I just got accepted to Howard...now what?

If your mother or father has good credit, you can take out a Parent Plus loan in their name. Usually, loan companies, like Sallie Mae, will work with your parent's credit. They will go in and clear up some things so you could be eligible to apply for a Parent Plus loan. If your parents don't want to go through the hassle of getting the Parent Plus loan for you, just get their social security numbers and date of birth (with their permission) and call and apply for the loan yourself. That is what I did. I asked my mom if it was okay for me to use her social security number to apply for a Parent Plus loan, and to act like her over the phone, and she told me it was okay. Most financial institutions will allow you to apply for the amount of the school's budget. Therefore, you can only apply for the maximum amount of your school's budget. Back in the day, people could borrow any amount and people used to get cars and houses off their refund check. The goverment has put a stop to that, and now students can only borrow up to their school's budget or cost of attendance. Anyway, Sallie Mae's website is: Sallie Mae - Private Student Loans, Stafford, PLUS, Student Loan Consolidation Go there and get information on the Parent Plus loan or call their number off of the website. If you can't get enough in scholarships or grants, you should use the Parent Plus loan option as a last resort. I encourage you to go on to Howard if you are accepted. I feel that it is best for people to go on to a 4-year college and skip the junior college thing. For one thing, you will miss out on a lot transferring in. People usually meet their best friends their freshman year, and you will miss out on all that. If you are smart enough to be accepted into Howard, you are smart enough to handle the course work. There are other ways to pay for college than just grants and scholarships. There is also the Stafford Loans and then your Parent Plus loans. Anyway, I hope this helps.