<p>So I got about $5,000 in combined student Stafford loans, the rest was put into the amount of the Parent PLUS loan. My parents told me that they are too financially unstable to pay the monthly payments for this loan, so I am going to have to provide for the remainder. This leads me to these questions:</p>
<ol>
<li>If we decline the PLUS Loan, could my personal Stafford loan offers increase?</li>
<li>Are there any other viable options for replacing the PLUS loan with something better than a private loan? </li>
<li>What about emancipation? Could my aid go up if I become emancipated? What are the guidelines for delving into something like that?</li>
<li>If my parents aren't contributing to my school, can I declare independence and get better aid?</li>
</ol>
<p>I'm going to speak to a financial aid person at school, but just wanted to get some initial feedback. If you can answer any parts of any of these questions, I would be very grateful.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>No, but you are entitled to take out the maximum available in Stafford loans whether or not that was specified in your financial aid package. I believe for a first years student that would be $3500 subsidized and $2000 unsubsidized, for a total of $5500.</p></li>
<li><p>You can try to apply for private scholarships. Or look into education benefits available through Amercorps or the military. </p></li>
<li><p>No, you can’t change your status as a dependent through emancipation. You are considered a dependent for financial aid purposes through age 23. There are some exceptions, but they don’t apply to your situation. </p></li>
<li><p>Same answer as #3.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Calmom, not quite his question, and I would not recommend, but I thought if Parents apply for Plus loan, and are turned down for credit issues, student can get more for Stafford.</p>
<p>kayf - Students can get more in Stafford IF the parents apply for the PLUS and are rejected. If the parents qualify for the PLUS, but aren’t willing and able to actually take it on, then the student is limited to the basic Stafford amounts.</p>
<p>tjtigers14 - You can’t afford this college/university. Get a box of Puffs Plus (they are the softest) and go ahead and cry your eyes out. But when the box is empty, go find yourself a college/university that your family can afford.</p>
<p>Happy, I said I wouldnt recommend it, but it could be that if Tiger’s parents applied they would be rejected. Hard to tell.</p>
<p>I actually would recommend giving this a try, but only for about 10 schools in the country, and only if were say 5K a year keeping the kid out. I’m thinking Wharton, MIT, and a few others.</p>
<p>I think the student is going to MSU. NOT worth big debt.</p>
<p>* the rest was put into the amount of the Parent PLUS loan. My parents told me that they are too financially unstable to pay the monthly payments for this loan, so I am going to have to provide for the remainder.*</p>
<p>How much is this Plus loan (which is an addition to your own student loans)?</p>
<p>**If it’s for more than a couple thousand dollars, then these Plus loans (one each year) will be too much for you to pay back. ** </p>
<p>If the Plus loan is for $5k or more, that’s too much. Sadly, sometimes parents are too quick to agree to letting their kids pay these back with little concern about how these loans will seriously hurt their adulthood. Maybe parents are too embarrassed about their own situation, so they agree to this quicky solution to get the heat off of themselves. **Nevertheless, it’s a very bad idea if these added loans will be significant. **</p>
<p>What school is this? What is your likely major and career?</p>
<p>If this is MSU and all you were given was a $5500 student loan and a Plus Loan, that suggests that the Plus loan is for over $10k. If so, that is waaaaay too much. You’d end up with about $70k in debt or more.</p>
<p>You can ask the financial aid office if there are any other options. Generally, there are not. Any loans offered to a student over the federal ones tend to ask for a credit worthy adult to co sign and be on the hook for repayment.</p>
<p>Average cost for tuition, room, board etc for a full time student is around $22,000 for instate at MSU. Parents can get in under $15,000 if the stuent takes a Stafford and makes some adjustments on some of the variable costs.</p>
<p>Average cost for tuition, room, board etc for a full time student is around $22,000 for instate at MSU.</p>
<p>That suggests that the student was given a 5500 student loan and about $15k was a Plus Loan. Again…so not worth it. Waaaaaaayyyy tooooo much debt. The student would have about $80k in debt by graduation.</p>
<p>Students cannot bank on the extra $4000 they would get to borrow in unsub Stafford if the parents are turned down for PLUS. Too many parents who “can’t afford it” are NOT denied. In this case, the $4000 would be a drop in the bucket, anyway. $5500 in Staffords (which may ALL be unsub - sub is NOT guaranteed, as sub is need based & OP’s EFC may exceed COA) + the additional $4000 unsub still leaves more than $10k to pay … and don’t forget books, miscellaneous, etc, etc.</p>
<p>Where do you live? Can you commute to a CC or to a 4 year? This is what MANY, MANY students do.</p>
<p>There is no way I could afford with Michigan State with only $5,000 in stafford loans and nothing else and I’m not about to get drowned in private loans.</p>
<p>The student (me) was actually talking about Wayne State. The difference I’d have to cover would be $5,000. </p>
<p>I think I’m going to do monthly payments for about $2,000 of it and then take out a private loan for $3,000 and pay off the interest as I go? It seems like the most feasible option, though not optimal.</p>
<p>I tried to convince my parents to take out a small PLUS loan if i make the payments on it, but they don’t trust me to pay them back and I guess that’s my own damn fault.</p>
<p>How much can you earn over the summer by working as much as you can…even if it means two jobs? If you work your hiney off this summer, you might be able to save almost all of the $5k.</p>
<p>The reason you should try to earn as much as you can over the summer is because whatever job you have during the school year will go towards “day to day” expenses. You’re not going to be able to survive if ALL of your “school year earnings” is going towards making payments.</p>
<p>How much will your parents contribute? Anything?</p>
<p>TJtigers: private loans generally need to be cosigned by a responsible adult who agrees to repay the loan in the event the borrower (you) don’t. If your parents won’t take out a Plus loan, would they really be willing to co-sign on a private loan?</p>
<p>tjtigers, you will get $5500 in Stafford loans for WSU. Will your parents pay anything for you at all? Will you be commuting?</p>
<p>You can do a payment plan to stretch out your payments. Is it possible for your parents to stretch out paying $5000 or so in a payment plan? </p>
<p>If you were only offered Stafford & PLUS loans you will not have any other options in terms of federal or institutional aid. Your EFC is over $9000, correct? You really need to talk to your parents about how you are going to pay for this. </p>
<p>Here is a link that may be of interest to you: [Scholarships</a> - Community College Transfer Scholarships](<a href=“Scholarships - Wayne State University”>Scholarships - Wayne State University). If you begin in a CC, you may be able to take advantage of the Green or Gold Scholars down the road. That is an option you may wish to consider.</p>