<p>I have a question about the Parent PLUS loan and pending financial aid from my college. I am planning to speak with a financial aid counselor about my financial aid letter in hopes of receiving a larger grant. If there is a change in the amount that my family is expected to pay (expected parental contribution), it is likely that my student account balance won't be updated for a few weeks. However, my parents and I want to get a head-start on applying for loans because we will surely need them if we don't get any change in my financial aid award (fall semester balance is due Aug 1st so we have to do this asap). </p>
<p>What I want to know is that if my parents apply for a Parent PLUS loan and if they get approved, and then it turns out that my expected parental contribution goes down, what will happen to the difference that I receive? I realize I should ask both my college and my lender, but I wanted to know if anyone had any experience with this kind of situation.</p>
<p>Also, about my EFC - should I be surprised at the fact that my expected parental contribution is about 25000 when my EFC as calculated by the FAFSA is 8000 or so?</p>
<p>No, you shouldn't be surprised about the $25k. Your FAFSA EFC is used to award federal aid ... it is not really the amount you will actually be expected to pay. If you are attending a school that gaps (that is, they do not promise to fully meet your calculated need), you will have to pay whatever the difference is between the cost of attending the school & the aid that is actually awarded to you.</p>
<p>Is the grant from the school, or is it SEOG (which is federal)? Is your school public? Did you have to fill out a PROFILE in addition to FAFSA? I might be able to explain a bit more if you tell me that info.</p>
<p>Oh, and about the PLUS loan ... if your parents borrow more than they end up needing, they can always pay back what they aren't using right away.</p>
<p>I only wanted a small amount of a plus loan, which I was approved for, but when I received the actual papers from the college, it was for 3x the amount, I called the school and they repackaged the loan for the smaller amount and they also said that I can accept the amount then have the Bursar send back the unused part. If this helps you at all.</p>
<p>Sorry for leaving out so much info. I attend a private college which promises to meet all of a student's financial need. I called them today and apparently the information I entered about my parents' rental properties and their current market value were not consistent with what I entered on last year's FAFSA. Thankfully my school is letting me send in more information with regards to my parents' current financial situation. Hopefully this gets us a bit more grant money, but I doubt we'll be able to eliminate the need for loans =/</p>
<p>About the PLUS loan, yes you were all right about that. I asked and they can repackage the loan for a smaller amount.</p>
<p>I'd just like to add - it is much better to get the PLUS loan reduced before it is disbursed than have money sent back, because of the fees (3-4%) associated with the original disbursements. Since the PLUS loan is broken into 2 disbursments, it is always possible after the initial disbursement to reduce the amount of the 2nd, and then simply have excess payments to the bursar in Fall applied toward the spring tuition. </p>
<p>In other words, lets say the parents are approved for a $10,000 loan, but end up only needing $5K. The origination fee may be $400 on the $10K. As far as I know, once the money has gone to the Bursar, those fees are not refundable -- so the family that received $10K but then paid back $5k right away (as suggested in post #4) would have lost $200 as well as interest of 8.5% that was being charged on the balance from the time of disbursement (which would be $850/year for the $10K loan -- so if $5K was repaid in 3 months, it would still be more than $100 in interest paid).</p>
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<p>should I be surprised at the fact that my expected parental contribution is about 25000 when my EFC as calculated by the FAFSA is 8000 or so?>></p>
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<p>I'm very confused. You say that your school meets full need, but that your school calculated contribution is $25,000. Does your school use the Profile (I think most schools meeting full need use it..or their own financial aid form which asks the same questions)? If so, the calculation for your financial aid would take into account the information on the Profile, and the FAFSA would actually be secondary. Schools meeting full need use the institutional methodology...and this varies from school to school. </p>
<p>I'm wondering if your rental properties are being considered an asset for financial aid purposes. I believe they usually are.</p>
<p>I am guessing this is either a Profile school or one that has their own Profile-like financial aid questionnaire for parents to fill out. OP, I am glad you have been able to make progress on this. Good for you for calling & taking care of it. Best of luck!</p>
<p>cendia, as far as a I know both PLUS and Stafford loans are always broken into separate disbursements for fall & spring semester. The first payments on the PLUS loan are not due until about 60 days after the spring disbursement.</p>