Financial Aid

**KermitRN** · 01-20-2007

Question about the much beloved student loans...

So the government loans per yr just got bumped up to 20,500 per acedemic year. Do most people get that loan and then a smaller Sallie Mae loan to make sure they have enough cash?

Also, when should I apply for the Sallie Mae loan? Does it take a long time to get the funds?

I have started the painful process of financing school and those that have gone before me were not kidding. One wait... one more question...

School starts in May ... that is part of the 2006-2007 acedemic year ... can I get 20K for just the summer???

~Jared

**RAYMAN** · 01-20-2007

Originally Posted by KermitRN

Question about the much beloved student loans...

So the government loans per yr just got bumped up to 20,500 per acedemic year. Do most people get that loan and then a smaller Sallie Mae loan to make sure they have enough cash?

Also, when should I apply for the Sallie Mae loan? Does it take a long time to get the funds?

I have started the painful process of financing school and those that have gone before me were not kidding. One wait... one more question...

School starts in May ... that is part of the 2006-2007 acedemic year ... can I get 20K for just the summer???

~Jared

You should get the max on the federal stafford loan. Apply for the gradplus next, because it is a federal loan with much more attractive terms than the private, sallie mae etc, loans. It has to be certified by the school, so if you don't get the max then don't be surprised. If that isn't enough, then go for the private loans. As far as getting the whole shebang for the summer....that's probably up to your financial aid office. That's it in a nutshell. Good luck, Jared!

**MmacFN** · 01-20-2007

ray pegged it.

**athomas91** · 01-23-2007

just make sure that whatever "personal" education loans you get are consolidatable in the end.
i didn't check into that - used a 10k loan for living expenses- wasn't able to consolidate and these loans are on a variable percentage rate - mine was at 9% - and capitalizing during school -
in the end it ended up being 12,500.00 that sucks.
i got a 0% card and put in on there and am paying 1k/month to get it to just go away....

just be careful.

and another hint - take as little as possible - consolidation rates have risen >50% in the past few years - from 2% to 5% - i have approx 65k in school loans and my payment at 4.5% is 350/month - it adds up.

**darienblythe79** · 01-23-2007

Jared, Your fin aid office will know what has been done in the past to get you through the summer. There is a supplemental Stafford available for the summer, but I don't know if you would qualify since you haven't recieved loans for 06-07 school year. As far as private loans, apply while you are still employed. It will save you a lot of headache of finding a cosigner. You choose when the check is dispersed to you and try to get that as close to when school starts because interest starts accruing as soon as the check is in your hands. Another note abouut private loans, make sure it is for outside the cost of education. Otherwise, you will only be able to get what the school thinks is appropriate(i.e. not enough). Hope this helps. Good luck and feel free to ask more questions.

**KermitRN** · 03-22-2007

Question regarding the GradPLUS loans. The school said that they do not do them through the school. I have to find an outside loaner for this type of loan. Has anyone dealt with this newer loan and have tips for applying and/or experience with loaners. Thanks
Jared

**RAYMAN** · 03-22-2007

I think I know what they mean. With the stafford, you do your fafsa and it pretty much works itself out. The gradplus has to be certified by the school, but you can choose your lender of which there are a ton.

**glhrn** · 05-07-2007

Help!! Has anyone found any private loans lately that go above and beyond the COA. I did some prelim research and checked SallieMae, Wells Fargo, Banc One, and SunTrust and all I could find were loans that were "up to the COA". I will get the full Stafford amount, plus about $26K in GradPLUS loans, but will need more for living expenses (rent, daycare, bills, etc). Didn't know if things had changed in the private loan sector now that the GradPLUS loans are available to us. I hope not!! If anyone has any info that would help, I would greatly appreciate it.

**RAYMAN** · 05-07-2007

All of those offer private loans above COA. You gotta read carefully and look for those that don't say they have to have certification from the school. Try this one: http://www.bankofamerica.com/student...aximizer_loans

It's Bank of America.