@mommdc cover what?
Here are the requirements straight from PA State Grant website “Are enrolled at least half-time (defined as at least six semester credits but less than 12 semester credits per semester, or the equivalent)” Pell sees a reduction but that is all. Already discussed the private scholarship and school grant, both cover 4 years of aid, regardless.
Here is a more specific breakdown. These are lines from this year’s package. Since my family income will not change, these should stay the same, per year:
Pell Grant: $5,815.00
School Grant: $4,000
PA State Grant: $4,004
Scholarship: $6,000
Granted, this number is more than tuition but I need to pay housing with this as well, books, and I will have food expenses. Hoping to supplement these costs through working.
This year I had federal subsidized, unsubsidized, and Plus loan. I do need the Spring semester disbursement but I’m saying I think it’s possible not to use the full amount. Less travel, less trips to Spanish cafe, less tourist events in the city I’m studying because I’ve already seen them.
I feel like some posters on CC don’t get that while debt is a crippling thing, there are very successful people with debt and that it is a very personal decision. I am not opposed to having debt, especially being a strong, academic full-time student attending school in a big city, living on campus, studying abroad, all things that were non-negotiables in my mind for my college experience.
I did mention my goal to pay my loans off within 5 years. It is imperative to me to pay off the plus loan before payments are required (we deferred them to 6 months after graduation). If that is paid, I should have loans that are about $15,000 at graduation, which is less than half of the national average. $15,000 for four years of living on my own, going to one of the top colleges in my field, attending a large public college in a large urban city, and visiting 12 countries while studying abroad in Europe for a year, and acquiring a foreign language seems worth it for sure. Having a year with my expenses covered without having to ask to borrow money, not feeling overly restricted with the Plus loan feels worth it for sure.
And at the end of the day, I have to live with that.