I am entering graduate school and will have to take out loans to fund my education. However, my master’s program gives out several assistantships and scholarships, and I will not hear if I have received such assistance for another 4-6 weeks. Clearly, I will have to wait until this time to specify the amount I need to borrow. My question is, therefore, will applying for a Stafford loan in mid to late April be too late? Thank you in advance for any insight.
No, but the school will need time to process it so don’t leave it too late. You can submit the FAFSA now. The school will not, can not, disburse the money until just before school starts, and you can always adjust the amount you need before the disbursement.
Are you starting school fall semester? Your school will not be able to originate loans before July 1, so you don’t need to rush into applying for a loan.
I have already submitted my FAFSA, so assuming I do find out about scholarships in April, that should leave me enough time? Thank you for the responses