Graduate assistantships and defaulted loans.

[v0rtex]

Hello,

I'm a permanent resident of the US and some years ago I began my studies in a US university on grants+loans. After my first year, I found myself in a terrible financial and living situation which forced me to move back to Europe and I ended up defaulting on my school loans (under $5k) and credit card (around the same amount).

There I started a (different) degree from scratch which I will be graduating from next year and have the intention of applying to US graduate schools for a phd this coming winter.

I understand that having defaulted on school loans disqualifies you from obtaining additional loans if you go back to school until you pay it all back or make some timely payments. But will having defaulted on school loans bar me from grad school admissions or perceiving a graduate TA/RA or does it only bar you from federal loans? I haven't found any official info on this matter, didn't find anything on this subject in particular at the fedaid webpage.

I am able to pay back my federal loans in a lump sum thanks to a relative who is willing to lend me the money, but I'd like to know if graduate school assistantships are still a possibility in my situation before going through with it, otherwise I'd just start repaying them on a monthly basis once I get a job.

Thanks in advance for any help.

 

[Vanadium 50]

It's up to the school, I think. I would personally think twice about having someone who has done this in my lab, so you may have a problem even if the rules don't specifically prohibit it.