<p>My daughter is receiving a Pell Grant, Work Study, Stafford loans, small scholarship, and I am taking out a PLUS loan for the rest. Our package looks complete, all need met up to COA. However, she just found out she will receive additional grant money from her Indian tribe, $4k. When she receives this, what will they reduce? Her Work Study, Stafford loans or my PLUS Loan?</p>
<p>If your Plus loan is to cover MORE than just your EFC, call the school and ask them to reduce your Plus loan. </p>
<p>Is your Plus loan only to cover EFC? If so, then the school may reduce her Stafford loans.</p>
<p>When I received $4000 from my tribe for my freshman year, my direct loan was reduced first and then my work study.</p>
<p>I definitely want my PLUS loan reduced first (it is more than my EFC), I just didn’t know if I had any say in the matter. I will call the FA office and make that request. Thanks everyone!</p>
<p>It will depend upon how the college operates. If the school did not meet full need (Cost of Attendance minus EFC), then it might permit you to reduce your out of pocket cost up to EFC before reducing the student self help. That you have a PLUS loan does not matter to the school. Another person might have paid what had to be paid through savings, family money, or outside loans. That you took a PLUS loan to take care of the amount does not come into the picture. IT’s all considered the part you have to pay regardless of how. </p>
<p>If the money does come off of your student’s DIrect Loan, you can the reduce your PLUS and request more student DIrect loan taken out. The fact of the matter is that students can take that amount regardless as long as the COA is not covered. One can interchange between PLUS and Student DIrect, and the way it seems to work is that they hit the student limits first before giving the parents the loan when both have applied. The other place it could come off is the work study if he is getting any, in which case, he can look for an outside job on or around campus.</p>
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<p>I agree with Cpt, that the student self help aid (loans, work study will be reduced first. If the need was met and you have to borrow for your EFC, her receiving an outside scholarship is not going to help your cause because she would have to get a scholarship that reduces all of the self help and scholarship aid given by the school before the EFC is reduced. </p>
<p>If student has 5k, in loans, perhaps she could use the 4k this debt. This way she could borrow an additional 2k unsubsidized (she cannot borrow additional sub monies if her need has been met).</p>
<p>However, if her need is not met, perhaps she can use the 4k to fill the gap (unmet need), leaving you to take a smaller PLUS loan (if your Plus loan is covering the EFC and the unmet need).</p>