teddysjam

I been approved for parent plus loan now what?

My sons financial package so far is

Financial Aid Award (UNC @ Pembroke)

Direct Loan Subsidized 1,750.00 per sem. 3,500.00 total yr
Federal Pell Grant 350.00 per sem. 700.00 total yr
Education Lottery School Scholarship 1,350.00 per sem. 2,700.00 total yr
UNC Need Based Grant 277.00 per sem. 554.00 total yr.

thats 3727.00 per sem. and 7,454.00 per yr. So were short like 2500 per sem or 5000 per yr right now. I got accepted for the parent plus loan which i heard will pay the difference but since i got an acceptance email i havent heard nothing yet will the school notify me or something?, i want to make sure this is taken care of before aug 13th, right now im saying every penny till i know this parent loan will kick in. How long before school lets me know the loan is good and nothing to worry about till next yr.

mom2collegekids

Call the school and ask them. Since you're approved and if you've indicated which school your son will be attending, then it will likely all just happen.

Why isn't your son taking the Stafford Direct unsub loan for 2500 per year? He should be doing that so that you can borrow less. Isn't the interest rate lower on the unsub loan than the Plus loan?

You're Pell qualified, which suggests that you're lowish income. Do you really want to be borrowing $20k (at least)? Do you have any other kids to put thru college?

At a minimum, you need to contact the school and tell them to add in the $2500 unsub loan to his aid pkg.

Your child should also be working as much as he can during the summer and part-time during the school year to help pay for his costs.

teddysjam

Stafford Direct unsub loan for 2500 per year? how does he apply for that? I thought maybe that was done thru fed aid when i filed that. I dont know about pell grant lowish income i make like 60,000 yr between me an wife, not sure what the pell grant is based on. Thanks for your input so do i contact his school via email or phone call and tell them about the unsub loan.

swimcatsmom

Even though all students that are eligible to file FAFSA are eligible for $5500 (freshman level) in direct loans (of which up to $3500 may be subsidized if there is need), many schools don't automatically offer the unsub direct loans to students, instead offering parent PLUS loans. If you prefer that your son take the unsub loan just have him contact the school and tell them. His eligibility would be $2000 for the year, not $2500, as he already has $3500 in direct subsidized loans. The interest rate is 6.8%.

Pell eligibility is based on EFC which is primarily based on income.

annasdad

You really should call the financial aid office at your son's college on Monday and ask them these questions. I agree that he should max out his Stafford eligibility before you take a plus loan, because the interest rate is a bit lower. I'd (a) tell the FA office he wants to take out the unsubsidized Stafford loan, (b) ask them to recompute what your contribution will be after all his aid and loans are applied, and (c) perhaps most importantly, ask them what he (and you) need to do to implement your decisions about aid and loans.

Victoria92008

Parent plus..email FA, they will tell you everything you need to know. Also, check aid status.