Marvin Said:

How does owning a house affect stafford loan eligibility?

We Answered:

The federal methodology for the Expected Family Contribution (EFC) does not take into account your credit or your primary residence and/or its associated mortgages. However, your school may use Institutional Methodology for state, local, and school aid, which does account for assets such as primary residence.

Tony Said:

Does filing for bankruptcy affect student loan eligibility?

We Answered:

Depending upon the type of bankruptcy that is filed and approved by the court (either Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 for individuals) depends on your answer. If you file Chapter 7 and it is approved, then after the dismissal hearing, then you are free of your debts. Under Chapter 13, this is where you pay back an agreed upon amount with the courts approval over a 5 year period, You will want to reaffirm with the debts you want, (ex house, car, etc).. this way they can still be yours depending on the ratio of amount left on the loans. However, in Chapter 13, you are not permitted at all to borrow any funds for anything while you are in bankruptcy for the 5 years, unless it is necessity and it has to go in front of the judge again and they have to approve your request at that time (ex: say your basement caves in on your house due to minor floods, etc), this means under Chapter 13, you are not permitted to even borrow student loans, you have to wait until you are out of bankruptcy... No matter which one you file and is approved, your student loan debt will never go away, you will always be responsible for this debt (means you can not include it in your bankruptcy.. the court does not permit it).. Good luck, I hope I didn't totally confuse you, if so, let me know and I will try to help you more...

Cindy Said:

What is the minimum # of credits for student loan eligibility in NY state?

We Answered:

What kind of loan are we talking about? If you're talking about the Department of Education's Stafford lending program, then federal regulations require that an applicant must be registered at least half-time. At the SUNY schools, like most other schools that operate on the semester system, the minimum "full-time" load is 12 credit hours, so you must be registered for AT LEAST 6 hours to qualify for a Stafford loan.

The rules for the Perkins loans are a little different - in most cases, you do not need to be enrolled at least half-time to qualify for a Perkins - but do keep in mind that a Perkins isn't something you apply for - a Perkins is a special type of loan offered only to students who have been determined to demonstrate "exceptional need".

If you're asking about non-government loans - in theory, you can probably get a loan regardless of your enrollment status, but you should be aware that there are almost NO private educational loans being made at this time.

Finally, though you didn't ask, Pell Grant recipients do not need to be enrolled even half-time - you can qualify for a Pell award if you're registered for as few as 3 credit hours - however - the amount of Pell that you receive is directly tied to the number of credit hours you are registered for. Students classified as 1/4 time students receive less than 1/4 of the full Pell award.

Remember that the AMOUNT of loan that you can take is directly tied to your Cost of Attendance - that's an estimate of what it will cost you to pay for your tuition, your school fees, your books, your room and board and various miscellaneous educational expenses. Because it is considerably cheaper to register for less than 6 credits than it is to register as a full-time student, the part-time student will be offered a much smaller loan.

Finally - if you DO receive a loan, those funds are applied exactly the same as they would be in any other circumstances - whether you're taking 18 hours or 4 hours. The loan funds will be disbursed directly to your school via electronic means, the school will apply the funds to your student account (tuition and fees, and room and board if they apply), and any remaining funds will be refunded to you.

From your question, I'm not sure if you're hoping that being registered only as a part time student will mean that you'll have a lot more money left over than if you were registering as a full-time student - the answer is "no". If you're only registered part-time, you'll receive (at best) part-time money, because your loan is based on what your books and fees and tuition will cost THAT semester, not on some hypothetical amount that you could have spent, or might have spent before.

I hope that information helped - good luck.

Frederick Said:

How does parents bankruptcy affect student loan eligibility for college loans? Direct loans, not gov't ones?

We Answered:

schools.medianewsonline.com - it provides some tips about applying to US federal and state grants for college students.

Mattie Said:

What would the effects of removing student loan eligibility from students for higher income families?

We Answered:

do u mean remove student loan eligibility from students OF higher income families? You can find information on this subject in newspaper articles or magazine articles at the library.

Rosemary Said:

If I claim backruptcy, will that affect my student loan eligibility?

We Answered:

You can get federal student loans without a credit check, as long as you are not defaulted on any previous loans.

Bankruptcy isn't really going to solve your problem. The days of "erasing" debt in bankrupcy are gone... laws have changed... all it does now is consolidate everything into one debt and let you make payments until it's paid off. Not exactly a perk in my book because you are STILL paying your debts back... just with the "added benefit" (sarcasm) of having a bankrupcy on your credit report.

Find a second job, it'll be better for you in the longrun... without making the lawyers rich.