Can I take a Stafford loan without the help of my school?

September 8, 2008 7:29 PM

Can I apply for a Stafford loan without going through my school?

I am enrolled in a nursing program at a very disorganized and poorly funded community college. I started August 20. Due to "the new computer system isn't working" type problems, no one's financial aid paperwork has been processed for this year. So I've received no aid and neither has anyone else. The person in charge of loans is refusing to even talk to any students until "the computer system is fixed" which could be "never" as far as I can tell. I'm a broke single mama and I'm starting to get desperate.

I want to apply for subsidized and unsubsidized federal loans. Is there any way I can do this on my own - since the financial aid department will not help me or even talk to me?

Thanks folk!

posted by serazin to Education (3 answers total)

Assuming you've already filled out the FAFSA appropriately ...

I really think this is something for the help line to answer:

Federal Student Aid Information Center (FSAIC):
1-800-4-FED-AID (1-800-433-3243)
(TTY 1-800-730-8913)
posted by dhartung at 8:25 PM on September 8, 2008

Response by poster: Oops, duh. Good suggestion!
posted by serazin at 10:16 PM on September 8, 2008

In short, "No." Stafford eligibility must be certified by your school before your lender will disburse any funds. This sucks, but there really isn't any way around it.
posted by valkyryn at 3:35 AM on September 9, 2008