<p>Hello, i received in the mail today an award letter for a total of $13,050 in financial aid. This is from the perkins loan and the stafford loans. Can anyone help me in the case of what this means.
I wish to attend kutztown university of pa in the fall of 2012. It is about $28,000 total a year. What else can i do to get the remaining $15,000</p>
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<p>You can always apply for a parent plus loan to cover the remaining costs. Your school may also have a TMS or Tuition Management System, where you pay monthly payments to the school based on what the loans do not cover. I would use a private loan (discover, pnc bank, sallie mae, etc.) as a last resort. These require a co-signer and have high interest rates. Your school may also have an option where you can be considered for additional funding. You would have to check with the school’s financial aid office to find out more about this. I hope this helps.</p>
<p>"You can always apply for a Parent Plus loan…’</p>
<p>Clarifying…</p>
<p>Since the student is posting…The parent (not the student) can apply for a Parent Plus loan.</p>
<p>Since your FA award is that much from a state school, can we guess that you are a Pell recipient? What was your EFC? If you are a Pell student, I don’t think a Plus loan is the way to go. Your parents won’t be able to afford it.</p>
<p>Where else did you apply? Did you apply to any state schools that you can commute to?</p>
<p>I have not been notified by anyone about Pell grants or fron the FAFSA.</p>
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<p>What was your FAFSA EFC?</p>
<p>$0</p>
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<p>Something isn’t right. </p>
<p>Look closely at your award. I don’t think schools give $13,000 in stafford and perkins loans…at least not to freshman dependent students. I don’t even think transfer student would get this much.</p>
<p>Post exactly what your award says…</p>
<p>If you were given</p>
<p>2500 in sub loans
2000 in unsub loans
5550 in Pell
1000 in Perkins
2000 in work study…that is about what your pkg is.</p>
<p>The amounts may be broken into quarters or semesters…whatever UW is on</p>
<p>anyway…this school isn’t affordable even with a 5550 Pell grant. Where else did you apply?</p>
<p>If your EFC is zero, should not you also receive Pell grant?</p>
<p>In the end it does not matter. With zero EFC this school is not affordable for you. Do you have any other choices?</p>
<p>oops i did receive Pell Grant.</p>
<p>Direct Sub Stafford loan 1 $3500
Direct UnSub Stafford Loan 1 $2000
Federal Pell Grant 1 $5500
Federal Perkins loan 1 $2000</p>
<p>dallascow222 – This is not a workable offer for you. They’re offering $5500 in grant money ($ you don’t have to pay back), and $7500 in loans and STILL leaving you with a $15K a year gap that your family can’t reasonably fill if you’ve got a zero EFC. </p>
<p>I’m sorry. You really need to look at other options or take a gap year. What state do you live in? Is there a community college nearby?</p>
<p>What are the benefits and disadvantages of a “gap” year??? Sorry off my topic. </p>
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<p>Pros and Cons of a gap year…</p>
<p>Well, normally we start out with the “pros”, but in this case I’ll start with the “cons”</p>
<p>Cons</p>
<p>You’d have $60k in private debt and $30k in federal loan debt. $90k in debt. 
You’ll ruin your life with strangling debt and forever regret the decision of finding some idiot to cosign those loans</p>
<p>Pros</p>
<p>You’ll spend the next few months coming up with a strategy that includes schools that will either “meet need” and/or give HUGE merit so that a Pell grant and a small fed loan cover the rest.</p>
<p>You won’t take ANY college classes during that year. You can work, volunteer, etc, during this time. It’s ok to earn some money, it won’t ruin your low EFC. You can earn about $5000 without ANY impact. Don’t have that money in savings when you file FAFSA next year. Spend the money on USEFUL things that you’ll need for college…a laptop, a dorm things, help parents pay off a bill, etc. </p>
<p>you’ll then attend an affordable college and graduate with a small and manageable debt loan. And while making THOSE manageable smaller loan payments, you’ll still feel a bit of a pinch and thank your lucky stars that you didn’t foolishly take on that larger debt.</p>
<p>dallascow222, I can’t really think of any disadvantages to taking a gap year, especially if colleges who accepted you will allow you to defer enrollment for a year. You won’t have to reapply for admission, but will reapply for financial aid. Sure, taking a year will delay graduation a year, but that will also delay entering the workforce full time for the rest of your adult years by just one year! </p>
<p>The gap year would allow you to make and save potentially a good amount of money which, even if it means having to contribute a little toward school would still be a better situation than you are in now, would it not? You can take some time maybe to investigate more thoroughly the career path you think you want to take, and while working will be improving your resume to help with more serious job searches to come later. Your work experience, if it shows accountability, responsibility and mature work ethic, will give you an edge over kids who have not had much work experience. Definitely a positive. The other advantage is that, when you return to school in just one year, you will be that much more able to appreciate your education, maybe be even more focused on getting out of it what you want, and have a clearer vision of what you want for a future.</p>
<p>Based on your COA, it sounds like you are out of state. Where do you live? Did you apply to any of your state schools? It sounds like that would be your best option.</p>