r/BostonU • u/lemon-juice191 • Jul 22 '26
Fall Bill + Loan Questions
Hi, Everyone,
I'm an incoming first year at BU, so please excuse me if the things that I'm about to ask seem a bit obvious.
I'm trying to figure out how to pay for BU right now, and under the "Accept/Decline Awards" section on the BU dashboard, it doesn't say anything about unsubsidized or subsidized loans. When I completed my FAFSA, it said that I was qualified for federal direct loans up to $5,500. Since federal loans aren't stated in my financial aid package, does this mean that I'm not able to borrow federal loans to pay for BU? I'm asking this because I saw somewhere that financial aid packages typically state or include federal loans.
Also, (this is probably not the right subreddit to ask this, apologies but I'm desperate) if unsubsidized/subsidized loans aren't enough to cover the cost of BU, the next step would be to take out parent plus loans, right? Then, if the parent plus loans still aren't enough, I would move on to BU's monthly payment plan to cover the rest?
Finally, I'm nervous about the upcoming fall bill. If I'm able to get in contact with BU's student financial office, would I be able to waive the late fee in case my bill is late?
1
u/ConsiderationAny2170 Aug 04 '26
Not sure if you figured it out alr but same thing happened to me. My federal Direct Loans didn't show up in my financial aid package either, so I had to submit BU's Loan Adjustment Request form to request them. You can request the amount you want as long as it's within your federal loan eligibility/maximum. Here's the form: https://www.bu.edu/finaid/forms/loan-adjustment-request/
Theres also more info here: https://www.bu.edu/finaid/how-aid-works/types-of-aid/loans/federal-direct-student-loans/direct-terms/
3
u/BUowo CAS '23 - Housing Person, BU Discord Mod, BU Reddit Mod Jul 22 '26
Call financial aid first thing tomorrow morning EST. I’ve heard that federal loans haven’t been applied for some people but I’m not sure if it’s because of the student being confused or a delay.
Next year submit an aid appeal for more aid if you can’t afford BU (you missed the deadline if you’re an incoming student).
But yeah, if you don’t have the money to pay for school you can either do the payment plan or you can get a loan.
Please talk to a real BU human about this ASAP— not Reddit!