Health Professions Student Loan (HPSL)

[wmw]

Anybody out there planning to apply for this loan? The interest rate is lower (5%) than the Stafford rate (6.8% I believe) I know you do have to disclose your parents income on your FAFSA to apply for the HPSL, so I assume there is some sort of cutoff for it.. anybody know anything???

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[delano2000]

I am considering it.👍

 

[crazybob]

Anybody out there planning to apply for this loan? The interest rate is lower (5%) than the Stafford rate (6.8% I believe) I know you do have to disclose your parents income on your FAFSA to apply for the HPSL, so I assume there is some sort of cutoff for it.. anybody know anything???

I've been getting it through my school for almost two years now.

The student financial aid people at my school said that as long as there are enough funds, they can let us borrow however much we need.

 

[wmw]

I've been getting it through my school for almost two years now.

The student financial aid people at my school said that as long as there are enough funds, they can let us borrow however much we need.

Did you apply for it through your school? As in, did your school have to approve you first?

 

[crazybob]

Did you apply for it through your school? As in, did your school have to approve you first?

Yup. After I filled out the FAFSA with my parent's information, my school approved it for a certain amount before they sent me the forms to fill out. When I accepted the loan on the form they had me fill out and sign, I had to sign the MPN online.

When I wanted to borrow more than what was offered, I had to talk to people in financial aid, and they said that there were enough funds, so they cancelled the MPN that I signed, and put up a new one that I had to sign before the funds were loaned to me.

 

[wmw]

Yup. After I filled out the FAFSA with my parent's information, my school approved it for a certain amount before they sent me the forms to fill out. When I accepted the loan on the form they had me fill out and sign, I had to sign the MPN online.

When I wanted to borrow more than what was offered, I had to talk to people in financial aid, and they said that there were enough funds, so they cancelled the MPN that I signed, and put up a new one that I had to sign before the funds were loaned to me.

so you borrowed more than the COA (more than you would get with the stafford) with the HPSL and still paid the lower interest rate? it just had to be approved?

 

[monkieez]

so you borrowed more than the COA (more than you would get with the stafford) with the HPSL and still paid the lower interest rate? it just had to be approved?

those two aren't the same thing. for more expensive schools, the stafford loan limits is below the COA. (or probably almost all schools). you aren't allowed to borrow more than the COA.

For the fafsa do you put both parent's incomes down? JW, b/c I have only lived with my mother. i only put my own information and submitted the fafsa, but i guess i could go back and change it.

 

[Jabberwocky12]

those two aren't the same thing. for more expensive schools, the stafford loan limits is below the COA. (or probably almost all schools). you aren't allowed to borrow more than the COA.

For the fafsa do you put both parent's incomes down? JW, b/c I have only lived with my mother. i only put my own information and submitted the fafsa, but i guess i could go back and change it.

Also remember that COA can be changed as well at a school. If you have unusual expenses such as necessary laptop or travel expenses, it can be increased if the school has a policy for it. The same goes for living arrangements for rent and everything. Most, if not all, schools in NC here I've seen allow for that.

 

[crazybob]

so you borrowed more than the COA (more than you would get with the stafford) with the HPSL and still paid the lower interest rate? it just had to be approved?

No. The total amount I borrowed was still less than the COA.

I needed to borrow some more to cover my living expenses, so I signed a new MPN.

The system they used said that if I decided to borrow for more than the amount shown on the previous MPN, that MPN had to be cancelled, and I had to sign for the larger amount.

I haven't come across a case where someone would be willing to borrow enough from HPSL to go over the COA.

 

[crazybob]

those two aren't the same thing. for more expensive schools, the stafford loan limits is below the COA. (or probably almost all schools). you aren't allowed to borrow more than the COA.

For the fafsa do you put both parent's incomes down? JW, b/c I have only lived with my mother. i only put my own information and submitted the fafsa, but i guess i could go back and change it.

I guess you could see if one parent or both parents claimed you as a dependent.

 

[SHC1984]

Yup. After I filled out the FAFSA with my parent's information, my school approved it for a certain amount before they sent me the forms to fill out. When I accepted the loan on the form they had me fill out and sign, I had to sign the MPN online.

When I wanted to borrow more than what was offered, I had to talk to people in financial aid, and they said that there were enough funds, so they cancelled the MPN that I signed, and put up a new one that I had to sign before the funds were loaned to me.

You can borrow MORE low interest loans? how does that work? I mean if that was the case than everyone would just borrow ALL low interest loans and NO ONE will take out any Stafford and Grad Plus. LOL...

Is that what you are doing? Only borrowing low interest loans and NOT taking out Stafford and Grad Plus?

I am currentlyt taking out only the Sub Stafford loans b/c it is interest free during school...but if there are MORE interest free loans AND I get UNLIMITED amount of it....PLEASE let me know how I can get some of that interest FREE money!

May I ask how much low interest loans you are borrowing each year?

 

[crazybob]

You can borrow MORE low interest loans? how does that work? I mean if that was the case than everyone would just borrow ALL low interest loans and NO ONE will take out any Stafford and Grad Plus. LOL...

Is that what you are doing? Only borrowing low interest loans and NOT taking out Stafford and Grad Plus?

I am currentlyt taking out only the Sub Stafford loans b/c it is interest free during school...but if there are MORE interest free loans AND I get UNLIMITED amount of it....PLEASE let me know how I can get some of that interest FREE money!

May I ask how much low interest loans you are borrowing each year?

The student financial aid people at my school said that as long as there are enough funds, they can let us borrow more.

It really depends on your personal situation though.

I have a feeling that if I tell you how much I have in loans, you're gonna try to one-up me and say you have less in loans, so no, I'm not gonna tell you.

 

[monkieez]

lol if SHC can get by with borrowing so little loans i doubt she would need/qualify for such loans.

 

[SHC1984]

It really depends on your personal situation though.

I have a feeling that if I tell you how much I have in loans, you're gonna try to one-up me and say you have less in loans, so no, I'm not gonna tell you.

One-up you? lol...No, I don't ever do that. LOL...

In this case however, the MORE loans you have the BETTER. I mean who in the world would not want to borrow interest FREE loans???? That is like FREE money! If the school told me,"We have interest FREE loans for you to borrow. Tell me how much you want. I would be like give me 100K a year thanks!!!!" Do you understand how NICE it is that you get to borrow money INTEREST FREE????? That is the same as getting a scholarship. LOL...

So how much HPSL did you get a year? The more you have the luckier you are. I wish i could have more than 8.5K a year of free interest loans! how did you get them to let you borrow more? how can I get some interest free loans? again, thats free money! lol...

 

[SHC1984]

lol if SHC can get by with borrowing so little loans i doubt she would need/qualify for such loans.

I do not know much about this interest free loan. But please tell me how to get them! I would love to get interest free loans. LOL...that's free money!

 

[crazybob]

Typically, 4K per year in HPSL I think.

 

[homeslice]

Whether the funds are available really is key. Coming from a miserably underfunded, broke state, I was only able to get $1500.

The comparison of this loan to a scholarship is absurd, though. That reality will certainly hit upon graduation.

 

[All4MyDaughter]

I don't know where anyone got the idea that HPSL are interest free.

 

[Jabberwocky12]

I don't know where anyone got the idea that HPSL are interest free.

Yeah or that it is free money, lawl.

SHC, they're subsidized. You borrow 100k a year in it then the second you come outta school and get your license you'll be drowning in debt that is getting bigger by the day.

Still nicer to have compared to Grad+ loans, yes. But free money? There is a reason why they have "scholarships" and then "loans."

 

[SHC1984]

I don't know where anyone got the idea that HPSL are interest free.

It's interest free during school and Bob, mention he got to take out more of that loan b/c there were funds available. All I am saying is that if you are lucky enough to get an interest free loan during school, it is like free money b/c you normally are charged 6.8% interest rate. You can take out a lot of interest free loans (interest free while in school) and just pay it back ASAP when you get out of school before the interest starts to accrue. Does this loan require an seperate application?

 

[Chubi]

I know this is a little late, but I believe this loan is available after all other loans, grants, etc are deducted from the COA. So you wouldn't be able to sidestep the Stafford loans with their 6.8% interest rate in favor of unlimited HPSL loans at 5%. The 12 month deferment without interest accruing is great though, I'm also going to look into this and hope that NY isn't so far down in the crapper financially that there's actually some money available.