independent undergrad...whats the yearly stafford limit?

[ThinkTooMuch]

cause if its really 12.5K im gonna / wrist. im trying to avoid getting a job but if the limit for an independent undergrad student is 12.5K i might as well just ***** myself out on some corner.

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[lirpa]

cause if its really 12.5K im gonna / wrist. im trying to avoid getting a job but if the limit for an independent undergrad student is 12.5K i might as well just ***** myself out on some corner.

I dont know what school your applying to or if your full time or part time that might affect your amount, but it should be $20,500. It could also have been affected by your current or previous financial status based on your fafsa form!?
Also all graduate students are considered independent!

 

[TMP-SMX]

I dont know what school your applying to or if your full time or part time that might affect your amount, but it should be $20,500. It could also have been affected by your current or previous financial status based on your fafsa form!?
Also all graduate students are considered independent!

$20,500 is for graduate school. The OP is referring to undergraduate in which case the limit is $12,500 as long as they have completed two years of undergrad. It is $10,500 after one year of undergrad and $9500 for the first year.

OP, how much is your tuition? You can always get private loans too. If you are really that poor, you should be eligible for a lot of grants. ($10,000 at many schools if you play your assets right and have no income).

 

[ThinkTooMuch]

$20,500 is for graduate school. The OP is referring to undergraduate in which case the limit is $12,500 as long as they have completed two years of undergrad. It is $10,500 after one year of undergrad and $9500 for the first year.

OP, how much is your tuition? You can always get private loans too. If you are really that poor, you should be eligible for a lot of grants. ($10,000 at many schools if you play your assets right and have no income).

i dont want to work while in pre-med. i have zero family support or support from anyone else. its not just cost of tuition, i have to take into account ALL my living expenses. tuition is like 7k, but cost of living estimated by college is 20k. so they're gonna give me 8k in grants? then again i guess thats what i get for being a non trad. another limitation i have to accept.

 

[TMP-SMX]

20k? Where do you live?

As for being a non-trad, that makes you independent (if you will be 24 this year or married among other things). Therefore your family support has nothing to do with anything else. What does matter is your personal assets and income from last year for the ability to get grants.

Why can't you work during the summer? Unless you are taking classes, there are a lot of months off. Something as simple as TAing, doing research, or something along those lines can get you a few grand and not take up that much time. (Though research will take more time).

 

[GeraldMonroe]

ThinkTooMuch : take a deep breath. It's not as bad as it looks. I congratulate you on choosing an inexpensive state school for undergrad, as a total CoA of 20k is pretty low.

$12,500 is your loan budget. Now, if you're independent on your FAFSA you will have an EFC (expected family contribution) of 0 and you WILL get a 4731/year Pell Grant.

So, already we're talking 17,231 guaranteed. If you fill out your FAFSA early, (February 1) then in some states you'll receive state grants. In Texas, for instance, the state of Texas may give you a couple k. I got 2k this year. That would pretty much meet your entire CoA.

If not, you just need to get another $2800. That's 7 weeks of working at a $10/hour job at Starbucks or something. Or even fewer hours if you can get a gig as a personal trainer or bartender or other job. Yes, you don't want to work much during pre-med years : but you WILL have time. Worst case, you work full time during the summer and save the $2800 you need.

The school may also offer you work-study, which is basically minimum wage for sitting at a desk somewhere and studying for at least half your working hours. Work-study money is also tax free, raising the effective pay rate a little bit.

Now, if you aren't independent on your FAFSA, then you'll need your parents to cosign your stafford loans. Also, you may need parental PLUS loans. As long as your parents paid their bills and don't have any foreclosures, those loans WILL be approved and you can get the full CoA in just loans and not do any work.

 

[TMP-SMX]

Yeah about the Pell Grants. My fiancée was finally old enough to be independent on the FAFSA this year and she is still an undergrad. She wasn't even going to do a FAFSA but I talked her into it. She had no income last year (like 80 in interest) and her bank account had maybe $25 in it at the time. She got almost 9000 in need-based scholarships and grants.

OP: Have you filed your FAFSA yet? Are you old enough to be independent? Are you going to attend starting next fall? I'm a bit confused on where you stand right now.

 

[ThinkTooMuch]

yes as thread title hints i AM independent on fafsa. i was kinda late with it, filed late april. thank you. i currently have a job and make about 20/hr but ive got bills to pay, live on my own cant afford to save. and i support 4 non-human "children" with special needs diets. plus i spend 2 hours per day teaching myself math...area im severely lacking in. and 20k is per academic year. yes start this fall.

 

[TMP-SMX]

I assume you got the result of the FAFSA back and all you got were loans?

 

[ThinkTooMuch]

no. ill know in a week.

 

[TMP-SMX]

Have you run your numbers in an EFC calculator to estimate where you stand as an independent? Though I'm assuming you already got your FAFSA EFC and are just waiting on your school's response. If that's the case, what was your EFC?

 

[GeraldMonroe]

Have you run your numbers in an EFC calculator to estimate where you stand as an independent? Though I'm assuming you already got your FAFSA EFC and are just waiting on your school's response. If that's the case, what was your EFC?

Right. My exact numbers above are based upon an EFC of 0. When you did your FAFSA, it displayed that. If your EFC is 0, you're an independent student on the FAFSA, and you're going to a credible 4 year university with a financial aid office, you'll get at least the amount of money I put down above.

 

[ThinkTooMuch]

it was just under 5k, thank you

 

[TMP-SMX]

I believe you have to be under 3850 EFC to get a Pell Grant.

 

[ThinkTooMuch]

ok my coa is 26k. so far all im getting is 12.5. no pells, no grad plus etc...

time to go stand on corner.

 

[GeraldMonroe]

Yeah, you need parental stafford loans or to see if you can get private loans yourself (unlikely). Otherwise, you can't afford it.

 

[ThinkTooMuch]

well since my unmet need is greater than 50% im gonna try and get private loans. any suggestions on where I should apply?