can I get student loans for living expenses?

Question

I plan on going to a graduate school away from home but I'm not sure if I will be able to find a job in that town. I was wondering if there is any way a person can get loans for living expenses just in case

Answer 1

Student Loans figure in living expenses. The amount of money you recieve is supposed to have living expenses figured in, but they top out at a certain amount and if your school costs more than you recieve from the loans then you pretty much S.O.L. Start applying for grants, all student aid, all loans possible, and scholarships as soon as possible or about 6 months before you are to attend

Answer 2

Unless you attend a very expensive school or live well beyond your means, the amount that you can borrow each year as a graduate student should be enough to pay tuition and living expenses.

I attended a state university as a non-resident. I was not able to get funding from my department, but I qualified for federal work study ($3,000/yr - the most you can get, which usually gets you a job on campus for 10-20 hrs per week), Perkins loans, subsidized Stafford Loans, and unsubsidized Stafford Loans. Later I was able to get some small grants from the university's school of graduate studies and a small grant to cover part of my housing costs. If you do have funding from your school, you can still take out loans to cover the rest of your living expenses.

Look at the financial aid and housing pages on the website for the school you'll be attending. Some schools can help you find a cheap apartment or having options other than dorms. I lived in apartments that were part of campus housing but were not dorms (we had more privacy and annual leases but it was still noisy). The housing grant that I got was only available because I was in campus housing. So, you want to know if something like that exists before you make your housing decision. Also, talk to your advisor, graduate director, and department chair about other funding options if you are not funded by your department. The grants I got were an option that was not well publicized. While that meant that I had less competition, there were lots of people who could have used that help and didn't know it existed. You should borrow if you really want to do this and have no other way to pay for it, but you should borrow as little as possible. Good Luck!

Answer 3

Yes, you can. Most schools have a cost of attendance allowance, or cost of education, which includes some level of discretionary expenses.

Some private student loans also allow for borrowing up to a cost of education formula.

Honestly - try as best as you can to pay for discretionary expenses with a job. Loans can get expensive in the long run.

Hope this helps!

Christopher S. Penn
Producer, the Financial Aid Podcast
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