High School Study Abroad loans?

Private loans and Federal Work Study, worthwhile for GWU?

• I was accepted into George Washington University, my dream college for Political Communications; I'm really psyched and anxious! Unfortunately it's the 5th most expensive school in the country (last I read), with a COA at 60K, I got 49K financial aid, only 7K of that being federal loans, which is the most generous aid I've received, and I am really excited about it! There's 11K left, and I have a few questions as to how to go about that, my parents are really biased about loans, and not willing to support me at all, so Parent PLUS is not an option. I was signed up for Federal Work Study as well, and am getting 2K a year for that. My questions: -Is FWS worth it, can you hold another job while doing FWS, or would just a regular part-time job be more beneficial? -Are Citibank student loans one of the better options for private loans to cover the remaining cost? -Can you use scholarship money acquired after a loan is placed to pay off Private loans? Sorry this was so long-winded, thank you for reading, any other advice anyone would have to offer is greatly appreciated!

• Answer:

  Yes, you can hold another job while doing FWS, but in my opinion, most students do better with a regular part time job. The pay rates for FWS are usually very low, so most likely you'll earn more elsewhere. But, FWS does have the advantage that the jobs are ususally on campus so they're more convenient to get to. You can also often find one that's connected to your field of study, which gives your resume a boost in terms of work and/or community service experience. This can help make you more competitive for more scholarships so in the long run, it might be better to take a lower payrate if it postions you to get more elsewhere. You have to weigh the pros and cons of the opportunities that come your way. In most cases, scholarships are restricted to educational charges (tuition, fees, room and board, etc. ) and can't be used to pay off student loans. However, if you receive a scholarship after you've taken out loans and you end up with too much funding (i.e. a credit balance) you have a couple of options. Most students will either have the school refund the money to them in a check or debit card, or they ask the school to return the funds to the government and reduce your federal loans. If you think you might come up short in a subsequent semester when you might not have a scholarship, you might consider taking the credit balance personally and socking it away. If you have the choice of check or debit card, choose the check--the fees on most college debit cards are outrageous. Policies vary from school to school, so you would have to ask to see what's in place at yours. As to private loans, Citibank is usually as good as any other and better than some. Students I've worked with generally seem to prefer their service to some of the others like Sallie Mae. But rates change from month to month, so you'd have to check out what's available when you apply.