lynn77 Posted July 19, 2011 Share Posted July 19, 2011 Hi, I've been accepted to a PA program that begins mid August, back in May I set up my FAFSA and have been following up on it weekly. Just yesterday the school I'm attending packaged my student loan and I've been awarded the amount for a undergraduate. Assuming this is a mistake, I called the financial aid office and learned that I don't qualify for a Plus loan since this isn't officially a graduate program (no master's degree, but you need at least a BA to apply to the program). So now it appears I'm stuck in a scenario where the program costs as much as a master's program, but the aid I'm receiving is equivalent to a undergrad's which is about 1/4 what I need. Any advice or suggestions would be tremendously appreciated. Are there any other federal loan programs I should be aware of or any recommended private loans? I'm moving out of state in just over two weeks and I'm scrambling to get this resolved. Many thanks! Lynn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lynn77 Posted July 19, 2011 Author Share Posted July 19, 2011 Hi, I've been accepted to a PA program that begins mid August, back in May I set up my FAFSA and have been following up on it weekly. Just yesterday the school I'm attending packaged my student loan and I've been awarded the amount for a undergraduate. Assuming this is a mistake, I called the financial aid office and learned that I don't qualify for a Plus loan since this isn't officially a graduate program (no master's degree, but you need at least a BA to apply to the program). So now it appears I'm stuck in a scenario where the program costs as much as a master's program, but the aid I'm receiving is equivalent to a undergrad's which is about 1/4 what I need. Any advice or suggestions would be tremendously appreciated. Are there any other federal loan programs I should be aware of or any recommended private loans? I'm moving out of state in just over two weeks and I'm scrambling to get this resolved. Many thanks! Lynn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kem2127 Posted July 19, 2011 Share Posted July 19, 2011 Check with the school to see if you can get a payment plan, this obviously won't help long term but may allow you to matriculate for the Fall semester and look into other options. I am in a similar situation, where I am in a BS granting program with prior BS and MA degrees and a full income prior to matriculating which also make me ineligible for federal loans. I was able to set up a payment plan through Sally Mae for the Fall, and plan on applying for private loans through my bank for the Spring Semester and 2012 school year and within the next few months. It required that I pay a small fee ($18) and then 1 month of the 6 month plan for the Fall Semester. I also plan on taking out 1 or 2 0% interest APR credit cards that have an 18-24 month introductory rate on them. I plan on putting all grocery, transportation, books, etc on these. This way I can control my expenses a bit at least this year before I need to worry about any high interest private loans and won't have to start paying on the credit cards until August 2013. Yeah it sucks but will be worth in in the end. Plus whatever you pay towards tuition this year will help with your 2011 tax return. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kem2127 Posted July 19, 2011 Share Posted July 19, 2011 Check with the school to see if you can get a payment plan, this obviously won't help long term but may allow you to matriculate for the Fall semester and look into other options. I am in a similar situation, where I am in a BS granting program with prior BS and MA degrees and a full income prior to matriculating which also make me ineligible for federal loans. I was able to set up a payment plan through Sally Mae for the Fall, and plan on applying for private loans through my bank for the Spring Semester and 2012 school year and within the next few months. It required that I pay a small fee ($18) and then 1 month of the 6 month plan for the Fall Semester. I also plan on taking out 1 or 2 0% interest APR credit cards that have an 18-24 month introductory rate on them. I plan on putting all grocery, transportation, books, etc on these. This way I can control my expenses a bit at least this year before I need to worry about any high interest private loans and won't have to start paying on the credit cards until August 2013. Yeah it sucks but will be worth in in the end. Plus whatever you pay towards tuition this year will help with your 2011 tax return. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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