can you borrow in addition to your finaid package?

[TweetiePie]

anyone knows if one can borrow through a private lender in addition to the financial aid calculated by your school? and if yes, then is there a maximum amount set by the school?

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[andrea]

Hey TweetiePie! How's it going? The only limit for loans is for Staffords. But if you're borrowing through a private lender, you can take as much as they'll give you. Have fun!

 

[trouta]

You can borrow in addition but you will have to do it privately and likely organize it yourself. Not to mention the interest rates will likely be VERY high.

 

[squeek]

There are options for students for funds above the $38,500 you can get from the government. I've actually had to look into this myself. Yes, the interest rates are a tad higher, but interest rates overall are so low now that it's not too much trouble.

Also, you SHOULDN'T have to do all of the research yourself. It is generally part of your financial aid advisor's job description to help students acquire funding for school, and they are often very well-versed in outside funding for students.

You won't, however, be able to borrow for credit card debt, etc. I think they'll only let you borrow up to the cost of living set by your school--and perhaps more, if you are a parent.

Good luck!

 

[paean]

If your estimated student budget is, say, 50K, and your school offers you a package that is only stafford loans (38.5K max), then it is easy to find private lenders to make up the difference. Many alternative loan programs only allow you to borrow the difference between the financial aid budget and the amount the school gives you. Your financial aid office should be able to help you with this.

If you are looking for alternative loans beyond the student budget, this is more difficult. There are lenders out there, but if you are borrowing more than the standard student budget, you may be subject to higher fees and interest. If you think you need to borrow because your budget is higher than the standard budget, in some cases you can get an increase (not for car or credit card payments, though).

If you post more details about your situation, I'll try to give you a more specific answer.

 

[TweetiePie]

well, my school did not include moving expenses (which in my case means buying everything cuz i live with my family now), paying rent deposit, utilities, or car insurance.

 

[lilycat]

Your school probably did include utilities -- that's calculated as part of the cost of living. However, there is no guarantee that this is very realistic. Often times what they quote as rent + cost of living (I forget what term is used to bundle this all together) is the same amount as the cheapest rent I could find. Car expenses are usually set somewhere between $90-150/month -- your school probably did include them, but you may have found it not to be adequate enough.

First off, as paean alluded to, many school financial aid offices set the upper limit at which you can borrow. Usually, this is the entire budget for attending school for a year -- tuition, books, school supplies, living expenses (rent, utilities, food, etc.), some car expenses, health insurance, and some miscellaneous expenses. If you want to borrow above this maximum amount, most private lenders (like Citibank, BofA, WellsFargo, etc.) require approval from your FAO first, and most FAO's will not give this approval -- they want to make sure that you are not borrowing wildly and are keeping your debt under control. When I researched it last year, the only company I found that would lend me money without FAO approval was P.L.A.T.O -- you can find their website if you do a google search. Anyways, they had very high rates, high origination fees, etc., so I realized I might actually be better off using my credit cards than taking out such a loan.

My best advice would be to try and get a loan from your family for some of these miscellaneous expenses you mentioned, if it's possible -- hopefully they would offer you better terms than P.L.A.T.O. (that wouldn't be hard to do). If you are graduating or have a birthday coming up, and you know that people are planning on getting you gifts, try to get stuff you need, like for you apartment or room, money for a rent deposit, etc. My final suggestion would be to work your butt off before med school starts. You stated that you are living with your family now -- if you work for a couple of months, that should allow you to save most of your income since you aren't paying for living expenses. You should at least be able to come up with the money for either some of your moving expenses or rent deposit, if not both.

 

[paean]

TweetiePie, from other posts I gather that you are applying right now for 2003. (Correct me if my impression was wrong). You remind me of myself, trying to worry about every contingency, so I appreciate where your questions are coming from. Moving expenses are not covered, as they take place before the school year. But other expenses usually are. Most budgets are okay if you live carefully (i.e. get a roommate, already have paid off your car). Try to focus on getting in, and worry about the $$ later. Just like admissions, it often seems worse before things start rolling. If you really feel that the finances are impossible, you can always sign a service contract (army, navy, air force, NHSC, IHS, etc.) they give okay stipends (more than the student budgets at most schools), and you have no debt, but owe four years of time after residency.

 

[Scooby Doo]

Do they seriously ONLY give you 150 for car each month?

That's HORRIBLE! IN Gas alone it costs maybe 75 a month. Then if you tack on any sort of little repair that's gonna be another 200 to 1000 which may happen once every few months if you have a used car!

That's just ridiculous IMHO!

 

[TweetiePie]

•••quote:•••Originally posted by paean:
•TweetiePie, from other posts I gather that you are applying right now for 2003. (Correct me if my impression was wrong). You remind me of myself, trying to worry about every contingency, so I appreciate where your questions are coming from. Moving expenses are not covered, as they take place before the school year. But other expenses usually are. Most budgets are okay if you live carefully (i.e. get a roommate, already have paid off your car). Try to focus on getting in, and worry about the $$ later. Just like admissions, it often seems worse before things start rolling. If you really feel that the finances are impossible, you can always sign a service contract (army, navy, air force, NHSC, IHS, etc.) they give okay stipends (more than the student budgets at most schools), and you have no debt, but owe four years of time after residency.•••••paean, no i'm in already, and i've seen my fa package, thats why i would like to find out about alternative loans. i was considering service contracts, but i will be 30 and married when i graduate, so i cannot afford a 4 year obligation in the force. most likely i will need a car (unless i get of the waitlist at nyu) cuz now i live in nyc and dont have/need one. i will be moving with my fiance who's been unemployed since the infamous september, so cant really have a roommate. my school actually was able to help out, they gave me a "list" with one outside loan for which i already got approved (actually the terms aint that bad).

 

[Coach]

TweetyPie,
I'm kind of in the same boat, my wife and I will be heading to the bay area and the budget is not even close to realistic for a married couple. What did you come up with for rates? The best I saw was 11.99%. Another option is to get the loan through your parents/family, since they likely some form of collateral(home). This drops the interest down to about 7%. Just a thought.

 

[TweetiePie]

•••quote:•••Originally posted by Coach:
•TweetyPie,
I'm kind of in the same boat, my wife and I will be heading to the bay area and the budget is not even close to realistic for a married couple. What did you come up with for rates? The best I saw was 11.99%. Another option is to get the loan through your parents/family, since they likely some form of collateral(home). This drops the interest down to about 7%. Just a thought.•••••hey coach,
check out this site
<a href="http://www.academicedge.chelafinancial.com/?refrurl=Typed-Url" target="_blank">http://www.academicedge.chelafinancial.com/?refrurl=Typed-Url</a>
unfortunately, my family (my mom to be exact) does not have any collateral. i am the first person to get a college degree.

 

[analu]

Hi tweetiepie, so can that AcademicEdge loan cover the purchase of your car? Or were you able to secure other $$$?

mahalo nui loa!

 

[paean]

Sorry I misread your situation, TweetyPie. I understand about the service commitment, I'm in a very similar situation (although I'll be 29 when I graduate ). I'm glad that your financial aid office was able to help. Thank you for posting the link.

I have lived with my partner and housemates two times (we had our own place for the first year we lived together, and again this last school year), so I know that it's far less than ideal, but I'm considering asking him if he would be willing to do it again.

I'm also carless, although he owns part of one (the bank owes most of it,) and really frustrated that the federal regulations prohibit schools from considering payments part of the budget (thereby giving us better loan rates). We're going to share a car for the first two years, when I anticipate needing it unavoidably only once a week, then pray that one arrives magically in my driveway at the beginning of my third year. My parents aren't really able to help me financially (and also have no morgagable collateral), but maybe something will change in the next two years so I can scratch together enough for something. Maybe carshare programs will get more popular.

 

[TweetiePie]

analu, about the purchase of a car, i am yet to find that out. i'll give it a shot. what have i got to lose?