<p>Background: I plan to be a freshman at the University of Washington. I’m an out-of-state student from Illinois.</p>
<p>I received the following financial aid:
Federal Pell Grant $4731
Federal Supplemental Grant $4000
Federal Perkins Student Loan $3000
Federal Work Study Program $3300
Federal Direct Sub Stafford Loan $3500
Federal Direct Parent Loan $17,265</p>
<p>My father and I are very concerned about the Federal Direct Parent Loan. When I graduate from the university, my father will be in his 60s, retiring. His credit score is not very good as a result of various financial issues relating to illnesses, divorce and family issues. Will the Federal Direct Parent Loan be denied? It seems very unfair to me, seeing that the University of Washington offered it to me. Throughout my college search process in high school we were told that the financial aid packages from universities were worry-free. Please advise me, I’m rather upset :(</p>
<p>I advise you to contact the Financial Aid office at the University of Washington. They can explain everything to you in more detail and with more authority than any of us can.</p>
<p>did you apply and get accepted to a state school in Illinois. Your COA would be about 1/2 of what you are looking at now. You must have an EFC of 0 or very near (to get at or near the max pell grant).</p>
<p>Even if your dad is approved, you and he combined are looking at 25K per year of loans. That is really not a good thing.</p>
<p>“Throughout my college search process in high school we were told that the financial aid packages from universities were worry-free.”</p>
<p>This was poor advice – only a few schools (the very top schools) meet 100% of your financial need. In-state schools are usually your next best choice, since you aren’t expected to pay that out-of-state cost. If you were in-state at University of Wash, that would have been a decent package.</p>
<p>Out-of-State college tend to be the most expensive for students with financial need – and very few meet 100% of financial need. For most schools, loans are a large component of those FA packages.</p>
<p>I would suggest you either apply to an in-state school that is still accepting applications, attend a community college or defer and reapply to schools that are more financially feasible after a gap year. </p>
<p>If you have similiar FA packages for all four years, the total debt incurred to pay for your 4 year degree will be almost $100,000, not including any interest. That is far too much debt to take on for undergraduate schooling.</p>
<p>Most of the time when FA packages are evaluated, the Parent’s Direct Loan is not considered financial aid. It is a way for the parent’s to meet EFC IF they qualify for the loan. FA is what the school offers to the student, not the parent. Your EFC is such that I really don’t think your father should take out a loan of that amount. The uni is gapping you, by offering your father loans to take care of the need, rather than the EFC.</p>