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Yeah, sorry, should've clarified: the payments are consolidated in the sense of combined, but your loans are not. Make sense? Matt Cruea, what wolffenstein said 
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Oct 7, 2008 22:05
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I have a question about Loan Consolidation. Currently I'm in my last year of University, and baring some tragic failure on my part I already have all the student loans I'll ever need and will be graduating in May. I have several loans though, about $30k split somewhat evenly between Citibank, SallieMae and the Federal Direct Loan program. Should I consolidate all these loans into one loan, and if so, when should I start doing that? Now? After I graduate? I'm not really sure about it. I haven't really made any payments on any of them ever, excepting a few months where they temporally went out of deferment when I was between semesters for too long, so the interest on the non-Federal ones are starting to build up a bit. Furthermore, I have been going through the process of applying to join the Peace Corps, any idea how this will affect that (if at all, I hear you can defer student loans while you're joined up)? 100 HOGS AGREE fucked around with this message at 22:28 on Oct 8, 2008 |
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Oct 8, 2008 22:23
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I'm thinking about studying abroad for two years in Toronto to pick up a couple of graduate certificates in animation. I've been lucky enough to have my parents cover my undergrad, but I'm looking at 20k or so a year at the school I like in tuition alone, not counting room and board and insurance and all that jazz. I've been happily ignorant of all this financial stuff until recently, and I really don't know where to begin. The whole economic situation now has me worried a bit about getting money for this, too, so what would some of my better options be?
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Oct 8, 2008 22:55
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I'm going to be taking out my first year of student loans (a stafford subsidized will cover my costs, thankfully) and need to find a lender. My school just gave me a huge laundry list of banks and credit unions and said 'okay, pick one'. Of course, I have no idea where to start, but I'm under the impression that credit unions are preferrable to regular banks? Or does it just depend on the loan specifics? I was actually looking at the Texans Credit Union (of which I am eligible to be a member). Have you heard anything about them at all? Actually, noticed this as I was writing the post, a lot of these different lenders seem to have the same c/o blahblah company in the contact information. Sallie Mae is on a ton of these, and PPSLC seems to cover a lot of the credit unions. Does this mean I'm actually borrowing from those companies and not the credit union, or whatever? I'm so confused 
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Oct 10, 2008 15:47
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Hamelin, congratulations on your final year! I would suggest waiting until you've graduated to begin looking into consolidation. It normally takes about 6 weeks to complete the processing, and you hopefully have a grace period on some of those loans so you should have the time to spare. For the others, you may need to start paying back sooner. You should call up your student loan companies and ask if there's a grace period still on your loans, so that you can know what kind of time frame you're looking at. Sometimes it's better to start the consolidation application earlier, sometimes it's not. There is indeed a deferment available for the Peace Corps. They have information on that very very nice program here: http://www.peacecorps.gov/index.cfm?shell=learn.whyvol.finben.instructions The option for this deferment is included on the Economic Hardship Deferment form, option number three. The form is a federal document and won't change from lender to lender. Example (I just googled economic hardship deferment): http://www.usafunds.org/Forms/economic_hardship.pdf aSocial, you can either desperately pursue grants/scholarships or relegate yourself to private loans. I always suggest https://www.simpletuition.com for shopping private loans that might be available. However, you may also be able to take advantage of the GradPLUS loan, which is better by leaps and bounds than a private loan. You would need to contact the school you'll be registered with and ask about your financial aid options. dreggory, with student loans, frankly, it doesn't matter if it's a credit union, bank, or private lender. What matters are the incentives/benefits they're offering you, if any. As you've noticed, the servicing agencies for your loans will be a separate company - your student loan accounts would be separated from any other accounts you have at a bank/credit union. You are still borrowing from that lender, but their servicing agent is not that lender specifically. This occurs mostly because federal regulations are a bitch to deal with, so lenders would rather a 3rd party deal with them Are there any on there that have good benefits? Do you have a list of 5-6 that you're particularly considering? Unfortunately I haven't heard of Texans Credit Union, but that's not a bad thing. If it's a Texas lender I'd suggest researching to see if they're purchased on the back-end by North Texas Higher Education Authority. If they are, this is a *good* thing, because NTHEA is very good to their borrowers and you wouldn't see a dime extra in interest due to the purchase.
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Oct 12, 2008 12:43
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I hate to bump this for something that is only indirectly related to loans, but I think it's better than making a new thread for something that doesn't deserve it. Does anyone have experience/advice on lobbying his or her school for more aid? Due to a combination of good grades and poor parents, I've not paid much for my first three years of college. However, at the rate at which my school is increasing tuition, I stand to pay a lot of money next year, and I'm not sure where I'm going to get it from. If I explained my situation, is there any chance the aid office could offer a grant instead? Do schools do this for students with convincing arguments? I've only heard vague stories about this and I'd like to determine their veracity.
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Oct 17, 2008 15:28
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Question. I am currently enrolled in a school where I have taken out loans to pay for, but have recently decided that since this school is definitely not worth what I've paid so far it wont be what I'll continue to pay and can get a better education somewhere cheaper and more legit that I will drop out. But I plan to enroll in a different college within 6 months, now that its a different school I still won't have to pay my loans back as long as I am attended to a college it doesn't have to be that college right?
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Oct 20, 2008 11:47
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Infernus, as long as you are attending a Title 4 school at least half-time you will still have an in-school deferment on your account. You may need to manually update your servicer with an in-school deferment form. If the school is not Title 4 or you are less than half-time, there is an in-school forbearance available which would also require a form. alcoholiday, really the only thing I can tell you is that what you're talking about is called the appeals process at most universities. It's done through the financial aid office, not every university does it and it's in no way a guarantee of increased eligibility.
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Oct 21, 2008 22:37
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I know your dependent status is generally determinate upon the questions listed in the OP, but that you CAN petition to have it overridden. What I am curious about is if being in an entirely independent situation (documented) which includes owning my own condo, working full time, and being able to prove all of this via documentation will be of any help in getting it overridden. I suspect not, but hey, why not ask?
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Oct 26, 2008 17:32
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I filled out all my loan information and signed my promisary note online a couple days ago. Do you know how long it usually takes to receive the loan or does it vary quite a bit?
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Oct 26, 2008 18:38
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Walking, my understanding is that no, none of that makes a difference. But my understanding is not perfect by any means; your school is the one who will ultimately decide. le capitan, it varies quite a bit. The general estimation is 2-3 weeks, depending on the process. Sometimes it can be way faster, sometimes it's longer.
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Oct 29, 2008 00:51
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I would really appreciate some advice. My wife is 23 turning 24 in December. She finished her first two years of pre-requirements at a city college and we did not take out any loans. She had about $1,200 in defaulted student loans before we married that we paid off. Yesterday she was accepted to an accelerated BSN nursing program at a private school. The total cost of tuition for the 16 months is $37,500. Here's where I need advice. Her credit is not that great. I am 27 and have excellent credit with a very good salary. Will I be able to take out a loan for her or act as a cosigner? I don't want her to get stuck with a lousy interest rate due to her credit history. Should we go with the school's financing partner or should I shop around for a private loan? She will probably only get so much in unsubsidized loans and then have to make up the rest in private loans, correct? How much will she be able to get in Stafford loans? When should I start contacting lenders and comparing rates? Class starts in Jan and I'm anxious to get some answers.
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Oct 29, 2008 15:57
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I got a nasty shock recently... My wife and I were ready to buy a house, so we applied for a VA home loan together and were approved for 300k. However, she has been laid off since then, so I wanted to apply on my own and see what amount we could be approved for assuming it takes her a while to find another job in this economy. My application was denied entirely because I had too high of a debt-to-income ratio. The only debts I have are student loans from my current grad school program. This has really infuriated me; I had no idea that student loans would count against my dti when applying for a mortgage, and had I known, I WOULD HAVE loving POSTPONED SCHOOL UNTIL AFTER I BOUGHT A drat HOUSE  !Well, here I am. The lender told me that the underwriters would discount the student loans if I could get a guaranteed deferment for at least 12 months after closing on a potential house. But, my grad program is part-time and I won't graduate until 2011 at the very earliest. So with three more years to go, and the standard 6 mo grace period after graduation, I assumed that would work for them but they told me "well, you might drop out before then." So...wtf do I do now? Am I now completely screwed out of getting a mortgage? Most of my loans are grad plus (to the tune of about 20k so far and another 16k on the way), and I've never heard of a lender giving out *guaranteed* deferments. Does having never heard of it not necessarily mean it doesn't happen? dividebyzero fucked around with this message at 02:20 on Oct 30, 2008 |
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Oct 30, 2008 02:18
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Lobbyist, thanks for the PM! I have been summoned You're correct about making up the difference with private loans. How "not great" is her credit? Anyone can be a co-signer, but there's a minimum credit score that the primary borrower needs to have in order to get the loan. I highly HIGHLY suggest shopping around. The primary website I always recommend for shopping private loans is https://www.simpletuition.com . If anyone else has a suggestion/recommendation, please feel free to post it here! dividebyzero, if it helps, yours is not an uncommon situation. You're correct in that lenders can't guarantee a deferment/forbearance. What they CAN do is provide you with a letter that clearly states when your current deferment/grace period is scheduled to end and include all of the deferment/forbearance time you have available on your account. The lender cannot legally provide a document saying you WILL have a deferment after your grace ends, but they can say you may. On a side note, I really hate mortgage companies. They have NO idea how student loans function and try to demand things that lenders just can't do.
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Oct 30, 2008 22:00
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Wiggy Marie posted:dividebyzero, if it helps, yours is not an uncommon situation. I thank you kindly for your help! However, I did provide this letter to my mortgage lender, to no avail. I guess I can just try another bank that understands how student loans actually work?
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Oct 30, 2008 22:56
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Stupid dumb mortgage companies... At this point I would call them up and explain the situation. If they still say nothing can be done, then definitely try to go with someone else. It will suck and hold up processing, but it's better than not purchasing your home!
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Oct 30, 2008 23:18
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Wiggy Marie This is what I'm looking for... http://i270.photobucket.com/albums/jj105/tab8715/loanQ.jpg By the way, with Obama likely becoming president. Are their any likely changes coming to students loans and all?
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Oct 31, 2008 03:56
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Account number should be the account number with your current student loan institution. If you have any statements you should be able to find it on them, or call them up and ask. Yes, there will likely be some changes, although the recent push for Direct over the FFEL program exposed just how much Direct *can't* do. The volume is enormous, there's no way they can take it on quickly, so FFELP still has a fighting chance. Almost every bill signed within the past 8 months or so has been blatantly designed to make borrowers choose Direct over any FFELP lender. They took away our ability to offer incentives (which only makes students suffer, so it pisses me off), and they've enacted several programs that ONLY Direct loan participants can use. It's ridiculously blatant and I don't see that changing anytime soon. I'm somewhat lucky. I work for a student loan servicing agency, not a lender. If worst comes to worst, we can switch to something else, like insurance. But it's still not a good feeling. For about six glorious months our primary lender had nearly the best benefits of ANYONE, and it was so exciting to tell kids and parents what we could do for that. No more 
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Oct 31, 2008 11:50
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Hi Wiggy it's me again! So I came to SCAD and after almost a whole semester realized that this isn't the right school for me. I want to transfer back to Massachusetts and hopefully attend MassArt. I was wondering, since I'm paying for all this on loans how do I let the loan companies (and the federal loan companies) know that I'm transferring to a different school, hopefully for Spring semester. And not have them come after me with a big angry man.
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Nov 2, 2008 22:34
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Well hello hello! I'm sorry it didn't work out for you. You will need to contact the lender and let them know about the transfer so that they know to cancel the 2nd disbursement of their loans. The new school will have to send a certification for Spring semester loans (yes, as though you're getting brand new loans - which you are). You will also need to make sure you transfer your FAFSA papwerwork to the new school because they need to process it to make sure you're eligible for the funding.
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Nov 4, 2008 12:58
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Ok, I just wanted to get some clarification about Grad Plus loans, sorry if this has been dealt with before in the thread. From the OP:quote:The GradPlus loan can be used for personal expenses, but it is still sent to the school first. The school maintains controls over the amount disbursed. If they won't certify your 100,000 request, we can't send it. However, from Studentaid.ed.gov: quote:10. How much can I borrow in Direct PLUS Loans? The program I'm currently in breaks down like this: Tuition is about 7-8k a year, and books are about 1k a year. Not too bad, but this doesn't include anything in the way of living expenses (the school estimates $24k/year for everything, room and board, etc). I'm currently working part time, which brings in about $900 a month. I'm taking out the full Stafford loan for each year ($20.5k). However, starting year #2 (maybe earlier), I am going to have to quit my job, which means I won't have that $900-1k coming in every month. The leftover money each semester from the Stafford loan will not be enough for me to live on for a year. But, unless I'm reading it incorrectly, I am not eligible to apply for a Grad Plus load since my school fees do not currently exceed the Stafford limit. Am I reading this correctly? My intention was to take out approx. $10k to give me cost of living and a little bit of a security blanket over the next year and a half, and also because I may have to quit the job sooner than I thought. Also, in the hopes that I am reading that incorrectly, there is a girl in my class who is paying out of state tuition, which is about $12k more a year. She says she got a Grad Plus loan, and that it didn't have to go through our University. Is this possible? Thanks for any advice. vvv Hello fellow social worker! Good luck to you meatpath fucked around with this message at 09:20 on Nov 18, 2008 |
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Nov 17, 2008 21:47
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I dug myself really far into a hole and I'm guessing there's no way out. I put myself through my final two years of undergrad as well as my masters program. But I made the mistake of spending that time at one of the most expensive schools in the country, NYU. So now I'm sitting on about 200k in debt with two degrees in a field that I love, which doesn't really pay well, social work. I've tried a few different jobs within this field: actively involved therapist, outpatient therapist, and now state case manager in child protective services. I've made large leaps in pay with each step, but still with the amount that I make I can not find a way to pay my loan bills and save money toward the important things in my life (wedding, house). I find myself working 50-60 hour weeks for the overtime just so I can pay down my credit card and start maybe putting something aside. My loan bills total a about $1,000 per month. The plan I'm on has my loan payments starting out small and then increasing in increments. I do not know how I'm supposed to move out of my dad's house and really forge any life on my own with this massive debt hanging over my head. I'm working my rear end off and trying as hard as I can, but I'm just not able to save anything. I've cut out so much spending from my life, but the money just isn't showing up. Is there anything that I can do to stop this cycle from eventually burying me? I have two consolidation loans, one with citigroup and one with sallie mae. Are there other options out there? Are there any government programs or grants out there that forgive any of this money? I just started looking for a house, and I'm almost collapsing because I'm realizing that I can't really afford it and I can't see a way that I'll be able to. Anyone have any advise or anything?
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Nov 18, 2008 06:04
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McEatenAlive posted:I find myself working 50-60 hour weeks for the overtime just so I can pay down my credit card and start maybe putting something aside. Welcome to the world of responsibility. You consciously chose to go to that school and take on that ridiculous amount of debt, now eat it and do your best to pay up. I don't have quite 200k, but I've got 62k and have figured out how to make the $600 payments. P.S. Stop buying poo poo you can't afford (a house, wedding, etc.) Other than that, don't worry too much about school loans, they're at least debt that is "good" to have. Life might be "tough" for awhile (because you don't get to have a house and a new car - oh my!), but you'll find a way. arkiteKt fucked around with this message at 21:50 on Nov 18, 2008 |
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Nov 18, 2008 21:48
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68k, the official rule is that you can take out the GradPLUS loan up to the total cost of tuition the school has calculated, including cost of living that they've calculated and minus other aid you're already getting. In reality, most kids apply for however much they need, see what the school certifies, and then take out the rest in private loans as needed. A federal GradPLUS loan is disbursed through the school but not actually taken out through the school, so it's possible your friend just misunderstood. If whatever loan she got didn't involve a school certification, though, it's not what she thinks it is. McEatenAlive, contact Direct and ask if they have a program for you. Educational Direct, found at https://www.ed.gov . If anyone has a program they would. Your next step is to find your state's department of education and contact them to see if your state has any local programs. It could happen! After that, budget budget budget. Make use of the deferments/forbearances that your loans offer, if you haven't already. Contact your lender and ask them if there's any time you can use. And contact a financial adviser. Seriously.
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Nov 18, 2008 23:31
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arkiteKt posted:Welcome to the world of responsibility. You consciously chose to go to that school and take on that ridiculous amount of debt, now eat it and do your best to pay up. I don't have quite 200k, but I've got 62k and have figured out how to make the $600 payments. Well first of all 200k is a lot more than 62k so eat a dick. And about your responsibility high chair, what do you think trying to move out of my dad's house and start my own life/family counts as? I've found a way to make my payments, but not to afford moving out at the same time. And I'm currently working in the highest paying entry level job I can get with my degree unless I move to California, which is no where near the job I want to be working, so I'd say that's a pretty responsible move. And in this financial climate, in my area, apartments go for around the same monthly payment as a cheap mortgage, so I'd rather not throw my money down the drain at rent unless I have to. As well, my fiance and I have made the decision to skip the wedding in order to afford the house. So yes, life is tough. I'm working as much overtime as I can, only taking off one or two days per month, and I'm still struggling. I'm not looking to get a new car, and I'm looking at houses around 150-175k (which is basically a 2 room box on .01 acres of land in the ghetto out here in CT). I don't regret the decision to go to the school I did. When I eventually get on my feet enough to open a private therapy practice, my hope is that those NYU degrees will pay off in terms of where I can practice and how much I can charge. Either way, right now is a very different story. And there's no reason to be such an rear end in a top hat about it. I don't mean to come off so harsh, but I feel like your life lesson was not solicited and not appropriate. And to Wiggy Marie, thanks for the link. I tried to put in a call, but I need to do so during work hours. There is a program that I'm aware of, and which was mentioned on that website, where individuals working in public service can have their loans forgiven, but that does not happen until after 2017; so that's no help. The CT dept of Ed website has nothing about anything post-high school. And on the subject of a financial adviser - would that be worth the money it costs? Around how much will something like that cost?
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Nov 19, 2008 01:37
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Time in customer service taught me a lot about the situations kids get into for education, and having compassion for those positions. Sorry I didn't defend earlier, but I just glossed over the attack That being said, no one should attack anyone in this thread for any reason, so please don't do that again arkiteKt. Giving firm advice is one thing, but being a total jerk is not ok. I am here to offer honest helpful advice, not try and make people feel bad about the decisions they've made, and ESPECIALLY not in relation to decisions made in the pursuit of higher education. McEatenAlive, try these people too: http://www.cslf.com/ They're the guarantor of CT loans, they might be able to help. You can also try contacting the school about your situation and see if they have recommendations. I do think financial advisers can be worth their salt. A lot of companies have free consultations available; make use of that. Also, if you're looking into a house, use the mortgage broker as your financial consultant too. They can help with that sort of thing; I recently purchased and that's just what I did. There's also a tax adviser here that does taxes for goons. His SN is furushotakeru, and he's always been very helpful. I'm not positive he does lots of financial planning, but he might be able to steer you to somewhere legitimate.
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Nov 19, 2008 02:34
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Also McEatenAlive, you may indeed can look into loan forgiveness in this field of work. Certain areas in social work and education provide paths to Federal loan forgiveness, although I don't know too much about it; Wiggy might can expound. I found this on Finaid.org, though:quote:Perkins loans and Stafford Loans can be cancelled for full-time service as a teacher in a designated elementary or secondary school serving students from low-income families, special education teacher (includes teaching children with disabilities in a public or other nonprofit elementary or secondary school), qualified professional provider of early intervention services for the disabled, teacher of math, science, foreign languages, bilingual education, or other fields designated as teacher shortage areas, employee of a public or non-profit child or family service agency providing services to high-risk children and their families from low-income communities, nurse or medical technician, law enforcement or corrections officer, staff member in the educational component of a Head Start Program, service as a Vista or Peace Corps Volunteer and service in the Armed Forces (up to 50% in areas of hostilities or imminent danger). I highlighted that part since many of the graduates from the program I'm in are placed in these types of agencies and have been able to access loan forgiveness (according to our faculty), not to mention you're working in child services so it might be worth a look! Good luck. Also this: http://www.finaid.org/loans/publicservice.phtml for a few years down the line meatpath fucked around with this message at 05:14 on Nov 19, 2008 |
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Nov 19, 2008 05:09
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McEatenAlive posted:So now I'm sitting on about 200k in debt with two degrees in a field that I love, which doesn't really pay well, social work. Unfortunately this is all too common a situation. Why college costs so much is beyond me. What's your breakdown of federal vs. private? I was going to suggest the public service forgiveness program as well. Your other option is extending repayment, which will rape you in interest, but will lower your monthly payment. It will make you ineligible for the public service program as well. A financial advisor is just going to help you make a budget, which you can do on your own. The debt's not going to go away. I'm going to suggest reframing how you look at the debt so it doesn't bother you so much. Consider whatever you have to pay in loans each month as a reduction in your take home income (like child support or something). Put a different perspective on it. The median household income in the U.S. is like 45K. If you and your fiance are taking home more than that even after your loan payments you are still doing better than 50% of America. If you keep looking at it as this giant debt cloud hanging over your head that is keeping you from obtaining things it will just consume your thoughts for years. I pay $1550 a month towards my loans. I am overpaying, but it is still a sizable chunk of my take home income disappearing before I ever see it. I won't be able to afford a house until after my loans are paid off. You just have to accept it and move on man.
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Nov 19, 2008 05:45
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Thanks for the advice guys. 68k do you have any idea how to go about accessing this loan forgiveness thing? The program in the link you provided is what I've been planning on accessing in the long run, and it will be very helpful, but it doesn't help me right now. And reading through the page that was provided on Finaid, it says that I need to consolidate my payments into a directloan. Do you guys have any idea on how to do that? This is the first I've read of that stipulation, which is lame, and I'd like to do that as soon as possible in case I am still eligible 10 years down the road. Thanks a lot for that finaid site link. This really cleared up a few questions I had about the forgiveness 10 years down the road. However, I can not find the paragraph that you pasted into your post. Where did you find that? And I think I would be covered under that as I'm currently working as a state social worker in inner city New Haven. I'm doing Child Protective Service work for the Department of Children and Families (i.e. I take the kids away from crack heads and put them into foster care) so I think I may be covered under that teacher thing. But searching around on the finaid site I haven't been able to find that part. And like Realjones, I've been overpaying my student loans by about double since mayish when I first got off of deferment. I stopped doing so last month since my focus has shifted toward saving money for the future. But seriously, in all honesty, thanks a lot for all of your help guys. Even just the way you've let me look at the problem in a different way and step back from it and not feel so crushed has made a lot of difference. It's really appreciated. EDIT: I found the Directloan application online and I'm completely lost trying to fill out the information about my loans. Am I better off calling them after work tomorrow? Is going through with this DirectLoan thing going to bite me in the rear end in the long run? McEatenAlive fucked around with this message at 06:58 on Nov 19, 2008 |
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Nov 19, 2008 06:29
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The paragraph I quoted comes from this page, about 2/3 of the way down under the "Federal Government Loan Forgiveness Programs" heading: http://www.finaid.org/loans/forgiveness.phtml As far as how to go about applying, I'm not sure, I just know the program(s) exist and that people from my college have utilized it/them successfully. I know the page I just linked to says "talk with your human resources manager at your agency." I would like to know more about it myself, but right now I'm in the act of incurring the debt and all I can think about is finals. I was hoping Wiggy could chime in, because it's going to be very relevant to me in about a year and a half. Oh and you definitely sound like you qualify, based on your work. Society doesn't pay poo poo to the people doing this kind of work, the least we can ask for is loan forgiveness so we can keep our heads above water.
meatpath fucked around with this message at 06:48 on Nov 19, 2008 |
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Nov 19, 2008 06:42
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McEatenAlive posted:And in this financial climate, in my area, apartments go for around the same monthly payment as a cheap mortgage My dirt-poor grandparents lived in New Haven and unless that area has turned into the new Greenwich of Connecticut, I don't recall property values being like California. Maybe I'm missing something here, but Craigslist seems to list a ton of apartments for fairly normal prices. Not only that, but have you factored in the additional property taxes and maintenance costs on top of your mortgage payments? http://newhaven.craigslist.org/apa/ Sorry to be so condescending, but I feel like trying to tack on a mortgage after 200k in student loans is absolute financial stupidity. Think about it, you pick up a mortgage for 175k (have you even tried pre-qualifying for a mortgage?) and you're nearing HALF A MILLION DOLLARS of debt. What the gently caress? Someone else in this thread please rationalize to me how it's financially sound for someone making 50k a year to bury themselves in that much debt, because clearly I'm not getting it. I make 65k a year and have nearly 40k saved from a business I started my senior year in college and don't even think that's smart. Live like a miser and pay down your dues, it's what I'm doing to my 62k+ and so should every other college grad. Suck it up dude, you clearly don't get it. I have to deal with the same thing making $600 payments a month now. Ahh shoot, maybe this video will help you understand: http://tinyurl.com/37gth4 arkiteKt fucked around with this message at 07:19 on Nov 19, 2008 |
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Nov 19, 2008 07:00
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What happens if you continue to make monthly payments, but don't pay the full amount? Will you go into default?
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Nov 19, 2008 07:10
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arkiteKt posted:My dirt-poor grandparents lived in New Haven and unless that area has turned into the new Greenwich of Connecticut, I don't recall property values being like California. I don't know where or when your 'dirt poor grandparents' lived in New Haven, but there's a few areas (newhallville, the hill, and fair haven) where I would not feel safe living. Working as a DCF worker, there is very little area in New Haven where I could feel safe living. The reality is that DCF has a terrible rep, and us workers sometimes get shot at. When you move a single town outside of new haven you get into rents around 1100-1300 for a one or two bedroom apartment. That's roughly the payment I would be making on a 150k mortgage. When you factor in taxes, insurance, and other expenditures I'd face in a house that I wouldn't in an apartment, I'd say a fair number turns into 1500 or 1700. Add that to the 1000/month in student loans, add another 700 or so for other bills, groceries, and incidentals, and my monthly output would be around 3200 with a reasonable cushion. In the last month I posted 4300 in earnings. But if you have 40k+ in savings and 62k in student loans, pulling in 65k a year, why are you not making a move to buy a house? To me, with the housing market the way it is and most likely bottoming out sometime next spring or summer, it seems like you're making a dumb decision. You're going to skip out on all these foreclosure properties and once in a life time interest rates because you're trying to pay down your dues? Might be time to take the next step in life.
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Nov 19, 2008 07:58
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arkiteKt posted:http://tinyurl.com/37gth4 Wow talk about arrogant. OK Wiggy, I talked to you ages ago about student loan stuff when I was still in school. Now, I'm out of school, and safely able to pay back my debt (I worked my rear end off and only came out with slightly more than 20K in debt  )I'm not having any problems paying back my loans now, but I'm interested in consolidating, or locking in the low % rate I have on some of my loans. All of my loans are Stafford, some subsidized and others not. I think most have the 6.8% rate, and the other the variable rate which, when I checked today, was still 4.210%. Who should I look to for consolidation, or should I even bother right now, with the economic crisis as it is? Nelnet posted something about a rate change in the future, so I'm worried I'm going to lose the good rate I have.
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Nov 19, 2008 17:57
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I skimmed through the thread looking for info by searching the word "Canada" and found tidbits of information, but not a lot. I guess I can fill in and talk about how the Ontario government loans (aka OSAP) work, because I've got my own loans to pay back and have tried to get as much info about it as possible. I do not work for OSAP or the government in any way, I just like to know exactly what I'm getting into beforehand, and have helped a few friends figure out how this all works as well. If you're in the period of paying back your loans this website is what you need. You can see exactly what your interest rate is, exactly what you owe, what your minimum payment is, when your payment is due, etc. You can also apply for Interest Relief, Debt Reduction or change your Payment Options (aka Revision of Terms). But I'm getting ahead of myself. To get OSAP you must be: a) a Canadian resident b) meet Ontario residency requirements c) be enrolled in an approved postsecondary institution taking an approved program d) be taking at least 60 per cent of a full course load, or 40 per cent if you have a permanent disability OSAP is a needs based program, so you will have to tell them your educational costs including tuition, books and supplies, daily living (only for the 8 months that you'll be in school, not a full year) etc. Then they will subtract your expected financial contribution which includes: your income, your assets (like if you own a car for instance), and your parents' income (because they assume your parents will help pay). Whatever the difference is, is the amount of your loan up to a maximum (currently $11 900 for a typical 2 term year in Ontario). Make sure you budget properly! You get 60% of your loan in the first semester, and the remaining 40% in second semester, so don't run short of money due to poor planning! HOWEVER, there is also the Canada Millennium Scholarship bursary. In Ontario, bursaries of $3,000 are granted to full-time undergraduate students who demonstrate high financial need (ie if you're awarded the full $11 900 then you will only actually have to pay back $8 900 of it). To apply, you must check on your OSAP application that you wish to be considered, and to recieve it, you must have already completed 60% of a year of post-secondary education (ie you probably can't get it your first year, but you can every year following.) When you are approved for a loan, your school will get all the paperwork and it will have an area set up where all the students will be going to fill out the forms and get everything taken care of. Make sure you bring ID and a void cheque, and once the money is released, your school tuition will be paid first, and whatever is left over will be direct deposited into your account. When you complete your program (or drop out, I guess) So you're done school, and graduated and now you start worrying about all that money you borrowed. Here's the lowdown: while you were in school, the government paid all your interest for you, so your loan amount hasn't gone up at all. You also don't have to make any payments for the next 6 months (which generally means that Nov 31st is your first due date, yay!). But you are being charged interest those 6 months of grace period. For me, that meant an extra $900 in that 6 months. You have 2 options; you can pay that interest as a lump sum, OR you can have it rolled back into your total amount, which means you will be paying interest on that interest as if it were part of the principle. Your loan is actually Canada-Ontario integrated student loan, and interest rates are different on the provincial and federal portion of your loan. The interest rate on the provincial portion is the prime plus 1% and on the federal portion, you can choose the prime rate of interest plus 2.5%, or lock it in at prime plus 5%. When you make a payment, it is automatically paid to both loans proportionally, so you cannot choose to pay the higher interest portion first. Here's the part you're really interested in: how pay less, or avoid paying for a longer period. First of all, I was kinda lying when I said earlier that if you have the max. loan and also get the Millennium scholarship that you'd have to pay back $8900. Provided you completed your year, and OSAP hasn't caught you lying about the numbers you gave them (they check with the Canada Revenue Agency), there is a cap of $7000 per year that a student has to pay back. It happens automatically, and the grant is paid directly to the National Student Loans Service Centre to reduce your debt. You can also apply for Interest Relief. You cannot apply until your grace period is over, so for instance, in most cases you can apply in the October after you graduate to not have to pay from November to May. One period of interest relief last 6 months, and you must reapply every 6 months to continue. It is exactly what it sounds like: the government pays your interest and you don't have to make any payments, just like when you were in school. You can have interest relief for a maximum of 30 months at any point during the repayment of your loan (so they don't have to all be in a row). An additional 24 months of extended interest relief may be available to you if you are within 5 years of graduating. Here is a PDF chart to figure out if you're eligible for interest relief. Any payments you make to your debt while in the interest relief period goes directly to the principle balance! This information can definitely work in your favor if you are able to pay even the slightest amount towards your debt. (Better yet, open a high interest savings account and keep your payments in there so you earn interest on that money then pay it in one lump sum before your interest relief runs out). After you've used up all your available interest relief comes Debt Reduction. This is only available if you're at least 5 years out of school and have used up all of your interest relief. Again, it's exactly what it sounds like: the government pays part of your principle (you never actually see the money, your debt is just reduced). I don't know anything about exact figures but it's probably a case by case type of thing. Then there's Revision of Terms. It's not a great option, but sometimes it's the only way. Essentially you can ask them to extend your loan repayment period from 9.5 years to 15 years, which means lower monthly payments, but more interest paid in the long run. Another option is to change your terms, but keep paying the original amount whenever you can exactly as if nothing had changed except that if you happen to be a little short one month, you will have a lower minimum to pay (I only recommend this if you will absolutely stick to the higher payments as much as possible). My final recommendation when paying back your loan is to make 2 payments a month instead of one. If you pay half on the 1st, and the other half on the 20th or whatever (rather than all at once) then you actually end up paying slightly less in interest because your principle will be slightly lower when they calculate the interest (since it's calculated daily). A few more helpful websites, which are my sources for all this information: http://accesswindow.osap.gov.on.ca/aw/eng/not_secure/OSAP1011.htm#S1-200 https://osap.gov.on.ca/eng/eng_osap_main.html https://nslsc.canlearn.ca/eng/default.aspx If anyone has any other questions or anything I'd be happy to try to help.
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Nov 19, 2008 18:16
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To everyone who has contributed and helped, thank you so much! Your information is VERY welcome and appreciated. I've transferred departments again at work, so I admit that my knowledge is rusty in some of the more vital areas now. Please keep contributing!!! KasioDiscoRock, would you mind if I added your information to the OP? Koppite, if you don't pay the full amount each month then yes, eventually you'll be past due enough that you'll go into default. It would take longer than not paying at all, and it may also depend on the system. Ours will only show a full month's payment as satisfying what's due, so if you paid 3/4 this month and then 3/4 of a full payment next month, you'd be 1/2 a full payment past due plus any late fees. So you can see how the rollover would take longer to show up, but it would eventually. If you're struggling to make payments, I highly suggest trying to have your payment amount lowered through the income sensitive or extended repayment plans, assuming consolidation is not an option. And always remember, consolidation is not necessarily ALWAYS the best option. teknicolor, I would recommend consolidation through Educational Direct, often just referred to as Direct. Mostly because I don't even know who else is consistently offering consolidations right now. Direct can consolidate any federal loans you have (Stafford, Perkins, GradPLUS), but they can't touch private loans. Those would need to be consolidated separately.
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Nov 21, 2008 01:11
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Of course not! I would have loved if there was some easy way to find all this information without digging through a bunch of websites. It took me forever to find the Interest Relief Eligibility Chart when I first went looking for it, since apparently they don't want to make it common knowledge that it's even available. I'm also in completely the wrong time of year for most people to be looking for that info, so if they can find it easily when they need it, that'd be ideal.
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Nov 21, 2008 04:32
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So my wife got her financial aid award letter. Our EFC was $44k which is almost $11k over the cost of tuition. So her financial need was negative 11k. Does this mean she will not quality for stafford loans at all? It sounds like we're going to have to find a private lender for the entire amount. Is this true? Any tips so I can prevent getting raped by a private lender?
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Nov 21, 2008 17:37
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KasioDiscoRock, definitely! Being a US goon, I don't have the first clue about anything Canadian-related, but I do like that we can give them some information now, too! Feel free to stick around and answer any Canadian questions we might have in the future Lobbyist, has she tried appealing the decision with the financial aid office?
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Nov 23, 2008 17:05
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So, I have student loans, know that whole gig, am graduating soon, have a job, blah blah blah. I have a couple of more esoteric questions: what happens if I can't pay? What happens if I, to be extreme, left the country and stopped checking my mail? Can they go after my parents? What happens in a bankruptcy scenario? Are the loans wiped out? In my case I have a combination of Chase PLUS loans, unsubsidized stafford loans, and one more source.
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Nov 24, 2008 02:22
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