Student loans for the post-grad post-bac
September 5, 2010 6:02 PM Subscribe
Going to undergrad (in the US) after a year and a half of grad school and butting up against my borrowing limits because of grad school. Is my school handling this correctly?
A few years ago, I went to grad school in the humanities and found myself, when I finished, without many prospects. I decided that I'd go back to undergrad to do pre-reqs for a professional degree (viz., PharmD.). I have one more academic year of pre-reqs to fulfill.
This weekend, my financial aid award letter was posted, but I was dismayed to see that it was for much less than the $12,500 I thought I would be eligible for. After a bit of head-scratching, I realized that the school rolled my grad student debt into my undergraduate aggregate debt, which means that -- because of the undergraduate borrowing limit -- I can only borrow a fraction of that $12.5k. Which means that my plans for finishing my pre-reqs in the next year are quite possibly toast.
Is my school handling this correctly? If they are, is there any kind of petitioning I can do to exceed this borrowing limit? I'm very skittish about taking out private loans and would strongly prefer to deal with federal loans.
A few years ago, I went to grad school in the humanities and found myself, when I finished, without many prospects. I decided that I'd go back to undergrad to do pre-reqs for a professional degree (viz., PharmD.). I have one more academic year of pre-reqs to fulfill.
This weekend, my financial aid award letter was posted, but I was dismayed to see that it was for much less than the $12,500 I thought I would be eligible for. After a bit of head-scratching, I realized that the school rolled my grad student debt into my undergraduate aggregate debt, which means that -- because of the undergraduate borrowing limit -- I can only borrow a fraction of that $12.5k. Which means that my plans for finishing my pre-reqs in the next year are quite possibly toast.
Is my school handling this correctly? If they are, is there any kind of petitioning I can do to exceed this borrowing limit? I'm very skittish about taking out private loans and would strongly prefer to deal with federal loans.
Why aren't you doing this at a community college? You already have a BA so I think it would be hard for you to get federal aid at all unless you were enrolled in a degree or certificate granting program. I'm thinking you would only be eligible for $3500 a year in federal loans.
posted by anniecat at 6:48 PM on September 5, 2010
posted by anniecat at 6:48 PM on September 5, 2010
Response by poster: Anniecat: A couple of the pre-reqs are upper-division classes -- organic chemistry and biochemistry, notably -- that aren't offered at community colleges. I've thought of switching to the community college here, though, for the classes that don't have to be taken at a 4-year university.
It bears noting that I got $12,500 last academic year and that I am classified as seeking a 2nd Bachelor's.
posted by CutaneousRabbit at 8:09 PM on September 5, 2010
It bears noting that I got $12,500 last academic year and that I am classified as seeking a 2nd Bachelor's.
posted by CutaneousRabbit at 8:09 PM on September 5, 2010
What kind of loans did you get during your first go-round as an undergrad, and what are you getting now?
It'll take some digging, buy you can probably find your answer on the federal student aid page. If you can't find it, e-mail them at StudentAid@ed.gov. I had a different question, and they got back to me in a couple days.
If nothing else, you can always get a private bank loan.
posted by tenaciousd at 8:30 PM on September 5, 2010 [1 favorite]
It'll take some digging, buy you can probably find your answer on the federal student aid page. If you can't find it, e-mail them at StudentAid@ed.gov. I had a different question, and they got back to me in a couple days.
If nothing else, you can always get a private bank loan.
posted by tenaciousd at 8:30 PM on September 5, 2010 [1 favorite]
I don't know if your school is handling this correctly but if their classification of your status is correct, your chances of getting more loan money from the federal government are very small. As Anniecat suggested, I would definitely look into Community College to fulfill some of those prereqs. You stated that there are a few that can't be taken there, but the ones that you can--do it!
There are some other possibilities as well. Does your state have a loan program? In New York, we have a state-run program called NYHelps that secures fixed-rate loans for students taking classes within New York State. The rates are similar to that of a PLUS loan. Also, have you looked into getting a grant? The Foundation Center is a fantastic resource for grant-seekers. They have offices in several places all over the country. Mainly, though, you'll want to use their database as they have thousands of people basically giving away free money, some of them for people who want to go to grad school.
With the right planning, you might be able to make this work. Good luck!
posted by melancholyplay at 12:42 AM on September 6, 2010
There are some other possibilities as well. Does your state have a loan program? In New York, we have a state-run program called NYHelps that secures fixed-rate loans for students taking classes within New York State. The rates are similar to that of a PLUS loan. Also, have you looked into getting a grant? The Foundation Center is a fantastic resource for grant-seekers. They have offices in several places all over the country. Mainly, though, you'll want to use their database as they have thousands of people basically giving away free money, some of them for people who want to go to grad school.
With the right planning, you might be able to make this work. Good luck!
posted by melancholyplay at 12:42 AM on September 6, 2010
Response by poster: Update: My school was calculating this wrongly. The federal system said I was good to go on loans, and I got the school to communicate with the federal system. Voila, I'm set to get the full amount!
posted by CutaneousRabbit at 6:47 PM on September 17, 2010
posted by CutaneousRabbit at 6:47 PM on September 17, 2010
« Older Site to graph out strings and characters | Canon Pixma MX340 won't print wirelessly from iMac... Newer »
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by JakeWalker at 6:36 PM on September 5, 2010