Accepting loans for tuition amount

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I will be starting school this fall and I'm about to accept my unsub + Direct PLUS loans for the tuition amount only. I went to my school and talked to the fin counselor for a bit, but I still need some help navigating this since it's my first time taking out loans. I still have a lot of questions that I felt he didn't clear up:

1. When I log into the school's site and enter the amount I need, am I accepting loans for the whole YEAR or just 1 semester? He told me that the school gets 2 disbursements and wrote out some calculations for fall semester only. But I think he meant the school gets paid 2 times/year. I'm only supposed to accept my loans once a year so I need to accept the full year's tuition right?

2. Do I immediately start paying interest on money that gets paid to my school? He kept telling me to get EXTRA money to be safe but why would I do that? My living expenses are paid for, and I need TUITION only. I don't want to be paying interest on extra money they send to my bank account when I already have money for expenses.

3. What happens if I DO get too much money because I overshot tuition? Apparently they'll send it to my bank acc. Will I get a chance to pay this back before interest kicks in? Interest + origination fees for a PLUS loan are 11.5% and I don't want to pay that rate on extra money just to be "safe" that the school gets their tuition. Late fees are probably cheaper.

Here's my plan:

Tuition: $52,215

Direct unsub stafford offered: $44,944

Grad PLUS offered: $35,339

So I will take the entire Stafford loan of $44,944 = still need $7,271

So I will take the remaining $7,271 in Grad PLUS (4.288% orig. fee) = $7583 + orig. fee for entire Stafford (1.072%) = $8,065 Grad PLUS

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So are these the amounts I should take out? Since I've already calculated the orig fees, why should I account for a unexpected charges? Sorry for the hideous wall of text, I really need to clear all this up soon.

 

[foxhound522]

1. Not sure. I believe I've always done it as full year's tuition, but obviously your school's website will have its own way of doing things.

2. Yes, interest will start accruing, but will not capitalize (be added into your principal loan amount) until graduation. Your finaid advisor is likely suggesting that you keep an emergency fund in case an unexpected expense arises. You say that your living expenses are paid for. Without more details on what this means, I can't advise you on the correct answer to this. For instance, if your parents or whoever are willing to cough up a couple thousand on top of your living expenses if something unforseen comes up, then I suppose it's not an issue. If on the other hand you've saved up X amount to cover your budget and no more, in my opinion it is unwise to not give yourself a financial cushion. This is a new setting, and your budget will likely need tweaking as you adjust. Oh, and don't forget to include health insurance, if applicable.

3. Yes, you can give it back.

Plan looks fine. Good for you for looking to minimize your loan burden from the start. There are plenty of private scholarships that it might be worth your time to look into to minimize your debt further.