I am currently a student at Stanford University. My family is low income so I am fortunate to have received a full ride scholarship. However this scholarship does not cover my books and living + travel expenses, which I have to pay for out of pocket. Unfortunately I was not able to save up anything during the summer because I was paying many different bills, so I will be showing up to campus broke and I already have $500 in fall fees waiting for me. Fortunately I have an AmeriCorps education grant worth $3,500 and I also want to apply for a small loan, because I anticipate my expenses will be around $4500 this upcoming year. My question is, should I first use up all the money in my education grant before applying for a loan (max I can receive is 2200) or should I get the max loan first, and then dig into my education grant?
I’d use the grant first, but apply for the loan now. You will probably be offered a subsidized loans, and if so the interest will be paid by the government while you are in school, so the money can just sit in your bank account if you don’t need it yet. If you are then able to get a job or otherwise earn enough money so that you never have to use the loan money, you can just pay it back and owe no interest.
@pentup I am loan averse, so perhaps my advice will be biased. However, why not just hold off on the loans period. If you need it you can always get it, I have never heard of loans being hard to come by. The only thing you need to worry about is figuring out when your funds are too low. For instance you can only take out loans while you are currently attending classes. If you are in the middle of a break and running low on money, then you won’t be able to take out loans.
Also, try contacting some local organizations on campus that help student similar to you get acclimated. They may offer whole range of additional support such as help with purchasing books, food and other necessities. If you don’t know who to contact try going to the library so a reference librarian can help you with that. Also, for many books, you might be able to find them at the library where you can scan copies, you can also try inter-library loans where your University library attempts to get books from local Universities.
Finally for housing, this is a big ticket item. So, I would make sure that you are sure you don’t qualify for more aid to help with cost of living. If need be contact someone rather important in the financial aid office and ask them about all your options.
Please clarify. You say you are attending Stanford which has extremely generous need based aid. You are low income…but you don’t have money to cover living expenses? Why is this?
I think by living expenses he just meant the incidentals (plus books and travel). No one could live in Palo Alto for $3500 per year.
It must be the student contribution expected by Stanford.
You worked full time all summer and had bills to pay? If you were helping out your parents with their bills, are they able to repay you now?
Do you have a work study job? Maybe the FA office can let you charge your books to your student account and you can pay them back with your work study earnings.
Sounds like summer earnings went to typical college kid life stuff…maybe car expenses, car insurance, maybe a dental bill, who knows. Even if he had to help pay some home expenses or contribute to household to cover his food costs, it’s doubtful that low income parents can pay anything back.
He needs to ask Stanford for a student loan to cover the uncovered. Most of the living expenses should ALREADY be covered with grants.
Can you tell us EXACTLY what is in your aid pkg?
I’m curious as to what in the original post makes you think that OP’s “summer earnings went to typical college kid life stuff…maybe car expenses, car insurance…” The only thing that OP said regarding summer earnings was that “I was not able to save up anything during the summer because I was paying many different bills…” How does that turn into “typical college kid life stuff,” without a healthy dose of imagination on your part? The fact is, you have absolutely no idea what OP’s summer earnings were used for.
In another thread, OP says s/he was paying rent and other bills. I’d assume that means utilities, transportation, and food. @Pentup, what are your plans for the winter break and next summer? Do you have a place to go or do you have to save up to pay rent somewhere?
The federal student loans are there for students who need them. Use grants first, but request the federal loans so they’re available in case you need them.
^Using your Americorps education award
some good information in above link. It seems the award can be used to pay back qualified student loans, pay for current education expenses, or both.
the award is also federal taxable income
^^As is grants in excess of tuition - I wonder if he/she knows this?