Financial guidance! so lost

[the_chza]

I love this community you have here. this is my first post. hope you guys can help cause I'm dead lost in the whole American grad study system. I don't have a real grasp of my REAL opportunities as far as scholarships and financial aid goes; they all say there are tons of options out there, but the whole picture seem gray.

here is my story:

I'm an

Comments

[seraphprowess]

Ok, so to start with, I work for the Dept of Ed. The "Federal Direct" loans you listed (both sub and unsub) ARE direct loans. They are from the dept of ed directly, and the dept is actually literally called, "Direct Loans". Now, DL will defer your payments until at least 6 mos after you finish school as long as you don't stop for a period of time. If you do, then they'll be deferred until 6 months after the school reports you're no longer enrolled. The FAFSA is information that you submit to the Dept of Ed, and based on your information, and what your estimated tuition is as reported by the school. The DoE then offers you the available loans, and if you accept them, the school reports which loans and how much you are accepting. The DoE then sends the appropriate funds to the school

[tisiphone]

A graduate PLUS loan can be taken out by the student themselves, as well.

[tisiphone]

Agh. Unfortunately, the New School is notoriously underfunded, and it kind of sucks in that way even though it is awesome in other ways. You should definitely seek out scholarships because, um, cultural studies folk do not have the best earnings prospects even in the US.

I keep hearing everybody saying you should go for federal plus loans, and direct loans. how do i apply for that?

What you got were Federal direct loans, they're administered through the school. So you're good on that front. A PLUS loan is credit-dependent, so you may have trouble with that.

[royinpink]

I'm afraid I can't help much, but I've also heard that the New School is especially underfunded (for instance, this was written by a student there a year and a half ago). I wish you luck.

[fealsamh]

Definitely write to your department and ask if they have scholarships. Often they don't widely advertise scholarships from within the department. Also check out cos.com you might have to register, but it has lots of scholarships in all areas of study.
When it comes time to repay your loans you can always go on an income contingent repayment plan, where if you aren't making very much you don't pay very much. After 25 years anything you haven't paid off is forgiven. It's not the greatest system, but it helps a little if you end up not getting a high paying job.

[the_chza]

wow! thanks a lot, so far great help

[dinosaur_cake]

Wait, no, I think you prefer the SUBSIDIZED ones! ;-)

[dinosaur_cake]

Also, sorry that I am no help, but good luck!

[roseofjuly]

To answer your questions