Taking out less loans

[emewe]

I am fairly certain that I do not need to take out loans for the full cost of attendance for my medical school (their projected living costs are much higher than I expect to have). Can I take out less of the unsubsidized federal loans than I was offered in my financial aid package? If I discovered that I actually did need that money perhaps by the second semester, could I get the rest of the money then? Or is it better to take out the full amount from the beginning to avoid being stuck later?

I read in some threads that people use excess loan money to pay off other loans, how does this work? Would this be the best option in my case?

I was lucky enough to have great financial aid in undergrad so I haven't had to deal with this stuff before...but now I'm totally lost

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[TMP-SMX]

You don't have to take out the full amount, you can ask for more money if you need it after the semester begins, (you can also return money within a certain time period without it counting against you), and you can spend the money on whatever you want. (Just don't run out of money). However, what kind of loans do you have that have worse terms than 6.8%?

 

[emewe]

i don't have loans with worse terms than the 6.8% interest, but i can take the most money out with the unsubsidized loans so those were the loans that i was planning on cutting down on if possible. so how does the stafford loan application work if you decide to take less money now then more later in the semester?

 

[ChiDO]

i don't have loans with worse terms than the 6.8% interest, but i can take the most money out with the unsubsidized loans so those were the loans that i was planning on cutting down on if possible. so how does the stafford loan application work if you decide to take less money now then more later in the semester?

This is how our rewards work. We get an email saying our reward is available online.

You go the website and it says:

COA: $75k ($45k tuition)

Loans:
Sub: $8500
UnSub: $50k (w/e it is)
Perkins: $3k
Grad: $XXk

Then it asks you how much would you like to accept of each loan. So, I know that I only need $65k for the year. I also know I have 2k in scholarships and parents are giving me 10k, so I only need 53.

I accept 3k perkins and 8500 subs and rest in unsub.

Just an FYI, if COA is 50k (tuition 25k) and you only take 20k in loans. That 20k will go automatically to your tuition. The only way you get a check back, is if you take more then tuition costs. Furthermore, in my example above, say my car breaks down and I need an additional 5k. Well, I was awarded $75k (only took out like ~50k), so I still have an additoinal $25k of loan money that I could take out if needed.

Another FYI, if you take out 50k in loans, you get $25k first semester and 25k the 2nd semester.

Hope this helps and wasn't too confusing.

 

[emewe]

Thank you! that helps a lot

So if I needed more loans, I can go to that website at any time and just enter the extra amount that I need (up to my allowed amount)?

 

[TMP-SMX]

You would just stop by your financial aid office and ask for more.

 

[GeraldMonroe]

I would be careful on this : say you don't take out the max for the Fall semester. Unexpected expenses come up, and you need every penny you can get. You might not be able to get the loan money you could have taken for the past semester, even though it would be part of the same academic year. I don't know what the exact rules are, but you should ask.

 

[XRanger]

I have similar question: let's say I already accepted their full financial aid offer. But later it turns out that I don't need that much and want to accept less than what they offer. Can I return the extra money back without penalty? How do I go about doing this?

 

[GeraldMonroe]

I have similar question: let's say I already accepted their full financial aid offer. But later it turns out that I don't need that much and want to accept less than what they offer. Can I return the extra money back without penalty? How do I go about doing this?

Yes, within 3 months of the money being given to the school. ("disbursement")

Talk to your financial aid office, they'll give you the form to fill out.

 

[masterofmonkeys]

I only took out the full loan amount this (ms4) year. And needed every penny for R&R, interviews, etc.

In the other years, when the economy was actually doing decent I took out 5k more than I needed (which was still 5k or so less than the stafford limit) and invested it in a good solid mutual fund. Paid off a decent chunk of my loans that way.

Budget intelligently but not overly optimistically. I never counted pennies and spent a chunk of change on food (i eat a lot) and hobbies (car, transformers, and lifting). And still always came in fine. But I'm cheap in a lot of respects, so it wasn't too hard.