Does Student Loans Or Financial Aid Give You Enough To Survive College On?
One big concern of many students planning on attending college is if their student loans, scholarships or federal loans such as Stafford loan or Pell Grant or PLUS loans or Perkins loans will be enough to live on during college or if they will need to look at other sources of income while studying.
As far as federal aid is concerned, it really depends on the EFC that you enter in your FAFSA application. If your EFC (Expected Family Contribution) is really low then your student loan should be enough. If not, then you have to wait and see. Plan your student expenses wisely. Your room and boarding will be your biggest expense. If you can manage to do this wisely then your student loan or aid should be enough. Your other expenses such as commute and education related expenses will generally be taken care of by your student loan since they are all educational related expenses.
That said, some students do plan on working part time to cover any shortfall. Your city of education will determine a lot of your living expenses. Studying in a more economically suited state might work for some. Always remember that apart from your scholarships or grants of federal aid, there will be programs at your university that are specifically created to help out students facing a shortfall of income. Do explore these options once you enroll.
Below are some of the questions we get around this subject
- “Can I live on my student loan while I’m studying in college?“
- “Will my student loan be enough to see me through college financially“
- “Should I take an additional loan apart from my Pell Grant to cover my education costs“
- “Will my Stafford Loan cover all my expenses when I’m studying in school?“
- “I’m a really good student and plan on going to college but my family cannot afford it. My goal is to do my Masters degree at the very minimum and so I’m looking at many years of college. Will my student loan or financial aid be enough to get me through to my degree? Will I have enough to hold me and sustain me or not?”