<p>My D and I are wondering where we should go for her unsubsidized Stafford Loan. Anyone have a lendor they can recommend? From previous posts, seems people do not like Sallie-Mae.</p>
<p>to add on to the question, can i take out an unsubsidized loan in addition to a subsidized loan?</p>
<p>You can take out a subsidized & unsubsidized loan, but you cannot exceed the federal maximums by year in school. For freshmen, the maximum combined Stafford subsidized & unsubsidized is $3500; $4500 for sophomores. </p>
<p>As for lenders, check with your school's f/a office for suggested lenders. My D went with a state organization that offered no origination fees & reduced rates for certain payback situations ... now that she is transferring, she will continue with the same lender.</p>
<p>S school first had to disqualify him for a Subsidized Stafford before he could qualify him for a Unsubsidized Stafford. Every year we would apply for a Unsubsidized Loan, then give income verification, then get a letter for declination for Unsubsidized, before we got the loan. Don't worry, the process is automatic and you really don't have to do much other than be prepared for income verification with last year's W2 and completed 1040.</p>
<p>Yanks, I should also add that there are some situations in which you could borrow more than the amounts I listed from the Stafford program. If you are independent or if your parents apply for a PLUS loan & are turned down, you can borrow more in the unsubsidized Stafford program than the typical student is allowed to borrow.</p>
<p>sucks
kkl;kkl</p>
<p>Drooz, what sucks?</p>
<p>It looks like the government increased the amount of subsidized stafford, by about 2000.00. Just received it in the mail. D got her 3500 subsidized and 2000. unsub.</p>
<p>wait, so i'm planning to take out a subsidizied stafford loan (for 3500 i guess). now i can take out 2000$ additional in UNsubsidized? i'm not independent or anything, my parents are still paying the bills</p>
<p>and im not too late in getting the process started? im waiting to get the info in the mail from my school...</p>
<p>Yes, you will be eligible to borrow the maximum amount. If you can borrow $3500 subsidized, you will also be able to borrow $2000 unsubsidized ... even if the school does not list it on your financial aid award letter. Just remember that you will owe the interest on the unsubsidized right away. If you choose not to pay the interest, it accumulates & you will owe interest on the interest! It's still a good deal if you cannot pay without borrowing, though.</p>
<p>I don't mean to be obtuse, but if we didn't qualify for FA can our S still qualify for an subsidized stafford loan? I saw where you said school would have to disqualify him for the unsubsidized. If seems like if it is the student is the one applying for the loan, and he has no income he should qualify. (I don't mean it to sound like he is on his own. We still claim him, etc) Thanks for any advice. First child, very overwhelmed by each step. Thanks in advance.</p>
<p>If you qualified for a Stafford loan (Sub or Unsub) it should be listed on your fin aid letter. Even though he is the one applying, the family's income/assets are considered for Stafford loans.</p>
<p>Thanks, it was listed and was unsubsidized. The post above made me question if there was another step we need to take.</p>
<p>Most schools will not ask that you specify sub. vs. unsub. Stafford when you apply for FA. They will include what you qualify for in the FA award.
It seems line LongPrime child's school added the additional step.</p>
<p>Longprime's wording might confuse some. Basically, everyone who qualifies for federal aid programs may borrow an unsubsidized Stafford, regardless of income or financial need. However ... everyone must file the FAFSA in order to get the unsubsidized Stafford, even if they KNOW they will not qualify for need based aid (which includes the subsidized Stafford). If there is need, a subsidized loan may be borrowed; if not, it's unsubsidized. A student can be awarded (that is, he is eligible to borrow) some of each type, if need exists. The Stafford program is a federal program, with the interest rate set by the government ... that is why we all get to jump through the hoops to even borrow under the unsubsidized program. I know for a fact that some schools do not include the unsubsidized loan in the financial aid award letter. Last year, D's need was met at several schools without adding in an unsubsidized Stafford. A couple of those schools did not tell us in the award letter that we <em>could</em> borrow --- I imagine they would have if that loan amount was needed to meet need --- but we could still borrow it, if we wanted to do so.</p>
<p>Thank you for the great explanation. We will apply for the unsubsidized. I saw on a morning news show that congress has passed a law at the end of April allowing $2000 more a year to be borrowed. I assume that means we could borrow $5500 for a freshman. If anyone knows differently let me know. It was something like Student Loan Act of 2008. It also allows for consolidation of loans, but we aren't there yet.</p>
<p>Maximum freshman dependent student subsidized & unsubsidized Stafford loans cannot exceed $5500 for 2008-9. The maximum that can be borrowed in a subsidized loan (assuming the student has unmet need) is $3500. </p>
<p>If a student's parents apply for & are turned down for a PLUS loan, the student may borrow more under the Stafford program; the extra would be unsubsidized. Last year, it was $7500 (total of all Stafford loans for the year) ... I don't know it that has gone up this year.</p>
<p>Unsubsidized Stafford loans can be used to replace a family's Expected Family Contribution (EFC). That is why they are not really need based, but the family's situation has to be considered in the FAFSA formula in order to get the EFC.</p>
<p>I got the figures I used for this year from Michigan State's financial aid pages. However, I can't find these increased loan limits anywhere else ... I am not sure that the $5500 is correct. Every other website I searched still uses $3500 as the freshman limit.</p>