Fafsa and the like

[Shane41]

Just a question to current and newly accepted dental students. So after reading about how to get financial aid this is what I have done. I just filed my taxes and will be filling out my FAFSA tomorrow. It needs to be done at the school I will be attending by March 1 for scholarships and thats what they recommend. How does this work exactly? Do I just write in my fafsa how much tuition will be and expenses and if I fulfill requirements to get money than I will? Also, when and how do I recieve the money? Will it be right before school? Does it go right to the school? Is it a check to me? Also, about how much extra living money did everyone take out and about how much does everyone believe will be needed?

Sorry I have so many questions Im just new to doing all of this on my own and a little help would be great!

Thanks in advance

Shane

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[ItsGavinC]

Just a question to current and newly accepted dental students. So after reading about how to get financial aid this is what I have done. I just filed my taxes and will be filling out my FAFSA tomorrow. It needs to be done at the school I will be attending by March 1 for scholarships and thats what they recommend. How does this work exactly? Do I just write in my fafsa how much tuition will be and expenses and if I fulfill requirements to get money than I will? Also, when and how do I recieve the money? Will it be right before school? Does it go right to the school? Is it a check to me? Also, about how much extra living money did everyone take out and about how much does everyone believe will be needed?

Sorry I have so many questions Im just new to doing all of this on my own and a little help would be great!

Thanks in advance

Shane

Good questions. You simpy fill out the FAFSA and that's it. The maximum amount you can borrow is set by your school. That amount includes cost of living expenses. So if your school says you need 65k for tuition and living, then you can take out any amount up to 65k, but not more.

You'll receive an excess check (or direct deposit) after the school takes out their chunk of the money for tuition and fees. You usually receive this excess during the first week of school.

So in other words, you fill out your FAFSA, then the school will contact you with information on what loans are available and how much you can take out. They'll also give you the excess monies when the time comes.

 

[joshua_grooms02]

So after the school sets that amount can we get private loans if we think that amount isn't enough?

 

[doncorleone]

yeah, you can get private loans, some have restrictions though like you can't have more in total loans than the cost of education. you have to find out if the private loans go through the school's financial aid office or not. the ones that don't tend to have some higher interest rates, but it's nice because you don't have to worry about if you have a total borrowed amount more than the cost of education. if this doesn't make sense, pm because i was actually just talking to my financial aid office about this.

 

[dentalman]

Most often, before getting private loans, you can make adjustments to your budget to increase your unsubsidized loans. They don't include things like medical insurance or normal rent payments, so the budget can be adjusted for certain expenses.

 

[I'mFillingFine]

Most often, before getting private loans, you can make adjustments to your budget to increase your unsubsidized loans. They don't include things like medical insurance or normal rent payments, so the budget can be adjusted for certain expenses.

Most dental schools do include both of these things in their estimated budgest. However, you would need to increase your budget if certain things come up that the school allows, such as car repairs, childcare expenses, or heating.

Most government loans cap out at around $38,500-40,000. If this exceeds your expenses for the first year, you first accept all the loans you want to from the government (all they give, so that you take out the fewest private loans possible) and you THEN apply to the private loans. You can ask the school which bank they're in cahoots with ....most schools have associations with a few banks who trust the schools budget and will usually add the difference that the government loans didn't spend, without you really having to prove anything.

I can't speak for anyone else, but be careful to not borrow too much. I know that everyone complains about not having money, but it can be worse to have too much, especially if it's in the private loan and you're paying 12% interest (like me.) Even if you realize you have excess and you pay it right back, you've still paid interest on that amount.

So basically, don't always trust your school's budget...obviously, you need to pay them all the tuition and fees they ask for but consider if you'll have a roomate, a significant other who works, or something else that may reduce or increase your living expenses.

And you won't see the private loan money either until it goes through the school, as some other posters said. You just have to trust that school will give you your proper amount back.

One more thing: if you attend a public school and become a resident before you graduate, you probably won't have to take out private loans for the years that you're a resident. The best thing to do in that situation, is to borrow the remainder of your private loan from the government and pay it back. Sure, you took out more than you needed, but it's at MUCH lower interest than the private loan. (which you've paid back anyway)