<p>We don't qualify for FA, but we'd like our son to foot some of the bill. Does everyone qualify for an unsubsidized Stafford? Besides summer jobs, etc. Are there other ways to get him to have some skin in this? Thx</p>
<p>If your child is a citizen or green card resident, then he can get up to a 5500 unsub student loan for frosh year…as long as he doesn’t have other aid/scholarships up to COA.</p>
<p>So…he can use the 5500 towards your EFC to reduce your out of pocket costs.</p>
<p>[Student</a> Aid on the Web](<a href=“http://studentaid.ed.gov/PORTALSWebApp/students/english/studentloans.jsp]Student”>http://studentaid.ed.gov/PORTALSWebApp/students/english/studentloans.jsp)</p>
<p>The unsubsidized staffords are not based on need.</p>
<p>Freshman: $2,000 for dependent students, $6,000 for independent students
Sophomore: $2,000 for dependent students, $6,000 for independent students
Junior: $2,000 for dependent students, $7,000 for independent students
Senior and 5th year: $2,000 for dependent students, $7,000 for independent students</p>
<p>He can apply through the school financial aid office.</p>
<p>A freshman can get the full Stafford amount of $5500 on an unsubsidized level if he completes FAFSA and meets that eligibility regardless of what the EFC is. That is for a dependent student whose parents have not been turned down by PLUS. $4K more is given if such a rejection occurs.</p>
<p>The other thing that needs to be met is that the COA (cost of attendance) of the school cannot be less, with all other scholarships, loans etc taken into account. You are not permitted to make money off of these loans; there has to be an official college cost that can justify it.</p>
<p>So the first thing you need to do is complete the FAFSA. Then request the Staffords through the financial aid office. They will tell you how they prefer you to apply for it. The proceeds will go directly to the school, in most cases, and be applied to the billed costs with any extra that can be distributed to the student.</p>
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<p>Well…sort of. The student must complete the FAFSA and submit it to the college(s) he is considering. Anyone filing a FAFSA can take out an unsubsidized Stafford loan. I’m not sure the amounts in the above post are correct. For freshmen…it’s $5500, for sophs $6500, for juniors $7500, for seniors $7500. There is a LIMIT on the amount of these that can be subsidized.</p>