Hello all,
Incoming M1 with less knowledge about student loans than I should have, but I am trying to catchup. I am in the extremely lucky and grateful, albeit sad and unique situation where the death of a close relative has led to the earmarking of my tuition to be paid in full by their estate, but not my living expenses/COL (I've estimated COL to be around $21,000 with a tight-budget, medical/dental insurance, housing/transport, etc.). Without going too in-depth into the situation – this family member was terminally ill, we were very close, and they always supported my goals. This was an extremely generous goodbye gift - but they did want me to be responsible for a portion of the bill so they left COL up to myself (a tiny price to pay in relation to their generosity).
My question is - am I able to utilize (preferably) Unsubsidized Stafford Loans or (less preferably) Grad PLUS Loans to cover the ~$21,000 in living expenses even though my tuition is paid in cash/deposit from an estate? I don't know how this would be viewed by the financial aid office, etc. I could try to secure/use the $21,000 loan towards tuition, have the difference paid/deposited, and then try to be reimbursed $21,000 from the estate for COL, but I think this would take some conversations and potential legal maneuvering by the Executor of the Estate. I am worried because I feel that I’m already behind-the-ball (just filed FAFSA), and I have no knowledge of Estate Law or if that would take any significant amount of time.
I appreciate any/all advice on this from anyone with experience/more expertise in this area. I apologize if a similar question has been asked or if this is the wrong forum to pose this, but I've been scouring SDN/Reddit/other resources and haven't been able to find a straightforward answer.
Thank you so much!
(btw 31-yo non-dependent with no previous Stafford/Grad PLUS loans if that is relevant)
Incoming M1 with less knowledge about student loans than I should have, but I am trying to catchup. I am in the extremely lucky and grateful, albeit sad and unique situation where the death of a close relative has led to the earmarking of my tuition to be paid in full by their estate, but not my living expenses/COL (I've estimated COL to be around $21,000 with a tight-budget, medical/dental insurance, housing/transport, etc.). Without going too in-depth into the situation – this family member was terminally ill, we were very close, and they always supported my goals. This was an extremely generous goodbye gift - but they did want me to be responsible for a portion of the bill so they left COL up to myself (a tiny price to pay in relation to their generosity).
My question is - am I able to utilize (preferably) Unsubsidized Stafford Loans or (less preferably) Grad PLUS Loans to cover the ~$21,000 in living expenses even though my tuition is paid in cash/deposit from an estate? I don't know how this would be viewed by the financial aid office, etc. I could try to secure/use the $21,000 loan towards tuition, have the difference paid/deposited, and then try to be reimbursed $21,000 from the estate for COL, but I think this would take some conversations and potential legal maneuvering by the Executor of the Estate. I am worried because I feel that I’m already behind-the-ball (just filed FAFSA), and I have no knowledge of Estate Law or if that would take any significant amount of time.
I appreciate any/all advice on this from anyone with experience/more expertise in this area. I apologize if a similar question has been asked or if this is the wrong forum to pose this, but I've been scouring SDN/Reddit/other resources and haven't been able to find a straightforward answer.
Thank you so much!
(btw 31-yo non-dependent with no previous Stafford/Grad PLUS loans if that is relevant)