Getting a Loan

[mlsripathy]

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Hi!
I will be joining UNC School of Dentistry this August, and feel a little lost in the loan process. I have never applied for a loan before.
I am married and my husband works full time. Will this influence the amount of $ I will qualify for? We have lots of expenses such as mortgage, medical insurance, baby (we have a 4-month old daughter), etc so my husband cannot really help me through school.
Is there a maximum amount I can borrow? What types of loans am I eligible for? My parents cannot give me any $ either.
Please give me some suggestions. I need to pay for tuition, fees, health insurance, and daycare for my daughter.
Thank you!

 

[Biogirl361]

start by filling out fafsa...they will then offer you as many federal loans as you need based on your school's alloted budget. unfortunately things like your family situation are not taken into account when offering you student loans. if the federal loans don't cover the school's alloted budget, you can get loans from places like sallie mae. I think that for personal expenses like family, you have to take out completely separate bank loans, which i have no idea how to go about doing, hopefully someone else on here can chime in 🙂

 

[ItsGavinC]

I agree with the previous post.

Fill out your FAFSA form (do it online now!) and then wait to hear back for how much you qualify for. When your FAFSA is submitted, it will actually tell you your expected family contribution (EFC), which is the amount that is estimated you'll have to contribute other than loans.

With the scenario you've laid out, I'm guessing your EFC will be $0, which means you'll not be expected to contribute anything out of pocket.

Student budgets, for every school, do NOT take into consideration spouses or children (or any expenses that go along with those items), so you either have to make the money stretch, or apply for additional private loans if needs be. Often you can contact your school financial aid office and let them know that you need more money than the student budget has allotted.

Before all of that though, do your FAFSA so that you can get the loan application out of the way. Your school will use FAFSA to get you federal loans and to assist you in applying for other loans.

It isn't a hard process, but it can be stressful not knowing where the money will come from. Don't stress too much, and remember that there are MANY of us accross the country in the same boat. I have a wife and 2 children, so I know how it is.

Also, browse the SDN Financial Aid forum for other helpful tidbits. The moderator over there is a financial whiz.

 

[ecrdoubles15]

when you do the fafsa, do you have to include your parents income info even though they are not going to contribute anyways? please let me know. thanks.

 

[Biogirl361]

yes if you want to be considered for certain loans. however the first 38,000 from the government is not influenced by parental information or lack thereof.

 

[unlvdmd]

You don't have to report their income if you are married, or financially independent from them (you have to be a certain age OR provide extensive documentation to prove you are on your own...).

 

[mlsripathy]

Thank you very much for the help.