Can you still take out a student loan if tuition is waived?

[robot_hamster]

I took out a loan to cover tuition and living expenses this first semester of grad school. I will have an assistantship next semester that includes a stipend and tuition remission. The stipend, however, is not very big. Do you think they will still let me take out a loan (not a huge amount) to cover the gap? I accepted financial aid for both semesters at the beginning of this (fall) semester because I didn't know if I would have an assistantship next semester or not. I just didn't know if the funds would still be distributed to my account if my tuition charges are zero or if they just wouldn't issue the loan. If they do disperse the loan, I would obviously send some of it back since I wouldn't need all of it. Has anyone ever had experience with this?

[newage2012]

You will need to file FAFSA for the current year before any loan is issued.

They will still issue the loan if the tuition waiver is not there. But once you get the waiver, it will be adjusted and you will owe them the refund.

Usually in most cases, your Cost of Attendance (COA) is MUCH larger than your tuition and even if the tuition is waived, you can probably keep a majority of the loan proceeds. But again this depends on how your school calculates your COA.

[robot_hamster]

I'm confused. Why would I owe them money?

I filled out the FAFSA for the 2010-2011 school year already, that is how I got the loan for this (Fall 2010) semester. When you accept the financial aid, you accept it for the entire school year. The funds are dispersed in two parts, one for each semester. The loan went to pay my tuition and then they issued me a refund for the remainder which I used for living expenses. My tuition will only be waived for the Spring 2011 semester. I just wanted to know if I will still be allowed to take out some of the loan money because the stipend isn't very much money and it won't cover my living expenses.

[natsteel]

robot, the amount of money available to you in federal loans is not determined by your tuition but by your COA (cost of attendance). COA is a figure set by the school which includes tuition, fees, school-related expenses (books, etc...), AND living expenses. If your stipend is small, it is likely you will be able to keep most, if not all, of the federal loan. Though I am not sure if they will count the tuition in your COA since it is being waived. That is something you should speak about to someone in your Financial Aid office before the winter break.

[rising_star]

You'll be able to take out the max amount of Stafford subsidized and unsubsidized loans.

[robot_hamster]

Okay, thank you. It sounds like I will still be able to do the loan, but I will check with them just to make sure. Getting my tuition waived seems silly if I don't have enough money to cover the bills while attending.