Fill out the FAFSA and have the results sent to your school. They will tell you what you qualify for. You may qualify for Pell Grants or some other form of aid you won’t have to repay that will decrease the amount of money that you need to borrow. Make sure that you talk to the financial aid office about the fact that you’ll be in school full-time and will not have the same income that you used to. When you fill out the FAFSA they will ask about your income for last year, which can cause you expected contribution to be high, even though your income will probably decrease once you’re in school. Usually the financial aid office has been through this before and has a procedure through which you can prove that your income has decreased and appeal the award amount.

As far as lenders, when I went back to school the financial aid office gave me a list of lenders to choose from for my student loans. Look for a lender who covers the origination fees. Using one of the lenders on their list meant that they got my money electronically and I got what was left after tuition sooner. They’ll tell you the maximum you can borrow, but if you need less you don’t have to take that much. Good Luck!

You should check out www.HESC.com and file your e-MPN; I went through Wachovia…but there are others you can look at. I’m just starting college – 2 yrs, but I’m a dependent yet, so…your loan will probably be a bit pricy compared to mine. You don’t have to pay anything until 6 months after you graduate; but I’m doing a work study program to help with that, too! Good luck!

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