since no one goes to the finaid forum -- gradplus disbursement question

[Doctor Bagel]

I posted about this in the financial aid forum a long time ago, but I'm trying to figure out if other students at other schools in the US are having the same problem. I started school Monday, but my school will not disburse my GradPlus loans until mid to late October. Is that normal, or is my school's financial aid office being a bit slackerly or not on the ball?

If anybody else is in this situation, what you are doing for money?

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[njbmd]

I posted about this in the financial aid forum a long time ago, but I'm trying to figure out if other students at other schools in the US are having the same problem. I started school Monday, but my school will not disburse my GradPlus loans until mid to late October. Is that normal, or is my school's financial aid office being a bit slackerly or not on the ball?

If anybody else is in this situation, what you are doing for money?

Hi there,
Disbursement of funds is very specific from school to school. This is one of those things that you check out early and prepare for i.e have at least four months worth of expense money before you go. The disbursement does get faster as you move into second semester, second year but few people have loan money in their accounts on the first day of classes.

njbmd

 

[Doctor Bagel]

Hi there,
Disbursement of funds is very specific from school to school. This is one of those things that you check out early and prepare for i.e have at least four months worth of expense money before you go. The disbursement does get faster as you move into second semester, second year but few people have loan money in their accounts on the first day of classes.

njbmd

Well, the thing is that all other loans were disbursed Tuesday of this week, which is the official disbursement date for the school. The school is claiming the GradPlus loans are late because they are a new type of loan. Since this is a fairly unique situation and general advice about loans isn't applicable, I'm looking for how other schools are handling disbursement of GradPlus loans.

I did not expect my money before school started and did do a thorough investigation. I did expect to have some money within a few weeks of the start of school, though, which was a reasonable expectation.

Also, not trying to be confrontational, but what are your great suggestions for having four months of living expenses lined up? I depleted a good chunk of my savings applying to schools, and the rest was eaten up by my move and endless deposits. Prior to all of this, I did have six months of living expenses saved up in case I got laid off or whatever, but that's gone, and there was no way around that. I doubt that I'm alone in not having four months of living expenses, nor do I think that makes me financially irresponsible.

Can anybody actually answer my specific question?

 

[busthwt]

Well, the thing is that all other loans were disbursed Tuesday of this week, which is the official disbursement date for the school. The school is claiming the GradPlus loans are late because they are a new type of loan. Since this is a fairly unique situation and general advice about loans isn't applicable, I'm looking for how other schools are handling disbursement of GradPlus loans.

I did not expect my money before school started and did do a thorough investigation. I did expect to have some money within a few weeks of the start of school, though, which was a reasonable expectation.

Also, not trying to be confrontational, but what are your great suggestions for having four months of living expenses lined up? I depleted a good chunk of my savings applying to schools, and the rest was eaten up by my move and endless deposits. Prior to all of this, I did have six months of living expenses saved up in case I got laid off or whatever, but that's gone, and there was no way around that. I doubt that I'm alone in not having four months of living expenses, nor do I think that makes me financially irresponsible.

Can anybody actually answer my specific question?

Every school is different, for instance I have to wait until late october, novermber to get my grad plus loans. This is because my school does budget increases and that is added onto the grad plus loans so it takes a while for those increases to kick in. Maybe your disbursement will pull you through in the mean time, and if you really need money get a private loan that does not go through the school--it's quicker but credit dependent.

 

[peace84]

i started classes on monday and my grad plus loan was deposited into my account yesterday...thank god. i'm not sure why your school waits until october to disburse the loan. i understand your frustration....i had no money all week waiting for my loan to come through.

 

[medicomel]

Well, the thing is that all other loans were disbursed Tuesday of this week, which is the official disbursement date for the school. The school is claiming the GradPlus loans are late because they are a new type of loan. Since this is a fairly unique situation and general advice about loans isn't applicable, I'm looking for how other schools are handling disbursement of GradPlus loans.

I did not expect my money before school started and did do a thorough investigation. I did expect to have some money within a few weeks of the start of school, though, which was a reasonable expectation.

Also, not trying to be confrontational, but what are your great suggestions for having four months of living expenses lined up? I depleted a good chunk of my savings applying to schools, and the rest was eaten up by my move and endless deposits. Prior to all of this, I did have six months of living expenses saved up in case I got laid off or whatever, but that's gone, and there was no way around that. I doubt that I'm alone in not having four months of living expenses, nor do I think that makes me financially irresponsible.

Can anybody actually answer my specific question?

My school gave me the same spiel, that the Grad PLUS loan is new this year. I had to also apply for a budget increase, b/c their $600 allotment for rent didn't cut the mustard here in a metropolitan area. So, that might further delay things until November. I'm not exactly thrilled either, because of all the expenses I've incurred. Since quitting my job in July, I've had to incur moving, furnishing expenses, etc. I'm running out of $$$ quickly, and I can't believe how fast it went.

To sum up, I am drowning too, and I hope my trusty Mastercard will get me through the tough times.

 

[Doctor Bagel]

My school gave me the same spiel, that the Grad PLUS loan is new this year. I had to also apply for a budget increase, b/c their $600 allotment for rent didn't cut the mustard here in a metropolitan area. So, that might further delay things until November. I'm not exactly thrilled either, because of all the expenses I've incurred. Since quitting my job in July, I've had to incur moving, furnishing expenses, etc. I'm running out of $$$ quickly, and I can't believe how fast it went.

To sum up, I am drowning too, and I hope my trusty Mastercard will get me through the tough times.

Oh, I've been relying on that mastercard, too. I did call my financial aid office, and they said the GradPlus loans should be disbursed in January for spring semester, so hopefully I won't be in this hole then.

 

[medicomel]

have you found hidden costs as well, like printing from the computer labs?
$.10 per page isn't bad, and we have a $15 credit on our id cards. BUT, i just found out that the course instructors do not print out the powerpoints, so i had to crunch some numbers. it comes out to about $70 a semester for each class. i'm thinking about buying a printer. oh, and i have to buy office 2004 in order to open the power points.

i wonder if they figure these costs in when computing our award letters. there's just no end to the costs here. now i see why med students are poor. still, we're med students so i should shut the **** up, eh?

good luck in your quest for $. hope it comes soon.

 

[JHU1984]

oh, and i have to buy office 2004 in order to open the power points.

download open office -- it's free and opens powerpoint.

 

[JonnyG]

Some grad plus loans charge an origination fee that you get back if you keep the loan for somehting like 3 months (its really stupid) the school might be keeping the money so that you get the full amount of the loan. Just another thought.

 

[Doctor Bagel]

Some grad plus loans charge an origination fee that you get back if you keep the loan for somehting like 3 months (its really stupid) the school might be keeping the money so that you get the full amount of the loan. Just another thought.

Nope, they're doing it for all lenders regardless of origination fees -- also, I have trouble thinking they're doing it as a favor to me. Otherwise, wouldn't they tell me that?

I called today, and they said they should be disbursed on time in the spring. At least it's just a one time thing. It just seems weird to me that some schools can get them disbursed and some can't. If it were purely a federal government issue, no one would have them before October.

 

[Doctor Bagel]

have you found hidden costs as well, like printing from the computer labs?
$.10 per page isn't bad, and we have a $15 credit on our id cards. BUT, i just found out that the course instructors do not print out the powerpoints, so i had to crunch some numbers. it comes out to about $70 a semester for each class. i'm thinking about buying a printer. oh, and i have to buy office 2004 in order to open the power points.

i wonder if they figure these costs in when computing our award letters. there's just no end to the costs here. now i see why med students are poor. still, we're med students so i should shut the **** up, eh?

good luck in your quest for $. hope it comes soon.

My school is actually fairly generous with granting aid for miscellaneous stuff -- for example, they budgeted us $4k for books and supplies. Of course, getting the money disbursed when you need it is a problem. Consequently, the little stuff like $150 for parking, $175 for notegroups, $10 for an id, $25+/syllabus, etc. are starting to hurt.

The good news it that I'm getting all sorts of rewards for all the moolah I'm piling up on my credit cards. I should try to focus on that instead of on the decreasing credit score (total credit debt affects this, right?) and the large amount of interest that's accruing.

On another note, open office is the way to go.

 

[Samoa]

Part of the problem is that it takes forever for Sallie Mae (or whoever) to process the loan. I'm a 4th year, and we were supposed to get our financial aid on July 5th. My grad plus loan comes in next week. Well, that's if no other catastrophe happens in the interim. God help me, I may have to shoot someone if there's another delay, just to make sure I have food and a roof over my head. (I'm kidding. I think.)

 

[erasable]

maybe it has something to do with your loan provider?
I went with my school's preferred provider and everything went smoothly event though I handed my stuff somewhat later than other people.

I posted about this in the financial aid forum a long time ago, but I'm trying to figure out if other students at other schools in the US are having the same problem. I started school Monday, but my school will not disburse my GradPlus loans until mid to late October. Is that normal, or is my school's financial aid office being a bit slackerly or not on the ball?

If anybody else is in this situation, what you are doing for money?

 

[Doctor Bagel]

maybe it has something to do with your loan provider?
I went with my school's preferred provider and everything went smoothly event though I handed my stuff somewhat later than other people.

Well, I went with one of their preferred providers, who is also handling my staffords. My staffords were processed asap. The financial aid office has said it's going to be mid to late October for the GradPlus loans in general. If it were a lender issue, I'd change it.

 

[Doctor Bagel]

Part of the problem is that it takes forever for Sallie Mae (or whoever) to process the loan. I'm a 4th year, and we were supposed to get our financial aid on July 5th. My grad plus loan comes in next week. Well, that's if no other catastrophe happens in the interim. God help me, I may have to shoot someone if there's another delay, just to make sure I have food and a roof over my head. (I'm kidding. I think.)

I feel you! I've been in catastrophe land, too, and this has just been one of the problems.

 

[SoCuteMD]

Ok, so part of the reason I DIDN'T take the GradPlus loan this semester was the origination fee. Things are going to be tight and I just couldn't afford it.

What lenders are offering a refund after 3 months? Please help!!

 

[Doctor Bagel]

Ok, so part of the reason I DIDN'T take the GradPlus loan this semester was the origination fee. Things are going to be tight and I just couldn't afford it.

What lenders are offering a refund after 3 months? Please help!!

The only one I know of is T.H.E. (northstar -- www.northstar.org). They'll refund it to you after six months or something like that.

 

[SoCuteMD]

The only one I know of is T.H.E. (northstar -- www.northstar.org). They'll refund it to you after six months or something like that.

6 months after the "final disbursement"

Does that mean after the end of the year? Or 6 months after you stop taking out loans, though?

 

[Doctor Bagel]

6 months after the "final disbursement"

Does that mean after the end of the year? Or 6 months after you stop taking out loans, though?

You're right -- it isn't clear. I think it means six months after the final disbursement for that particular GradPlus loan. For example, if you borrow $10k for this year, and it's disbursed in two segments (once in fall and once in spring), they'll refund that 3% to you six months after the spring disbursement. If you get GradPlus loans from them for next year, that would essentially be a new loan, so I don't think you'll wind up not getting the 3% until six months after your final disbursement in spring of your fourth year, which would suck.

 

[Samoa]

I feel you! I've been in catastrophe land, too, and this has just been one of the problems.

Let's throw ourselves a pity party! I'll bring the rum.

Seriously, I feel like I'm caught in the middle of a he-said/she-said nightmare. My school is waiting on my lender, and my lender is waiting on my school, and neither of them will act until the other does something.