<prompt> Human: Hi there. Im a PhD student in the US who unfortunately didnt land a teaching gig over the summer, which means I have essentially zero income for the next 2.5 months minus a part-time 10hr job on campus, which wont do much. I have about 100 to my name at the moment and have finally decided to bite the bullet and take out student loans.Im lucky enough that Ive never needed to do so before, which means I need a bit of help. Ive been reading up on the various types of student loans available to me, submitted my FAFSA to my public university, and just received approval for an unsubsidized federal loan of 20,500.00 breaks down to 10,250.00 in Fall 2018 and Spring 2019, respectively. My Googling tells me that subsidized federal loans are not offered to graduate students, unfortunately, but please correct me if Im wrong about that.I have a few questions. First, theres no way Id actually need 20k in loans. Im thinking 5k would be enough. I know I have the option to take as little or as much of the money as possible, but am worried I will misjudge--what if I only take 5k and end up needing more? Can I up the amount at a later date? Or if I take too much, can I cut the dollar amount back down? How flexible is the aid?Second, because Im an idiot and didnt think to file my FAFSA until 2 weeks ago, there is no aid available to me before Fall 2018, and I specifically need money for rent this summer my regular teaching stipend will kick back in around September 1st. If I take on a loan for the Fall semester, when might it become available to me? Third, if Im correct in my assumption that a loan taken for Fall 2018 wont be available until Fall 2018, what is my next best option for aid during the summer? I applied for a private loan through Discover, but only did so to see what they would approve me for 5,000.00. Ive read all sorts of horror stories about private loan companies and the predatory nature of credit card companies in particular, so Im loathe to commit to this unless its really my last option. I wish I had started thinking about this earlier, but in my naivete I didnt realize that loans werent instant across the board.Thats where Im at right now. Thoughts? Advice? Things you wish you had done?Thanks!Edit: Hi everyone. This has been useful. I think my next step is bringing a few of these options in to my financial aid office and getting a second perspective from them as to which bears least risk.Im going to hold off responding to new comments at this point, unless you had a specific question about my finances that hasnt been answered elsewhere in the thread. Happy Monday, friends!Assistant: What will your Ph.D. be in?Human: English Literature so if youre asking to see if Ill be making bank when I graduate... I wont.Assistant: What are the prospects for employment on graduation?Human: Ill be shooting for a tenure-track professorship, which if landed, would likely pay something like 60k starting. Its also possible Ill end up in a post-doc program, a lecturer position, or an administrative university position, which would likely pay around 45k starting.Edit: also, one good thing about the university is that they WILL make sure I have a job before allowing me graduate. I wont be walking into the void.  <response>: Ill be shooting for a tenure-track professorship, which if landed, would likely pay something like 60k starting.So like a job niche enough to hire only the top 1 of English Literature PhDs.Whats your plan for when that doesnt work out?That whole make sure I have a job may very well mean a 25k a year gig. Or worse that its on you to find employment before actually getting the PhD. 