MBA Student Loans - When do you receive the funds?

Something I've always wondered about MBA loans - when (and how) do you actually receive the funds?

Each semester do you receive 1/4 of the total loan amount in cash as a lump sum (i.e. if you took on $150k in student loans, at the start of each semester you get a lump sum of $37.5k transferred to your account)? 

People often talk about how much debt they took on but I've had a hard time finding any info on the mechanics of when the loan is actually distributed.

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Federal loans will go to the school and then the school will transfer the delta between tuition/fees/etc and the amount you borrow to you, usually at the start of the term. Asking the school’s financial aid department would give you a more specific picture.

I’m starting my MBA this fall and don’t want to sell stock for it, so I’m going to be figuring this out shortly and will post an update when I figure that out.

 

I do not, I haven’t looked into private as much yet but was planning to dig into that later this week. Are you starting somewhere this fall?

 

No, I'm considering applying in Round 2 this year and don't expect to have as much saved up as I'd like. Because of that, I'm trying to figure out if I'd run into any cash flow issues (i.e. needing to pay for things out of my pocket while waiting on loans), which could impact whether I decide to wait another year before applying to save up extra money

 
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I talked to Sallie Mae and they said they generally send a check once everything is signed off after the start of the term. What exactly that means I am not 100% sure, I think this is a situation where calling a specific lender is the best way to nail down the details sadly.

If I am understanding your question right, borrowing the estimated cost of attendance with federal loans would give you float until the private loans disburse if you think you would need more than that amount, as that is supposed to be able to cover your expenses for the term including room and board, and you won’t be paying all of that up front.

 

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