Tuition, loans and advice!

[DPThopeful1859]

Hi guys! I was recently offered a seat at a private university out of state and I'm looking into financial aid. I've heard pros and cons about taking out PLUS loans or going through private loans, but I wanted to hear YOUR opinion about what would be the smartest way to go about it. I've been fortunate enough to only have a small amount of undergrad debt (~$13k), due to having HOPE scholarship here in GA, as well as working part time and having helpful parents at the time. Since I'm moving out of state for school, I will need to account not only for tuition, but living expenses as well. I would love to hear any and all advice when it comes to finances as to what to apply for and how to go about it the smartest way possible. Thanks!!

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[Cheezy89]

So you will receive standard financial aid that will cover a portion of your tuition. For the rest, I chose the Plus Loan instead of private because the federal government is also the lender. That way after I get my doctorate, I won't need to worry about making two student loan payments (federal and private, monthly). I can just consolidate both undergrad and graduate loan and make just one monthly payment.
Private lenders have a tendency to increase their interest rate over the course of your payment. Plus loan however stays the same till the end. For private loan, the interest rate behavior of course varies depending on the lender so if you're thinking about going the private route, do your research.
Make sure you talk to Financial-Aid and figure out how much $ you gonna need first after all the fees and what not.