<p>I need some help/suggestions and I knew just the place to go. Here!! :-)</p>
<p>I have one son who started his freshman year at college in August and he got the max student loans, FL Bright Futures, my savings and I took a small Parent Plus loan. My next son is now applying for colleges and does not have the stats/grades/scores as his older brother but he'd like to go to a good school. I've been told that if he applies for summer semester, he stands a better chance of getting in. Ok fine. </p>
<p>My question is, are student loans, pell grants, parent plus loans available for summer term? I thought I had read that if you take the max fed Student Loans $5500 for freshman year (fall and spring) that that's it and you can't take anymore. Also my older son who is already in college has informed me that he has to get 9 credits over a summer term in order to graduate. So how would I go about paying for the 2nd son to begin in the summer if it comes down to that as well as have his brother go in the summer. I'm feeling overwhelmed.</p>
<p>For son #1, if the school is a summer trailer (i.e. considers the summer part of the preceding year), and the student already has the maximum annual Pell and Stafford loans, then he is not eligible for additional funds in the summer. If the school is a summer header (i.e. considers the summer part of the following year), then he could get aid in the summer, but it would go toward his total eligibility and reduce his aid for the rest of the year. (For a couple of years there was an additional amount of Pell for summer classes, but that was cancelled in the recent budget (summer 2011 was the last time it was available).</p>
<p>If son # 2 starts in the summer then he can get loans and pell in the summer. This may or may not affect his aid for the rest of the year. Again it depends on the school. If the school is a summer trailer then he will still have eligibility for the year as he will not have used any of it yet. If the school is a summer header considered the summer part of the following year (called a summer header), then any aid in the summer would count toward the year’s total and therefore reduce eligibility for the rest of the year. You would need to check with the school.</p>
<p>Thank you! I guess I could pay for summer session for both out of my savings and take a larger parent plus loan for the fall/spring semesters. Yuck. Oh well, I gotta do what I gotta do. Very valuable input!</p>
<p>The PLUS does not have the same limitations as the Pell and Stafford. So that may be available in the summer. Though if you are eligible for pell, you may want to be cautious about how much PLUS you take on.</p>
<p>I don’t know if we will be eligible for pell yet but I will have three in college beginning next year (I have twin sons and one is going to a local college using his prepaid college fund and sparing his poor mother financial ruin) and I am a single parent so the EFC calculators indicate that we may qualify. It’s not much though so if not - I can cover it.</p>