So I was hoping to have some questions answered or advice on my situation. I will be going to community college in another city and will be living off-campus. I have read that loans are included in covering room & board, and rent would be considered an appropriate expense to spend loans on.
Everything is due on August 19th, rent and tuition. Rent is $625 while tuition is ~$1300. I have received $2000 from a scholarship that I will use to cover tuition and books, and I should receive it by the end of July and hopefully pay everything around then.
My question is, if I were to accept the Direct Stafford loan for $1750, would that go to my school first and then I get the rest, or can I have it given to me and I choose where it goes? On August 19th I will need $625, and the second installment would be between September 1st through the 6th, so I will need $1250 almost immediately.
On my school’s website, they say that refunds will be issued on September 20th or later, since I’m a first time student I may be subject to a 30-day delay.
Will I have to go the private loan route in order to pay for everything in time? Or is it possible to receive the Stafford loan money directly to me instead of as a refund?
Thanks in advance for the help!
It goes to your school first.
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I will be going to community college in another city and will be living off-campus. I have read that loans are included in covering room & board, and rent would be considered an appropriate expense to spend loans on.
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I think the bigger problem is that the rent is $625 a month (plus utilities/internet/cable), so that’s about $10k per year for “all in” for 12 months. Where is THAT money coming from?
Sounds like you’re only getting $1750 per semester. Where is the other $6-7k coming from?
Is that $2k scholarship “per year”? If so, then will it get split $1k per semester?
Is your tuition $1300 per semester? $2600 per year? Plus another $1500-2000 per year for books/fees.
It appears that you’ll need about $15k per year for tuition, books, fees, rent and utilities.
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I think the bigger problem is that the rent is $625 a month (plus utilities/internet/cable), so that's about $10k per year for "all in" for 12 months. Where is THAT money coming from?
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I will have to use loans for that until I can get a job,
The $2k scholarship is for each semester.
Yes, $1300 per semester and $2600 per year.
I did call my school and it turns out that I will have to wait by September 20th or later to receive it, so I will look for another alternative to make rent.
Thank you for the help.
If the $2000 scholarship is given to you, you can use that to pay your rent and your loan money to pay your tuition. The school will pay itself all that is owed (tuition, fees) and give you anything left. You need to let the school know about your scholarship, but you can keep the money if it is just written to you.
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If the $2000 scholarship is given to you, you can use that to pay your rent and your loan money to pay your tuition. The school will pay itself all that is owed (tuition, fees) and give you anything left. You need to let the school know about your scholarship, but you can keep the money if it is just written to you.
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I was thinking about doing that, because I do receive the check in the mail to me. Will the people from the scholarship know what I spend the money on somehow? I’m afraid of that being dishonest somehow and getting in trouble.
You would need to check with them. They may very well make the check out to you AND the school. Then the school would have to sign it for it to be deposited anywhere.
Are you working now to save money for your rent?
It’s usually difficult to go to a far-awar CC b/c most do not include living expenses in their COA…which means that you’re not eligible for any aid for that amount. How were you thinking of paying for rent before?
For a community college, why don’t you commute? Have you factored in food? Your apt (& it’s expenses) plus food are about what folks pay for a 4 yr college dorm. Depending on the school, less.