Is there a way to factor in student loan debt on a FAFSA?

January 22nd, 2010 | by admin |

I took out a $17,000 student loan last year because I have failed to qualify for any financial aid. Again, this year, I was turned down again, but I didn’t factor that $17,000 in anywhere. Would that money change anything? If so, where exactly on the application can I put that I am in debt that amount?

  1. 2 Responses to “Is there a way to factor in student loan debt on a FAFSA?”

  2. By Tiare on Jan 24, 2010 | Reply

    I dont think it has any effect at all if you are still a student because the loan would be in deferral anyway. if this is not true and you are making payments on the loan, you may need to check with your fin aid office at school

  3. By Windi S on Jan 27, 2010 | Reply

    Usually you can’t, but if you are an undergraduate, you can apply for an appeal through the Financial aid office. You can tell them that part of your expenses are the payments that you are making towards that $17,000. While you are generally able to defer payment on educational loans, people are generally encouraged to pay the amount of the interests of unsubsidized loans while in college to make costs easier.

    Otherwise with an appeal, you have to either show that you and/or your family have suffered a severe hardship (like that you have unusually high medical bills, or a parent lost their job, or that there were high and significant home repairs), or that your costs to attend school are inordinately higher than the average student (like that you have higher transportation costs or something – but it isn’t always an easy thing to show).

    You might also ask them what other sources of aid you can receive and what other options you have. Sometimes they know of good scholarships that are available and things like that.

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