I just called the financial aid office because I wasn't sure myself. They told me that the federal loans will just barely cover tuition and fees. If you're paying out of pocket, then you'll need less. She asked me if I was paying out of pocket and I told her I want to try to pay something out of pocket, but I'm not sure yet how much I would be able to pay. So the way she explained it to me, if you request the maximum amount, it comes in 2 installments. If you find that you don't need that money, you can ask them to lower the amount of money you get in the second installment. So say you borrow maximum amount, that would be something like $42,500 I think. The first installment would be half that, say $21,250. If you find that you don't need that money, you can ask them before the money comes in for the second installment to lower it to whatever you want, say $10,000.
At least, that's how I understood it. This financial aid stuff is confuddling.
