when the school budget is not enough...

In general most private loans are also only up to the cost of attendance. So unless you can increase your CoA there isn't much you can do for student loans.

 

I thought that GradPlus loans covered up to CoA, and that private loans go above and beyond that, which agrees with what lemoncurry said.

lemoncurry, I think that you should max out your GradPlus loans before dipping into private mainly because the interest on private loans is variable. also, GradPlus loans are backed by the federal government and may have different terms (e.g. death/disability, deferment options, capitalization frequency, loan repayment options).

if you are worried about the hassle of possibly dealing with 3 different loan types, I don't think it would be a problem, especially if you keep the same lender for all 3 (or even just 2) or if you are meticulous in keeping everything in order.

good luck!

 

In most cases it is Private loan amount=CoA-other aid. That other aid could be grad plus, stafford, perkins grants, or scholarships. So like I said before most people will be hard pressed if they can't get their CoA increased and in many cases private loans should be avoided entirely in lieu of grad plus.

 

lemon,

This other thread may help. A lot of us are in similar situations and there is always a way to solve each unique circumstance. Good luck, and let us know what you end up doing.

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=504450

 

There are several lenders for direct to consumer loans. But, your school needs to partcipate, and you'll need a credit score above 650, at this point. That's actually becoming more true even for regular private loans. Above 675 would be even better. If you go with this option, and you forsee needing extra money in the future, you might want to consider taking the full amount now for later. Take the gradplus. It'll be easier to consolidate later. It may seem that the interest rate is higher, but that's just for now, and most people don't qualify for the really low-rate private loans anyway. They end up being teasers. The last thing you want is sitting on thousands of dollars at 14%.