<p>Two people asked me the following questions, and I wondered what the answers are...</p>
<p>1) if an incoming freshmen will have sophomore standing (because of AP/IB credits) when they arrive in the fall, will they qualify for the higher Stafford loan amount (for sophomores)? </p>
<p>2) if a student was currently having an academic financial shortfall (for this semester), could she file a FAFSA now (using last year's FAFSA form??) and get a Stafford loan if she didn't take a Stafford loan this year? (If so, would it be for a "half year" amount or could she borrow the full unsub Stafford amount for a freshman?)</p>
<p>Do you know if her original FA letter list the Stafford eligibility at sophomore level ($6500)? I have seen Stafford loan limits determined by credit hours, like this:
[Office</a> of Student Financial Aid and Scholarships](<a href=“Office of Financial Aid and Scholarships | University of Nevada, Reno | University of Nevada, Reno”>Office of Financial Aid and Scholarships | University of Nevada, Reno | University of Nevada, Reno)</p>
<p>She can still file a 09/10 FAFSA (the deadline is 6/30). She should immediately check with the school on loan processing (my D’s school has a deadline that’s a bit over the halfway mark each semester, don’t know if it’s a school thing or not). She should still have her full eligibility as it’s disbursements that are prorated, not eligibility.</p>
<p>*She should still have her full eligibility as it’s disbursements that are prorated, not eligibility. *</p>
<p>Not sure what you mean by that. Could you expand a bit. Thanks. 
Are you saying that she could get the full amount, and it won’t be prorated in half?</p>
<p>Hmmm good question re: the Stafford loans. I suspect it’s by “year in college”…first year, second year…etc. DD had junior standing at the end of her freshman year by credit and did not receive a Stafford in the amount for Jr/Sr as it was only her second year in college.</p>
<p>Stafford loans are awarded for the year assuming the student is a full time student during all terms. The dispersement is by the term (either each semester or each quarter). SO…if the student was a full time student ALL of this academic year, she should be eligible for the full Stafford loan amount for which she is eligible for the year…I think. Swimcats will clarify:)</p>
<p>Just checked my D’s loan eligibility page and it also lists class standing by # of credit hours. Although we often say “first year, second year, etc.” I believe the official determination is made by standing, ie. freshman, sophmore, at least that’s the way it looks on the gov’t and finaid.org websites.</p>
<p>On the pro-rata thing, the school site I’m looking at includes a note at the bottom that says :
1.All undergraduate loan limits are subject to proration
2.If the borrower does not have financial need for a Subsidized Loan using expected family contribution (EFC), or has reached the aggregate limit in Subsidized Loans, the borrower may receive up to this entire amount in Unsubsidized Loans assuming he/she has remaining eligibility for the loan. </p>
<p>So, what originally I meant was that disbursements would be prorated (ie. half for Fall, half for Spring) but eligibility was not prorated (ie. she would still have full eligibility for the entire year, therefore could borrow the entire amount for Spring if she hadn’t borrowed anything for Fall). But now I’m confused as I’m pretty sure a student I mentor did exactly that last year to pay her summer coursework (which was not at her home school) but the note (1) above seems to indicate otherwise! Perhaps there was a change or maybe kelsmom can clarify as it doesn’t seem that schools would have different policies regarding Direct loans.</p>
<p>I believe that once the term is over, the student is no longer eligible for the loan money offered for that term meaning if your student applies now for a 2009-10 loan, she would get the portion usually offered for Spring term only. That is what my DD was told last summer, she took a larger loan in the fall and ended up taking no loan in the spring, but had she taken $0 loans in the fall and wanted extra in the spring, she could not have done that.</p>
<p>Actually I think with loans (unlike grants such as the Pell) you retain the full eligibility for the year and can take out more in the spring semester if you did not take out the full amount in the fall. I am going to school and started spring semester of last year. If I recall correctly I was awarded a subsidized Stafford loan for the spring semester that was more than half the full years Stafford loan, and was then awarded the balance of the year’s eligibility in the summer.</p>
<p>And Stafford loans are based on your standing not on your year of school. I received the full year freshman sub Stafford amount for the 2009-2010 year (for spring and summer in my case) but was still freshman standing hours (by 1 hour) in the fall so for 2010-2011 could only be awarded $3500 based on freshman standing again. The FA officer did tell me that if I attained sophomore standing by spring (which I did)I could ask for my spring loan to be increased to reflect sophomore standing and I would have received the extra $1000 to bring me to the sophomore max of $4,500 (I didn’t ask for it for spring, but am getting that $1000 for summer classes). In the fall I will be sophomore standing so have been awarded the sophomore amount of $4,500 again. I will be junior standing in the spring so I can get the additional money then (taking me to max Junior Stafford amount, not sophomore plus junior). </p>
<p>Someone going part time (at least half time) can get the full Stafford amounts each year for their standing (freshman, sophomore etc). They would not get the sophomore level loans in year 2 if they were still freshman standing, they would get freshman level loans. Of course they would run out of eligibility by somewhere in the 5th year.</p>
<p>As far as class standing for new student with AP credits etc. If they are actually starting with sophomore standing then I think they should be eligible for the sophomore level loans. But I know my daughter’s school’s policy is that AP or concurrent enrollment credits are not added to the transcript until the end of the first semester so they would start as a freshman (and only be eligible for freshman loan levels) and then would jump levels after the end of the first semester. This probably varies by school.</p>
<p>^^^</p>
<p>Ahhh…thanks everyone. :)</p>
<p>I don’t know when this student’s school adds AP credits. I know that my kids’ school adds their AP Credits during July before freshmen year starts (they get added as soon as Collegeboard electronically sends their scores.)</p>