<p>I'll be starting UCSB as a freshman this fall and I just received my official award letter. It says that I will be receiving a total of $18,418 in financial aid. It also said that my school is estimated to cost $32233. I'll need to take out a lot of loans so I was wondering what loans are best to take out? I'm really confused with my situation. And also, how would I know exactly how much to take out?</p>
<p>You alone are only able to take out the Stafford/now called Direct loans, and Perkins loans if also offered to you in your aid package. Banks and other private lenders will want you to have a co-signer to borrow money. Are your parents helping you? They could try to borrow a Parent Plus loan and if they are denied you are able to borrow another $4000 yourself. How were you planning to come up with roughly $14,000? I won’t be the first to say this, but here it goes…If your parents are not able to help without borrowing large amounts of money, this school is not affordable to you. Did you have other more affordable schools to choose from? What is your EFC? What is the breakdown of your aid package? How did you think this was all going to work out? You DO NOT want to borrow more than about $27,000 total for 4 years, or the payments after you graduate and for 10 long years will cripple you financially.</p>