Financial Aid
Ok, so I am now in my third year of PT school. While I am now expert with all the financial aid information I feel I now how a little more experience to add some input. From my perspective I don't really feel like I know a ton about all the financial aid. For me it feels like when I started school I just covered my eyes and took out the loans and I'll figure it all out when I finish school (probably not the best strategy).
Obtaining Financial Aid:
So for me I just went and talked to the financial aid advisors at the school I got accepted to and they helped me fill out all my loan applications. That was pretty much all I did. Now all I know it that each quarter my tuition and fees get paid automatically and I get a check with a little extra for cost of living stuff. This may not be so simple for those who are going to a private school as the cost of tuition and living will most likely be much more that what the student loans will cover. These people may have to take out extra loans from other private lenders (I didn't have to do this so I can't really speak to this process).
After my first year in school they stopped providing the subsidized loan for graduate students (a change which I knew was coming). Quick Tip: Because I knew this I took out my full subsidized loans my last semester or two in undergrad and saved that money to pay for grad school. That way I could have that much more money not accruing interest and wouldn't need to take out as much unsubsidized loans when I started grad school.
Obtaining Financial Aid:
So for me I just went and talked to the financial aid advisors at the school I got accepted to and they helped me fill out all my loan applications. That was pretty much all I did. Now all I know it that each quarter my tuition and fees get paid automatically and I get a check with a little extra for cost of living stuff. This may not be so simple for those who are going to a private school as the cost of tuition and living will most likely be much more that what the student loans will cover. These people may have to take out extra loans from other private lenders (I didn't have to do this so I can't really speak to this process).
After my first year in school they stopped providing the subsidized loan for graduate students (a change which I knew was coming). Quick Tip: Because I knew this I took out my full subsidized loans my last semester or two in undergrad and saved that money to pay for grad school. That way I could have that much more money not accruing interest and wouldn't need to take out as much unsubsidized loans when I started grad school.