<p>I just received my financial aid package..</p>
<p>This is the package they gave me...</p>
<p>federal work study-2200
federal sub stafford loan 5500
federal unsub stafford loan- 7000
presidential scholarship - 7500
federal pell grand 1395
federal perkins loan 2000
federal supplemental grant- 1000
university and alumni award -27,500</p>
<p>Total:$54,095</p>
<p>Tuition plus living: $63,271</p>
<p>So does this mean that I have to come up with $9,176 in private lender loans per year?</p>
<p>Is this a good package? </p>
<p>I'd be transferring in as a Sophmore.</p>
<p>It’s not awful, but it may not be worth it. The loans in the package are still loans, so you are ending up spending over 20k a year.</p>
<p>“So does this mean that I have to come up with $9,176 in private lender loans per year?”</p>
<p>No. This means that they expect you and your family to come up with $9,176 each year. How you and your family come up with that money is entirely up to you and your family.</p>
<p>Are you an independent student? If not, you should not have both $5,500 in subsidized Stafford loans and $7,000 in unsubsidized Stafford loans in your package. You should pick up the phone and call GWU and ask how it is that they gave you that much in Stafford loans.</p>
<p>For you to qualify for that much in Pell Grant, your family would need to have a relatively low income. Which means that your family may not be able to help you scrape together $9,176 for next year (and again for two more years after that). What does your family have to say about this? </p>
<p>Without a co-signer, you can’t borrow that $9,176. All you can borrow on your own are the Staffords (and remember that if you aren’t independent, the total offered to you is wrong) and the Perkins. </p>
<p>The $14,500 in loans that are already in your package is excessive. If the total amount of loans doesn’t change for the remaining two years, you will graduate with $43,500 in Perkins and Stafford. That is nearly twice the national average for college debt. Add on another (approximately) $27,528, and you will pass the $70,000 mark - more than three times the national average for college debt. To better visualize how unaffordable the payments will be, run some of the calculators at <a href=“http://www.finaid.org%5B/url%5D”>www.finaid.org</a></p>
<p>Your instincts are correct: GWU is not affordable. Sorry. Tell them thanks but no thanks, and move on.</p>
<p>Well thanks for the response. I am as you guessed independent and poor.</p>