Where do I start to apply for government student loans?
I’m six years removed from high school, and would really love to go to college. The only problem is I don’t know where to start to get loans or info. Anyone have any suggestions?Thank you in advance.
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You said you have been out of high school for six years, so I’m assuming you are 24. You are in luck because if you are below the age of 24, the federal government requires you to use your parents tax information to determine what kind of Financial Aid you are eligible for, and if you ARE 24, or were born before January 1, 1985, you only need to provide YOUR tax information.
Your first step is to make sure you have filed taxes for the year 2007, because that is what you will need to fill out the FAFSA– the Free Application for Federal Student Aid.
You will then need to go to http://www.pin.ed.gov and request a four digit pin number. This is how you electronically sign your FAFSA. Once you have received your pin number, you will need to go to the FAFSA website– http://www.fafsa.ed.gov
Click on the link that says “Fill out your FAFSA”.
You will enter your information. It should be pretty self explanatory because it tells you what line to use from your tax return to answer each question.
There will be a portion of the FAFSA that asks you what school you would like your FAFSA information sent to– you MUST fill this part out, otherwise the school you plan on attending will have no idea that you are requesting Financial Aid.
Once your FAFSA is submitted it will generate an EFC number which stand for the Estimated Family Contribution; theoretically, this is the amount of money you can contribute to your education for one full year of college. If your EFC number is 4040 or below, you are eligible for a government Pell grant, which is free money that you are not required to pay back.
A full Pell grant, which would mean an EFC number of 0, is $2365/semester if you are enrolled in 12 hours. The amount goes down if you are enrolled less than full time or if your EFC number is higher than zero.
If your number is larger than 4040, you are not eligible for a Pell grant, but that is okay, because you still have to fill out the FAFSA to be eligible for government student loans.
If you are over 24 you are considered an independent student. You are also considered an independent student if you can answer yes to one of these questions:
Born before January 1, 1985?
Married?
Children or others that you provide more than half the support of?
Active Duty?
Veteran?
Ward of the court?
If you can answer yes to any of those questions, you are considered an independent. If not, you are considered dependent, and here are the loan limits for each:
Dependent freshman students are eligible for $3500 in subsidized student loans (meaning the government pays the interest for you while you’re in school) and an additional $2000 in unsubsidized loans (meaning that interest accrues while you’re in school at no more than 6.8%) for a total of $5500 for the year to include fall, spring, and summer semesters.
Independent freshman students are eligible for $3500 in subsidized student loans and an additional $6000 in unsubsidized loans for a total of $9500 for the year to include fall, spring, and summer semesters.
Loan money can be used for tuition, books, and living expenses if you need it to. There are some students who receive the maximum Pell grant amount and take out the maximum student loan amount as well because that is what they live off of. It all depends on how much debt you want to accrue before you graduate.
Hope this helps! If you have any questions, please feel free to ask!
Get a copy of a FAFSA form, from a school (any college), from the library or look them up on the web. This stands for Free Application for Student Aid. Most of everything they offer will be GRANTS (free money), not loans. If you are interested in loans, all schools will also have a list available of banks and places that you can turn to. Also, you mind as well sign up for FastWeb and fill out their form and have all the scholarships that you fall under be sent directly to you.
You start with the FAFSA http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/
Fill it out and have it sent to the college of your choice. Then see the financial aid officer at that college after they’ve received the results.
That’s all there is to it.