<p>Every year my parent has been approved for the PLUS loan. Suddenly this year, my senior year, she was DENIED. sigh.</p>
<p>I am aware that this will increase my stafford loan by 5k being that I am a senior, however I am concerned on the refund. I use my refund to cover my off campus expenses, so with the denial I am worried if I have made a huge mistake. The PLUS loan was going to be worth around 15k a semester.</p>
<p>My question is, with the denial of the PLUS loan will that dramatically decrease my refund? Last year I got around 8k back each semester.</p>
<p>You were expecting your mother to borrow $30,000 for you this year, but that’s not going to happen.</p>
<p>Instead, you will be getting a $5,000 increase in your Stafford loan.</p>
<p>And your question is whether that will mean that you’ll have less spending money for off-campus expenses?</p>
<p>Well, yes, unless I’m misunderstanding something, you’ll have about $25,000 less than you would have otherwise had. Which means that not only will you not be getting back the $8,000 you expected, but you’ll also be about $4,500 short on your tuition each semester!</p>
<p>It sounds like it will dramatically decrease the amount of money you have available for school. If your parents usually borrow 15K per year and you can only borrow an extra 5K to replace that, you’re going to be 10K short – that is not only are you not going to get a refund, you’re going to be 2K short of covering your direct costs.</p>
<p>(I see looking at dodgermom’s reply that I misread how much your parents were planning to borrow. She’s right, you won’t be 10K short, you’ll be 25K short.)</p>
<p>I’m wondering how someone who has managed to get to be a senior in college isn’t able to “do the math” and realize that if she only gets four thousand (NOT five thousand) more in Stafford loans after her mom was denied a Thirty thousand Plus loan, then not only will she not get a “refund” but she’s still going to be SHORT for what she owes the school.</p>
<p>She’ll get two thousand each semester because of the denial. So instead of the school getting fifteen thousand for each semester from the Plus loan and being able to refund Eight thousand to the student, NOW the school is only going to get TWO thousand, and the student will still owe about FIVE thousand…and the student will get NOTHING back.</p>
<p>If the mom has been borrowing every year, as the student’s post suggests, that means that she has borrowed about ninety thousand so far for three years. Oh my…that’s just crazy. Since Plus loans don’t seem to look at accumulated debt or income, I’m guessing that the mom was denied because she messed up her own credit with some late payments.</p>
<p>This is a very sad situation because the student won’t be abe to go to school this semester, yet those loan payments will begin.</p>
<p>Curious…what is your major and what is your intended career? </p>
<p>You’re likely going to have to finish your education at a local state school…and have all that awful debt around your necks.</p>
<p>I think the OP has a fundamental misunderstanding of how financial aid works.</p>
<p>Before now, the financial aid “package” including PLUS loans, has always covered her full COA. Perhaps she believes that if her parents are denied for the PLUS, she’ll have to take out some additional loans in her own name, but that then the school will cover the rest so that her “package” with her new loans will still cover COA.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, this is not how financial aid works. The school (or government) is not going to give you any additional aid because your parents can’t take out PLUS loans. You are unfortunately out of luck here – there’s no way you can attend this school this semester. :(</p>
<p>Ashgilly, I don’t understand what you mean. Your mother was denied PLUS this year. How are you going to pay for your college bill? Unless your account is paid, you won’t be allowed to go to school. Are you getting full Stafford loans? If so, half your annual allowable amount of Stafford will go into your account towards your school bills. The rest has to come from somewhere. Before you worry about any refunds, you and your mother need to figure out how the school is going to be paid this year.</p>
<p>it sounds like this student and parent have been borrowing nearly all of her college costs…</p>
<p>Last year, the mom borrowed $30k, the student likely borrowed full Stafford (7500 plus maybe some Perkins), and maybe the student gets Pell and/or some other grants, etc.</p>
<p>Everyone posting is right. The student is only focused on how she’ll cover Room, Board & personal expenses, but the elephant in the room is that she’s also short for tuition, they have accumulated WAY too much debt, her mom is going to suffer, and at this point, senior year isn’t affordable.</p>
<p>Ashgill…how were these big loans going to get paid off?</p>