Summer Financial Aid

Greerman123
Tue, 02 Oct 2012 14:39:13 +0000

Hello Everyone!
First post here so take it easy on me. I am a seasoned financial aid veteran, having walked the ropes for many years with different financial aid offices, but I am now in new territory. I need to figure this out with your help. I will go over this as clear as I can, but if you need clarification, please just ask.

I am applying for this program that starts this coming Summer (Summer of 2013). I was led to believe that this summer was included in the prior academic year (2012-2013). My program then carries into the coinciding Fall and Spring semester. Technically, I have things to do the following summer (Summer 2014) but none of it is class related, and I will owe no money to the school since I will not be attending any class. So basically, I need financial aid for Summer 2013, Fall 2013, and Spring 2014. These are all Stafford loans that will count against my graduate degree limit, and since I will be entering medical school afterwards (at least I am hoping with all my heart), then my aggregate loan limit is 200,000+.

I had emailed one program and they said many students take advantage of the academic year split, requesting full loan amounts in the Summer (since they had not borrowed the previous fall or spring) and then full amounts again for the Fall/Spring semesters. This other program I had just emailed said that I will only be able to borrow 20,500 for the entire year. I tried to explain to the financial aid lady that the summer session was 2013 and even though I will be enrolled technically in summer 2014, i would not need any aid for THAT summer.

What I need to cleared up is this: if i did not borrow Fall 2012/Spring 2013, can i borrow the full loan amount for Summer 2013 and then again for the following year in Fall 2013/Spring 2014? Just for clerical issues, I have no defaulted on any loans and have made all my payments on time since I graduated from my undergrad institution.

Also, the only reason I am looking at doing this is because the program is 16-months, and costs more than the amount provided by Stafford loans. Yes, I can look into private loans but I do not want to borrow any. I want to try and see if I can snag this route, because it is easier in the long run. I do not have anyone that can cosign my private loan if i get denied, and it is a last resort. I have only been out of school for a year and I do not want to chance my credit up against tedious lenders.

I hope I made this as clear as possible. Again, if anyone is confused just ask me to clear it up and I will try my best. Thanks again for everyone’s help :)