Assistantship, tuition remission, AND federal loans?

[mtj68]

If you have been offered an assistantship with full tuition remission, is one still eligible for FAFSA money, or are private lenders the only option for extra funds? Any insight would be great. Thanks.

[erin85]

my friend is doing this, he is using his federal money to pay off private student loans from a previous graduate degree

He is receiving at the moment I believe primarily tuition remission right now (as he works as a GSI), so not sure if that makes a difference.

[yakuza77]

I received FAFSA money (Stafford loans) during my Master's program while I received a TA stipend and a tuition waiver, so it is doable. I used it to pay off my moving costs that I had to place on a credit card and to help pay for my housing (the stipend at my current school is extremely low given the cost of living here). It will depend, of course, on your individual situation and the cost of attendance at your school how much you can borrow. Your financial aid officer should be able to help you with this, just make sure that you fill out your FAFSA as soon as possible so that they can figure out your estimated family contribution.

I plan on taking out a loan the first semester of my Ph.D. to again pay for moving costs. Hopefully it will be allowed even though I will be receiving a substantially higher stipend at my new school. Moving is so expensive and I hate to carry a balance on those high interest credit cards. It has been impossible to build up a savings when I make so little and everything costs so much.

[mtj68]

Thanks so much for the great information. And I agree completely, yakuza; moving expenses are a nightmare. That was a main concern of mine, as well. Thanks again for the help everyone.