Do dependents increase housing aid?

[Cartelguy]

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There's probably a thread out there covering this but, my search came up empty. TWO ?'s:

As I non-trad, I begin tackling the pre-med curriculum this summer. Fast forward two years from next summer when I hopefully start med school. 1) I'm curious if the loan limits are more for a student with a family (four going on five in my case) than a single student.

As a teacher, my wife will be bringing in about 30K/yr. We have about 150K in assets (house equity, savings, and 401K), but will still have a substantial mortgage payment and 30K isn't going to cover all our expenses. Sure, our lifestyle will have to change drastically to make ends meet, but in the event I'm accepted to a local school we would prefer to stay in our home. If not and we have to move it becomes less of an issue. 2) Will our personal assets limit our Federal borrowing ability?

Thanks!

 

[nontrdgsbuiucmd]

yes to #1 per the financial aid office I spoke with -- the school said we'd be able to take out enough loans to at least cover the federal poverty level, which increases as household size increases.

But this scares the heck out of me as a person at the poverty level could not remotely afford our average-sized house mortgage payment.

Not sure on #2, I believe that the federal loan package will assume that your assets can be used to pay for school, and therefore the available loan amount would decrease to the extent that you have substantial assets.

 

[TMP-SMX]

It depends what kind of mortgage payment you are paying. As long as the payment is not outrageous you should be fine.

As for federal loans, keep in mind how they actually give them out. Everyone, regardless of their EFC (assets and income) are eligible for $40,500 in stafford loans. Grad plus has no limit except that total financial aid cannot go above the cost of attendance (budget). The only thing your EFC actually matters for are subsidized stafford loans (up to $8500 a year) and for need-based aid. The need-based aid is given out by the school and will also include parental information in the calculation of the EFC (though the FAFSA itself won't include parental information in the EFC calculation.)

Take a look at this for my school's Cost of Attendance. They have around $800 a month built into the budget for rent/utilities but everything is negotiable and can be added such as daycare costs and other things. If you really need the money they will provide you the loan access to get it.

They also write:
"Exceptions to Cost of Attendance:
Necessary expenses such as daycare costs, emergency car repairs, medical/dental bills not covered by insurance, and the one-time purchase of a computer, may be added to the Cost of Attendance if incurred during the academic year. Students must request consideration for a Cost of Attendance increase by submitting a written request and supporting documentation of paid expenses to the Office of Student Financial Aid. Please go to our “Forms” page to download a “Cost of Attendance Increase Request” form."

 

[Cartelguy]

Much appreciated! TMP-SMX, name n pic rock. ...So it's accurate to say that each student is eligible to borrow $40,500, but that the portion that's subsidized is dependent on need (which folks info is also necessary for)?

 

[TMP-SMX]

Much appreciated! TMP-SMX, name n pic rock. ...So it's accurate to say that each student is eligible to borrow $40,500, but that the portion that's subsidized is dependent on need (which folks info is also necessary for)?

Thanks. 🙂

Close. Subsidized Stafford is entirely based on your personal EFC as an independent. Almost everyone is eligible for the full amount of sub staffords and if not they are still eligible for the full $40,500 in unsub staffords (all unsub rather than 8500 sub and 32000 unsub normally).

What does depend on your parental info is need-based aid given out by your institution like 5% Perkins Loans (up to $5000 a year), grants, and need-based scholarships.

 

[Cartelguy]

Clear. Thx again🙂. ...Hoping to meet w/ fin aid rep this week to guesstimate based on my anticipated specifics. Have a great week!