Hello all! I would appreciate any input anybody has. This is my first time applying for student loans. I was under the impression that I could get loans to help me pay for school and living expenses. Ive tried to talk to my financial aid office and they just sound like they are reading from a script - they are so unhelpful and no friendly at all. I was told that for my first semester back (spring/summer) that I can get $1750. Well, that is not even close to what I need to help me out. I know there are other loans I can get to help me but Im not sure how to go about getting them. Do I need to go through my financial aid office to do get additional loans? Im just not sure what my next step is and I am totally stressing out about this. Again - any input is much appreciated. Hope you all have a great day! =)

That's a pretty loaded question.

Let's start from the beginning. That $1,750. Is that scholarship money? Federal aid?

You have a number of options at your disposal in order to pay for school. I suggest you start by visiting http://www.studentloannetwork.com. There you will get an idea of what may be available to you.

-Justin

Ok. so I filled out the FASFA application. They sent to school. School reviewed and said that Im not eligible for grants. Which ok, I get that, Im not looking for free money. Just looking at getting loans to help with school and living expenses. My financial aid office told me to go online and apply for the student loans now - they said that for the spring/summes semester I can get a loan for $1750. Once school starts, I may be able to go back and ask for addtl. I guess none of this is making sense. How are people going to school and racking up thousands of dollars in loans if I am told i can only borrower $1750....

Thank you Justin!

A few good questions to ask are:

a) Are you under 24 years old, and
b) What is your family's income last year?

If you are under 24, and your parents make a lot of money... you will not be eligible for most need-based financial aid. The $1,750 you spoke about could be an unsubsidized Stafford loan, but there isn't enough information here for us to figure out accurately what is going on.