Financial aid package

[starsweet]

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So I'm a bit confused about this whole financial aid thing. All I have done so far is to submit FAFSA, which my school is now processing. Now do I just wait until I get the financial aid package from them, if I even get anything? I know I will need to get additional loans but I'm not sure if I should be looking for a lender now or just wait until I hear back from my school?

 

[Genuine]

So I'm a bit confused about this whole financial aid thing. All I have done so far is to submit FAFSA, which my school is now processing. Now do I just wait until I get the financial aid package from them, if I even get anything? I know I will need to get additional loans but I'm not sure if I should be looking for a lender now or just wait until I hear back from my school?

I just waited to hear back from my school... and they covered the entire amount in loans... some subsidized and some unsubsidized. But I do know students that had to look for private loans... so I guess it just depends on the school. You can start looking at some private loans just so you have a good idea and are prepared at the time you receive your fin aid pkg.

 

[starsweet]

Thanks Genuine! One more thing, do the same lenders also cover loans for living expenses? How do they estimate that? Because my financial aid package will just cover school expenses, right?

 

[sna]

Thanks Genuine! One more thing, do the same lenders also cover loans for living expenses? How do they estimate that? Because my financial aid package will just cover school expenses, right?

My financial package included the estimated cost of living. But I'm staying on-campus for at least the first year. Don't know if that makes a difference.

 

[Genuine]

I dont really know if all this depends on the school you are going... All i know is for UH: they included all my expenses in their calculations - tuition, room and board, books, gas, personal, etc... pretty much everything...

You might wanna get a hold of your fin. aid advisor and check with them to see what criteria your school uses.

And of course have a rough budget for yourself --- so you know how much money you'll be needing.

Hope that helps.

 

[starsweet]

Yep, thanks guys!

 

[rxlynn]

So I'm a bit confused about this whole financial aid thing. All I have done so far is to submit FAFSA, which my school is now processing. Now do I just wait until I get the financial aid package from them, if I even get anything? I know I will need to get additional loans but I'm not sure if I should be looking for a lender now or just wait until I hear back from my school?

My school listed the following line items in the financial aid package - tuition, room/board, books, loan fees, travel estimate, and misc. estimate. I was quite surprised, as I hadn't been thinking in terms of living expenses or travel expenses since I live 20 minutes from campus and own my house. They explained it to me like this - basically they have to estimate an overall budget for tuition as well as all the associated living expenses because many (probably the majority) of students don't have the luxury of house and spouse that I do. So, they don't add or subtract for individual life circumstances - they strictly figure an overall budget for attendance at their school and then apply your FAFSA data to that.

By the way, congrats on getting into UGA - I'm sure that will cut down a lot of your loan expenses!!

 

[starsweet]

My school listed the following line items in the financial aid package - tuition, room/board, books, loan fees, travel estimate, and misc. estimate. I was quite surprised, as I hadn't been thinking in terms of living expenses or travel expenses since I live 20 minutes from campus and own my house. They explained it to me like this - basically they have to estimate an overall budget for tuition as well as all the associated living expenses because many (probably the majority) of students don't have the luxury of house and spouse that I do. So, they don't add or subtract for individual life circumstances - they strictly figure an overall budget for attendance at their school and then apply your FAFSA data to that.

By the way, congrats on getting into UGA - I'm sure that will cut down a lot of your loan expenses!!

Thanks rxlynn, I'm going to wait until I receive the package before I do anything, because I might have to get additional loans based on those numbers. I just feel like all of this is being done really late, and I hope it won't be too late to get private loans if I need to! Also, I am a bit concerned because my EFC was determined to be really high but I recently got laid off so I don't have that kind of income anymore.

You're right about UGA, I definitely think it was the best choice for me and you can't beat that price! 😉

 

[pinkyrx]

My school didn't get us our financial aid package until mid-summer before my first year. It was quite frustrating because like you I really needed/wanted to make plans.

If I was you I'd call your FA office and ask them if they expect that you will get enough to cover everything, they may be able to give you an idea of what you'll get over the phone. Also, tell them about your EFC not being accurate and they may be able to make some adjustments so you can get more subsidized loans.

Good luck!