I had some questions about the student loan/financial aid process, and I was wondering whether someone could maybe walk me through it. To be quite honest, I really don’t know much about this at all because I’ve never had to take out a loan before. I read through a lot of the threads here, and if I understood what everyone’s been saying, you go through Ed-Invest to get Stafford loans and then get the remaining loans through Grad Plus. But when do we get a financial aid packet? Do I have to wait until I get the packet to start filing for loans? I did complete the FAFSA and the SGU Scholarship Application. Also, I saw on SGU’s website that I have to fill out a Master Promissory Note to get the Stafford and Grad Plus loans, and there’s a link…but this doesn’t go to Ed-Invest, and it asks me to select the type(s) of loans I want. I read somewhere on here that SGU will walk you through the process, but doesn’t all this have to be settled before Term 1? How early do I need to file for loans (since I am starting in August)? I guess I’m just really confused, so any advice would be appreciated! I apologize if this information has been posted anywhere… I’ve looked through many of the threads, but I haven’t been able to find any clear-cut answers. So bear with me, please.

Thank you!

As long as you've turned in your FAFSA then you've done what you can right now. You can always call Fin Aid and see when they want to get things going. My contact was M. W. and she was great.

You fill out the master promissory note (MPN) once you picked your lender and the amount you're borrowing. I'm not sure who the lenders will be from now on since the loan environment is changing almost daily it seems.

Anyway, give financial aid a call/email and see what they say about the timeline. And as long as you've sent in your FAFSA you're good for the time being.

As of right now, the FAFSA is pretty much all you can do. The financial aid packet will not be distributed until early May, because they are reworking the schools insurance package that is offered. Once that is sent out, you will get the rest of the info you need.

Thanks so much!

the FA office at sgu is great. give them a call and they Will help you out with all ur questions

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ST. GEORGE'S UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF MEDICINE --CLASS OF 2008--

they really are. i think they are not working with aug 08 students until mid may but my understanding is they help step up loans for you that are through the private lenders. what i dont understand is how hundreds of thousands of dollars goes out to thousands of students. like...that's a lot of money. sure we will pay it back. but that is a lot a lot of money. i said this to the financial aid lady at sgu and she laughed...

the choices of lenders?

What country are you from? If the U.S. then you will likely use stafford and gradplus loans. As far as any other country, I am not really sure.