Financial Aid Help!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Vieuxcarre]

Hi All,

Please help!

I am a 1L at a 2nd tier state law school. I am living in a state where I have no relatives, friends or financial support system. Unfortunately, the cost of living that the school calculates is not enough for tuition and living expenses. All the outside loan providers I've checked into only allow a student to borrow up to the schools "cost of tuition." Even living as cheaply as possible, I don't have enough money to pay my rent for the last two months of the fall semester or for the summer. As a 1L I don't have enough time to work.

Does anyone know of any loans that I can take out that can exceed the "cost of tuition" of the school and is deferrable till after I graduate? Can anyone offer any other suggestions?

Thanks

[louiebstef]

 The Graduate PLUS loan, or GradPLUS loan, is a low, fixed interest rate student loan guaranteed by the U.S. Government. The Grad PLUS loan is a non-need credit based loan similar to a private student loan with the benefit of having a fixed interest rate and federal guarantee.

The GradPLUS Loan allows graduate students to borrow the total cost for their graduate school needs, including tuition, room and board, supplies, lab expenses, and travel, less any other aid. Key benefits include:

    * Interest rate on the Graduate PLUS Student Loan is fixed at 7.9%
      (Compare Private Student Loan Products and Rates!)
    * GradPLUS payments can be deferred while you are in school
    * Cosigner not required
    * Interest is tax deductible for most grad students

[bigs5068]

Yea gradplus is the way to go for living expenses. If you take out the FULL amount you get between 8,000 and 13,000 cash to last you six months. If you have any financial responsibility within yourself you will be able to manage on the living expenses a grad plus loan gives you.

[Vieuxcarre]

Thank you for your comments!

Unfortunately, I have already taken out the Grad Plus loan. The regular stafford loan was only enough to cover tuition and the Grad Loan is what I took out to finish paying tution plus everything else: books, rent, food, bills. apartment deposit, etc  however the situation that I am in is that I still need more funds and have exhausted all loans, including the Grad Plus loan up to the cost of tuition designated by my school. My expenses exceed the amount estimated by the school as cost of tuition and I still require to take out an additional loan.

[jack24]

Some schools will let you increase your total budget.  If you've spent any money on car repair, a computer, or some other irregular expense, your school might up your budget, and then you can get more from grad plus.
As for private loan providers, they are a bit trickier and it's hard to say which you would qualify for.  The best thing you can do is go talk to the financial aid office.  If you've already done that and they suck, I'm sorry.

I know that both U.S. Bank and Bank of America will do some private student loans but I doubt the amount is very high.

[Harald]

Some schools will let you increase your total budget.  If you've spent any money on car repair, a computer, or some other irregular expense, your school might up your budget, and then you can get more from grad plus.
As for private loan providers, they are a bit trickier and it's hard to say which you would qualify for.  The best thing you can do is go talk to the financial aid office.  If you've already done that and they suck, I'm sorry.

I know that both U.S. Bank and Bank of America will do some private student loans but I doubt the amount is very high.