What expenses do student loans cover?

College is stressful. How to unwind? Spring Break Trip? That really cool PlayStation to chill at the end of a long day of exams?…..Brazos is here to help ease the stress of attending college, but not quite that way.

College is expensive and financial aid doesn’t always cover the cost. Brazos is here to help by providing a low cost private student loan that can help cover those expenses that aren’t quite covered by other forms of financial aid. Sorry, not the Spring Break trip or the PlayStation. So, what expenses can be paid using the Brazos Student Loan? The short answer is the Brazos Student Loan can be used to cover expenses your school has certified as being necessary to attend the school. You can typically find these expenses, which are included in the Cost of Attendance, listed in your financial aid award letter. These include:

Tuition and School fees. This seems obvious, but often times, tuition costs alone are more than the amount of scholarships, grants, work-study and federal loans that are available to you. Fees that are typically included in school certified expenses are those such as lab fees, activity fees, library fees, computer fees, and student center fees. You will see these estimated in your financial aid award letter.

Books and supplies. The cost of books and supplies can average as much as $1,100 per year for two semesters. This cost should be a part of your college award letter, but may not be, depending upon what college you’re attending. This can also include non-estimated expenses like laptop computers and other supplies if deemed necessary by the school or program you are attending, but be careful to plan for these amounts within the school-certified cost of attendance.

Room and Board. This can be a large expense regardless of if you are living on campus in a dorm or off campus in an apartment. If you’re living off campus, you’ll need to budget and plan for the allowed housing estimate provided by your school in your financial aid award letter.

Meals. Some schools include meals in the estimated cost of Room and Board. But, not all do. If you are living off campus, and don’t pay for a school meal plan, you will have to budget and plan for food and groceries.

Transportation. Most schools will include an amount for transportation. This amount may be used to pay for public transportation, campus parking permits, gas expense, and home visits. Again, if you’re planning on covering transportation with student loans, you’ll want to budget carefully to make sure that the school-certified estimates are reasonable for your situation.

It is important to remember that your Brazos Student Loan will be paid directly to your school. Your school will apply the funds first to your bills at the school, such as tuition, fees, room and board (if living on campus). If there is money left over after the amounts charged to you by your school are paid, you will be issued a refund check. This refund check is what you will use to pay for those expenses that are not billed to you by the school, such as the rent on your off-campus apartment or meals if you don’t sign up for a school sponsored meal plan. This could be a large, lump sum of money that you will have to budget to use throughout the semester for your certified expenses.

Still have questions? We are here to help! Send us an email for more information about our loan options. Whether or not you need a private student loan, we’re happy to help you with questions you have about paying for college.

Why Brazos?

Why Brazos? We are one of the best kept secrets in Texas! We’ve been helping students and parent finance their college education since 1975, and our companies together are the largest nonprofit student loan group in the country! Helping make college affordable has been our mission for over 40 years! Go to About Us to learn more.