Laura Said:

When do you get your student loans/grants paid into you bank account?

We Answered:

the student loans company will eventually send you a timetable of scheduled payments to you before you start university. My next payment is on the 12th January, because that's when the spring term starts. The payments usually go as follows; September/October (depending on when the autumn term starts) January (spring payment) and April/May (depending on when Easter falls for the Summer payment).
University bursary payments vary as they are paid into your account from the university itself. My first bursary payment was in November, then I got another one in December and I'll be getting one in January - so there seems to be no rhyme nor reason to those payments!
Anyway, don't worry about it, it'll all fall into place in early summertime! Hope this helps.

Ethel Said:

Student loans/grants for off-campus housing?

We Answered:

Your total yearly amount of financial aid (loans, grants, work study, parent PLUS loans) is limited by your schools published "Cost of Attendance". This cost of attendance is more than just tuition, and includes fees, books, a modest living allowance and even includes a small amount for transportation costs and misc items such as a computer.

Here is the kicker.

Not everyone qualifies for grants and there is a limit on the amount of Stafford loans you can get per year. So if you don't qualify for any grants or scholarships and all you can get is loans than the max amount you can get in a federal Stafford loan is 5,500 a year. Your school would get half of this in the fall and the other half in the spring. They would then deduct your tuition and fees and (if you have any left over) send you the extra about 2-4 weeks AFTER the semester has started.

So, if you've been keeping up, you see the dilemma. If you choose a school that costs more than 5,500 a year and you aren't getting any scholarships or grants to make up the difference then you aren't going to have ANY money left over no matter how high your schools cost of attendance is. (Unless you can convince your parents to take out parent PLUS loans for you).

On the flip side, if you attend a cheap community college (some are less than 1,000 a semester, or 2,000 a year)... then you would have roughly 1,700 a semester extra for you to use for living expenses and books and transportation costs.

Colleges only give out money once a semester. Occasionally you will find some tech schools who disperse monthly, but you should run from those because it means they don't trust their students enough to not take all the money and run... you don't need to be in that kind of educational environment. It is important to remember than the money isn't going to be sent to you before the semester starts. Meaning if you are planning on going to school somewhere far away, you aren't going to have that money available to you for setting up a place before school actually starts. You would have to use your own money to put up deposits for the apartment and the utilities well before school starts.

Also remember you will have to sign a lease and it won't go based on your schools semester schedule like a dorm would.

Travis Said:

how do student loans and grants work?

We Answered:

careers.scienceontheweb.net - it provides some tips about applying to US federal and state grants for college students.

Gregory Said:

After a gap year, how are your student loans/grants affected?

We Answered:

It won’t affect the loan amount you receive personally. Although if there has been any sort of policy change over the period you took out, you’ll be subject to these rules when you make an application for another student loan.

Sherry Said:

Is it possible that most of my tuition (in optometry school) can be covered by student loans and grants?

We Answered:

careers.scienceontheweb.net - it provides some tips about applying to US federal and state grants for college students.

Lee Said:

Are Student Loans/Grants considered "Income" when trying to buy a Foreclosed Apartment through Mortgage Loans?

We Answered:

Not any more. Two years ago, we could have gotten you a McMansion on that income. Lenders are looking hard at how you will pay it back, long term, now.