling very hopeless right now.
So you took out $60k in loans and have a year to go? Since you’re a NYS resident you can transfer to a SUNY. The ~$7k NYS TAP (tuition) Grant and ~$6k federal Pell Grant would cover tuition. Do you live within commuting distance of a 4-year college? If so, apply there as a transfer (commuter). If not, take the $12,500 federal student loan and apply as a residential student.
@kelsmom
This is an undergrad with one year left…and is now 24. Any chance he could still get the Parent Plus Loan?
If this student transfers, it is very likely that the student will need more than one year at his new school to receive a degree.
To the OP…can you request a leave of absence for the year, get a job, live with your parents…and bank every nickel so you can finish? You will need to find out if your other school based aid will be available for you if you take a one year leave.
@thumper1, At the SUNYs they might not need more than a year. SUNYs require only 30 credits in residence to get a degree. If OP lives within commuting distance of a SUNY they should apply there. It will be easier to scrape together the ~$9k tuition and fees for a SUNY than $23k for the private school. It sounds like they have 3 years of Pell eligibility left. If that’s true and OP can commute, the Pell Grant and a summer job would cover the tuition and fees. They could graduate without any additional debt even if it took more than a year. If they have to dorm, the Pell Grant, summer job money, and $12,500 federal student loan should cover it. The loans should be avoided, but I think $25k in federal student loans is better than $23k in PLUS loans.
If OP takes a leave of absence won’t he have to make payments on his $60k loan? That might be difficult to do when he’s trying to raise $23k for college tuition.
@itsmoec, there’s a SUNY Equivalency website that can give you a good idea what classes from your private college will transfer to your local SUNY. What part of NY do you live in? If you’re close to New York City look into the CUNY schools.
Six of one…half a dozen of the other…if loans are taken. Might be worth it if he can get the plus and just be done at his current school…which is presumably where he wants to get his degree.
It just doesn’t seem right that his parents can’t take the Parent plus for him…I never even thought that once a student reached age 24 they became independent And parent plus loans were not any longer an option. Something for others to consider…
Oops…yes, there will be a six month grace period and then loan payments will need to start.
How does a student take out Plus loans in the first place? Aren’t those only for the parents? Is it that the parents take them out and the kid tells them they’ll pay it?
Students whose parent have been denied Plus loans can take an additional $4-5k in direct loans per year. Poster said that has been offered but it isn’t enough.
I think you may have to amend your FAFSA, and you might qualify for the Pell grant, a SEOG if your school has any money left, a state grant if eligible. Some states have loan programs (NJ) but it sounds like you don’t have that option in you state since the school didn’t suggest that and sent you to private lenders.
Sometimes there just aren’t options.
I agree with @twoinanddone amend your FAFSA to sit if you are eligible for PELL as an independent student. Op will not qualify for TAP because age for independence for NYS aid is 35. However, If op is in his 4th year and the family makes less than $125k he could possibly get Excelsior. Even with this there is still going to be 12k on the table.
@thumper1 , no. Once the student is independent for financial aid, the ability for the parent to get a PLUS loan is gone … and students cannot get a PLUS loan unless they are grad students. Private loans are unfortunately the only solution in this case.
@itsmoec , check with the financial aid office to see if they have institutional loans … some schools do, and they use them for helping students finish their degrees. They may not, but it doesn’t hurt to ask.