Help with financial aid please!!!!

[premedinske]

Hello. I am growing very confused and feeling kind of hopeless about this.

I just filled out Fafsa. I am aware that the maximum loan eligibility for the direct stafford federal loan is around 42k or 21k per semester.

I made $0 in income in 2017 so I did not include a tax return. I included my parents' information, as some schools require it for the determination of my eligibility for need based aid. however, I know that my parents' information has no bearing on my eligibility for a direct stafford loan.

Immediately after I filled out fafsa I got an email from them saying

Based on the eligibility criteria you may be eligible for the following:

Direct Stafford Loan Estimate - $20,500

Here are my questions:

1) Is that figure PER SEMESTER or PER YEAR???
2) If it is per year, why was I only eligible for so little? What the hell did I do wrong? I made no money in 2017 and my parents just paid for my rent.

Please help me navigate this.

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[popelton]

I'm pretty sure this is just a preliminary thing. None of our schools have assessed our FAFSA if they've received it yet. I got the same email, with the same loan and estimate. I wouldn't worry too much about it, unless someone else has info that I don't.

 

[deleted930295]

First, it's preliminary. Second, medical students are an exception to the typical federal graduate Stafford limits. You can still get 42K per year. After Stafford loans, you are eligible for GradPlus loans, which you can then use to reach the cost of living + tuition. You can fully fund med school with federal loans no problem, regardless of parental income, as long as you don't have derogatory marks on your credit. No credit is ok.

 

[premedinske]

Thank you both so much!

 

[PreMedMissteps]

You’ll also be offered Grad Plus.

 

[chaim123]

Hello. I am growing very confused and feeling kind of hopeless about this.

I just filled out Fafsa. I am aware that the maximum loan eligibility for the direct stafford federal loan is around 42k or 21k per semester.

I made $0 in income in 2017 so I did not include a tax return. I included my parents' information, as some schools require it for the determination of my eligibility for need based aid. however, I know that my parents' information has no bearing on my eligibility for a direct stafford loan.

Immediately after I filled out fafsa I got an email from them saying

Based on the eligibility criteria you may be eligible for the following:

Direct Stafford Loan Estimate - $20,500

Here are my questions:

1) Is that figure PER SEMESTER or PER YEAR???
2) If it is per year, why was I only eligible for so little? What the hell did I do wrong? I made no money in 2017 and my parents just paid for my rent.

Please help me navigate this.

This number does not tell you how much loan you are eligible for, actually. Because as a graduate student you can take up to and including the cost of attendance out in financial aid. So even if you and your family cannot give anything, your scholarship + loans will reach everything you need.

Furthermore, the FAFSA is only used as a way to measure your eligibility for federal aid. That number in no way represents how much scholarship you may get from the school or other funding they may give you

TL;DR - chill. We all take out loans.

 

[OchemOficionado]

Pretty sure that’s the yearly max for the unsub loan. You’ll need to apply for a grad plus loan and I believe that is the one that will cover the rest. Might as well apply for it now and do the entrance counseling and master promissory note now.