student loans

[nini2000]

How does it work?

Could I use the money to pay for OFF-campus housing? if i believe it will be cheaper that way? for transportation? food? or is it only for tuition and books?

 

Can I lend all the money i will need for my two remaining years of bachelors, and two remaning years of masters? all at once.

or do you have to borrow each year?

Do they give you the money in a huge check or do they divide it by semester and give you one check per semester to pay for expenses?

[beh700]

i have a PLUS loan for off campus housing that my parents had to cosign. but it's me paying off the loan not them...and then i have a stafford loan for tuition, that is just in my name.

 

the PLUS loan is a monthly check for a given amount that they think is suitable for your living conditions, etc.

 

then the stafford (i have unsubsidized) is a beginning of the semester check to help at the same time tuition is due.

 

hope that helped!

[laboheme]

The money is typically divided by semester. I went to two different colleges, and in both cases, the school processed the loan first, took the money that it needed for tuition...and sent me a refund check that I could use for whatever else. When I lived in the dorms, the school also took out that expense from the loan right away. But if you get approved for a larger loan than what the school needs from you, you can get up to several thousand dollars back a semester to use for housing, transportation, and food...

 

In most cases, you need to fill out a financial aid application and a student loan application every year.

[scarew]

Student loans in Canada are something I am an expert on. I am not sure how it works where you are from. Here, you can go with the government student loan which doesnt even charge you interest until you are completley done school, or the typical bank student loan that charges you an arm and a leg on interest, but some have to resort to it depending on how much money their parents make. Where are you from?

[rocio]

Where do you live?

 

Mine worked like this - They would send me a big check at the beginning of each semester (supposedly to pay for tuition and books) and smaller checks each month thereafter. It never mattered what I spent the money on (they kinda trust you not to blow it on trips to Cuba over spring break). The amount of money I received depended on my income (in the previous year), my parents' income, as well as additional expenses like dental, medical, etc. It also depends on your marital status and if you have children.

 

You have to borrow for each year. They won't just give you 4 years worth of loans all at once. There's also a limit to how many semesters you can apply for loans.

 

Good luck

[nini2000]

thanks for the replies =)

I'm in the U.S.

do they allow you to use the loans for summer term?

or is it only loans for fall and spring terms?

and when they are setting the amount of money they'll lend you, are they focusing more on tuition and books? or do they put into consideration the housing expenses?

[rocio]

If you are taking full-time summer courses then you should get loans.

[Scout]

For the kind of financial aid I had, it didn't matter if you lived on campus or off. I got both Pell Grants and Stafford Loans. The student loan office took out what I owed for classes, then would mail me the remaining amount, which I would use to help pay for housing, books, etc. This process was repeated every semester.

[laboheme]

The college should provide the lender with the estimated cost of attendance, which includes tuition, books, housing, etc. Banks will typically allow you to take out a loan for whatever a scholarship or federal loans don't cover. For example, if my school costs $16000 a year (including tuition and housing), and the school gives me a Stafford and Perkins loan for $3000 each (which seems to be close to the typical sums), it will then tell the banks that it expects me to pay $10000 out of my own pocket...and then the banks will know that they can lend you up to $10000, although you do not have to ask for that whole sum.