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Wiggy Marie posted:Isaac Asimov, frankly I wouldn't count on any federal loan having that type of turnaround time, especially since the school has to first certify a loan for you. They also have to certify a private loan for disbursement. You might be looking at a personal loan directly from a bank...best to ask the school what you can do before you pursue that option. Ok thanks, that's what I thought I would have to do. My bank(USAA) told me to make sure I spoke with my school first too, and I will, but I am more interested in a Personal Loan if only to get away from school regulated disbursements. Isaac Asimov fucked around with this message at 04:04 on Jun 10, 2010 |
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Jun 10, 2010 04:01
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It looks like I need to take out another GradPLUS loan. I want to take it out from the same lender again, but I can't according to some message on the site:quote:Access Group is no longer accepting applications for federal student loans. The United States Congress recently enacted a law that requires all federal student loans be made by the U.S. Department of Education beginning July 1, 2010. What does this mean if I want a GradPLUS Loan now? cnmns fucked around with this message at 06:02 on Jun 11, 2010 |
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Jun 11, 2010 05:48
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If I *absolutely* have to take out a hefty private loan, who should I get it from? What are some things to pay attention to?
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Jun 11, 2010 20:16
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jerman999, Yes, as long as you're attending at least half-time or more by the school's standards. You may need to manually updated your lender(s) with the new enrollment information. There's a federal in-school deferment form that should be available on your servicer's website. Isaac Asimov, while I never recommend personal loans if you're with USAA you'll get pretty much the best deal available. At least from what I hear! cnmns, as of July 1st all federal loans will be through Direct. You'll need to go to Direct's website to take out a new GradPLUS loan. Jake the Lake, the only companies I regularly hear about are Sallie Mae and Wells Fargo. There's a few others out there, you can do a search at simpletuition.com , but among them I think Wells Fargo has the best reputation.
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Jun 12, 2010 03:17
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So once July 1st comes around I should head to the Direct website and go through that process? Sounds simple enough. Thanks for the help! 
cnmns fucked around with this message at 03:54 on Jun 12, 2010 |
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Jun 12, 2010 03:33
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Wiggy Marie posted:Isaac Asimov, while I never recommend personal loans if you're with USAA you'll get pretty much the best deal available. At least from what I hear! Apparently it is impossible to get a personal loan unless you are like loving 53. I don't have 2+ years of credit in multiple things so I can't qualify for a personal loan, even with a cosigner. What is the point of telling me that I should try to get a cosigner then?? USAA had me go through the whole process(whilst navigating their goddamn phone menu over and over again), only to tell me that it doesn't matter what I do because I still have "insufficient credit". What a bunch of cocksuckers! If they had told me that the first loving minute when I called them last week, I wouldn't have wasted anymore time with them. gently caress.
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Jun 14, 2010 23:01
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Wiggy Marie posted:Anyway, if that doesn't work what you need to do is look for a private loan that specifically says you may use it for previous expenses, and tell the school that they drat well better certify the loan if they want their money. Maybe without the curse word. That's the thing, the school authorizes the loan and then it comes back declined! I've written to my representatives and today Scott Brown sent me a letter in reply telling me he's giving me a case worker (I dunno if that means anything). I was wondering if I should take out a loan and instead of filling out the school info with the school I owe money to, if I should just put my current school instead and see what happens.
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Jun 16, 2010 00:15
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I am headed back to grad school this fall after a break of a few years. I am trying to decide what is the best way to pay for school so I don't have to work three fulltime jobs at the same time while studying for Marriage and Family Therapy. I don't have any debt and have never had any debt and don't want any debt, but I figured a little would be ok while I get school finished up. My school doesn't accept government money, so any kind of federal aid is out. What is my best loan option that will be low interest, defer payment until I am out of school, and be the least amount of hassle? I should be done with my degree in less than two years and the total cost (including living expenses) shouldn't top 15k per year and might even be quite a bit less.
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Jun 17, 2010 01:08
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Sailor Jim posted:My school doesn't accept government money, so any kind of federal aid is out. What is my best loan option that will be low interest, defer payment until I am out of school, and be the least amount of hassle? I should be done with my degree in less than two years and the total cost (including living expenses) shouldn't top 15k per year and might even be quite a bit less. As for private loans, which seem to be what you're after, it really doesn't matter, it's rear end rape no matter who you go with. Almost all student loans (PLUS are an exception) let you defer payment while you're enrolled at least half-time in school. Your interest rate with private loans is hugely credit history dependent, too, so you'd better have good credit or a creditworthy cosigner they can hang.
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Jun 17, 2010 05:30
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Sailor Jim posted:I am headed back to grad school this fall after a break of a few years. I am trying to decide what is the best way to pay for school so I don't have to work three fulltime jobs at the same time while studying for Marriage and Family Therapy. I don't have any debt and have never had any debt and don't want any debt, but I figured a little would be ok while I get school finished up. Yeah, that sounds fishy. It the program accredited by the CACREP? amethystbliss fucked around with this message at 13:04 on Jun 17, 2010 |
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Jun 17, 2010 13:02
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I suck, I know. Sorry for the wait guys. To business! Isaac Asimov,, sorry to hear that. There's a possibility that they can't tell you don't have sufficient credit until they actually pull your credit to check. I know this is a limitation of our own process. It sucks but we can't see if you qualify or not until we've actually pulled credit to check  rivid, all I can say is keep bitching at the financial aid office about this. You've done what they told you to do and it hasn't worked, so they need to help you with a new solution or help you make the OLD solution work. antwizzle and amethystbliss, it is totally possible for an accredited school to choose not to accept federal loans. It's not common (and makes no sense) but it happens. Sailor Jim, there's actually a link for finding accredited universities in the OP, if you're curious. Having accreditation is certainly a bonus but it doesn't mean unaccredited schools are bad. As for what loans you want to look into, my personal suggestion is work as much of the cost as you can off and then take out the remaining in loans. http://www.simpletuition.com is a good loans search site. Wells Fargo is a private loan company that several people in this thread have used and I haven't seen a complaint so far. Sallie Mae is an option also but they are the devil.
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Jun 20, 2010 19:41
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I just know that if a counseling program isn't accredited by the CACREP, it means a longer period until you get your state license since you have to do extra hours. I nearly made the mistake of applying to a few non-accredited programs and my advisor made a huge fuss over what a professional limitation that would be and how it often takes upwards of a few years longer to start practicing independently if you go to a non-accredited program.
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Jun 20, 2010 20:31
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I have a question I don't really know how to ask, and I'd like to start by saying that I don't really understand financial systems and paperwork intimidates me. I'm in my fourth semester, taking two classes over the summer (at UMA in Maine, if that matters.) I'm a full time student, and so far my financial aid has covered my tuition within about $200 more or less (for this summer semester it came up $200 short, last semester there was a bit left over.) For the 2010-2011 year I've received about $3500, which is going to be shy of meeting my needs overall. I'm also short of money in general, as I'm unemployed. In addition to finding work, I'm wondering if it's possible to take out additional student loans to help cover my school and other expenses, or am I stuck with what FAFSA has offered? Not that I expect there is a wealth of free money just waiting to be given to me, but if it is possible for me to take out more student loans than I already am, I'd be really glad if you could steer me in the right direction.
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Jun 21, 2010 01:37
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It depends on whether you've already reached your annual aggregate limit. You should ask your financial aid office if you have, and if not ask them if you can appeal for the difference that you need. If you have reached that limit, you'll need to look elsewhere
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Jun 24, 2010 01:26
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This might have been asked before and I checked a bit back, but may have skimmed it over, if so I apologize. Last year I switched over to the Post-9/11 GI Bill and like so many others it was taking forever for myself and my school to receive money. I took the advance pay of $3k when it came around and shortly after back pay started coming in and the school got paid tuition. One month before the Spring semester ends I get a letter stating that they want all the advance pay back and are going to be taking out $750/month from entitlements until it's payed. I had just moved into my own place mid-semester and didn't have extra money I could use to pay back $3k. I have enough money to survive for the summer and pay rent until the Fall semester starts, but I won't have anything come September. I decided that I would take out financial aid to help me for the first couple months of the new semester, but this is the first time I have done it so I'm kind of clueless. I filled out the fafsa last week and got an email stating that I may be eligible for a Pell Grant of $5500 (which would be so awesome), but I'm still waiting on any loan verification. My question is how do I actually get a hold of that money? The Post-9/11 GI Bill pays tuition upfront and I want that going to my school, not any grant or loan I may receive. Is this in any way possible? My mom told me that the money goes to the school and then you can get whatever is leftover from them, but if the money gets to them before the GI bill pays them, then I would be SOL? Is there a way I can delay the grant/loan from getting to my school to after the GI bill pays the tuition and then be like "oh hey here's this grant too, now gimme that money!"? If you need more info let me know, I'm so confused.
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Jun 25, 2010 06:10
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Hi Wiggy. I have a rather simple question, but let me give you a bit of backstory first. In 2001 I applied to two art schools out of state in Southern California and was accepted to my second choice. I wanted to get some of my general studies credits out of the way first, so I put my acceptance on hold and took classes at a local community college. I was able to transfer most of my credits and I attended that art school during 2003/2004, but left due to my disappointment with the program. That fall I again took classes at my local community college, this time for art instead of general studies, so I could prepare a portfolio to apply to my first choice art school. This time I was accepted and attended from 2005/2006. Since my first choice was monumentally more expensive than my second choice, my parents took out a PLUS loan, and I got a FFELP loan. The fall of 2006 my parents informed me that they were unwilling to take on any more debt, so I took a leave of absence, got a job, and began paying off my FFELP loan. I wish to return to school. I am now over 25 and considered an independent student. This year I filed a FAFSA, for which I received about $12,000 in government loans, scholarships, and grants, leaving about $30,000 uncovered. I applied for a loan in this amount with Sallie Mae, but I require a cosigner. My dad is out of work and additionally my parents and other family members have (justifiably) declined to cosign. I tried requesting one third of that amount but I still require a cosigner. I requested a letter sent to me detailing the reasons my application was denied. These reasons are: Income insufficient to amount of credit requested Limited credit experience Lack of recent auto finance loan information Lack of recent retail account information I spoke with a Sallie Mae representative and asked what these reasons mean and what I can do to take out a loan that size, but the rep was vague and unhelpful. The only useful advice I got from the conversation was "pay your FFELP loan off faster." So, my question is, what can I do to be able to borrow a loan in that amount without a cosigner for the next three years (I am a sophomore)? Am I hosed?
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Jun 25, 2010 09:56
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Okay, I've done a little bit of dredging the internet to help find some general facts, but I'd like to know if anyone could help me with some more specifics here. Before the wall of text - how likely could she prove hardship and get her loans discharged under these circumstances? My girlfriend is just coming up to the end of the grace period on her student loans. Her first two years of school, she made the mistake of going to an expensive university without having a goal there, and now her loans total approximately $130,000, not including interest. Most of the interest rates are low. Mixed between gov't and private student loans - from the statements I have seen, most are between 2.8-6%. She's still living at home, and she is currently employed, but her position is a temp-to-hire. Due to this case, her medical insurance is paid out of pocket, and her medication (for bipolar and BPD) is also mostly paid for by her and her father. We would like to move in together at some point, but these debts would make it near impossible for us to pay any sort of rent. With such a large amount here, I don't think she should apply for forebearance - it could make her situation worse. Is discharge viable here?
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Jun 29, 2010 00:32
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malprak, no worries about repeats. The thread is too big to expect y'all to check anything other than the OP! If you can get the Pell grant that's awesome. You will find out what you're determined eligible for when the school sends you a rewards package letter. It is possible to try and get this information early by checking your online financial aid status or nagging the hell out of the office, but that only works if they've processed your FAFSA information. Unfortunately, all aid is first sent to the school to cover tuition costs before going to the student. Fortunately, anything left over is what comes to you. So if your tuition is fully covered by a loan, you'll receive the entire amount of the Pell grant from the school as forwarded funds. So pretty much you need to find out how much the school is going to certify for you, and then you can find out how much you'll be receiving after tuition is covered. Does that make sense? Draconi Ann, unfortunately private loans have gotten far stricter about qualifying criteria. Someone with little credit (which is what it sounds like your issue is) just plain can't qualify without a cosigner. You can try shopping around to see if there's a high interest rate loan with low criteria, but I have not heard of any programs that still exist for that purpose. Since you're not quite a grad student, you're stuck in PLUS loan land. Barring that, you could try to discuss your situation with the school and see if they can offer you any assistance or know of a private loan program that might take you. All that being said, I can guarantee that no program is worth over thirty grand in private loans. Believe me when I say you will regret taking them out for the rest of your life. I understand that not all art programs are the same, but you really need to decide if this particular program is worth being in private loan debt. warpspeedmind, she can only have her federal loans discharged if she is certified as totally and permanently disabled by a doctor. It doesn't sound like she would qualify, unless her disability prevents her from working and she is actually on some kind of disability payments, etc. Another idea she could try is to consolidate all of her federal loans together and then place them on income-based repayment or income-contingent payment. IBR is the magical program that allows loan forgiveness after a certain amount of time; income contingent lowers the payment for her. As would consolidation. She may also qualify for a type of deferment, which would at least stop interest on subsidized loans. She can still make payments while on deferment/forbearances so even if she needs to use one it doesn't prevent her from trying to hit that debt. She would need to contact the private loan companies to discuss those. Every person I know with a lot of private loan debt has found them easier to deal with after a consolidation. Wells Fargo is the only company I know of that does private loan consolidations.
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Jun 29, 2010 00:52
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potatoducks fucked around with this message at 05:40 on Sep 28, 2016 |
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Jun 30, 2010 15:19
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TheBercho fucked around with this message at 04:09 on Nov 11, 2012 |
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Jun 30, 2010 20:06
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How is EIC calculated? I just got my fasfa thing and my EIC was almost 20thousand. My parents just got employed after a period of X(few) years of unemployment, how can this be so high. Does EIC not factor in debt?
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Jul 1, 2010 03:52
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Is there some place I can contact that'll send me all my loan information, such as which banks it's through, etc?
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Jul 1, 2010 17:31
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Tab8715 posted:Is there some place I can contact that'll send me all my loan information, such as which banks it's through, etc?
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Jul 1, 2010 23:52
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jeffsleepy, we have an account or two with over 500 grand if it makes you feel any better. On to your questions! 1. I am not sure - is it a private loan? It sounds like it might be since I've never heard of a federal loan under that name, however it could also be a fancy name for some type of Perkins loan, which can be consolidated with federal loans. Do you know who services that loan? 2. Debt forgiveness now applies to all loans. If you consolidate loans outside of Direct into a Direct consolidation, they'll be eligible for forgiveness down the road. The only forgiveness program that restricted itself from consolidation forgiveness was the teacher forgiveness program, but this may have changed last July 1st. It would be best to contact Direct and ask them directly (hurr!) about their forgiveness programs. 3. That is possible in terms of limits, but another question better asked of Direct. I don't actually work for or with their loans so I don't want to steer you wrong! 4. The ID number may also be called the loan sequence number, depending on the institution. Every disbursed loan has a sequence number. It's a pretty simple system that starts with 001 and keeps rising from their. You would get this information from the current servicing agencies. 5. It sure is! Good luck with everything. In her case consolidation is a definite must, and ask them about IBR qualifications at Direct. She could highly benefit from that program. TheBercho, unfortunately no. Back in the day private lenders (like my own) would actually absorb the origination fee on behalf of students. Then the government cracked down on private lenders, forcing us to give up our incentives. Now everything is through Direct and they do not write off origination fees. And no, there is NO private loan that is better than any kind of federal loan, even the higher interest rate carrying GradPLUS and PLUS loans. DholmbladRU, do you mean the EFC? It's calculated based on the total your parents made last year and does NOT take debt into account (unfortunately). However you can contact your financial aid office and explain extenuating circumstances if you want to appeal for additional aid. Tab8715, for federal loans (including Perkins!) you can go through the NSLDS: http://www.nslds.ed.gov/nslds_SA/ Select "financial aid review" and you're halfway there! Private loans don't have a similar database, if you're really drawing a blank you can always contact the school and ask who disbursed the loan to them. A credit report would also have all of your loans. Thanks for the help, antwizzle!
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Jul 2, 2010 01:06
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simpletuition.com recommends the Sallie Mae Smart Option loan. You pay interest (around $40/month) while you're in school, and higher monthly payments when you graduate and (in theory) pay the loan off more quickly and cheaply. Does anyone have experience with this? Also, OP, can you give specific reasons why you do not prefer Sallie Mae? Are they across-the-board awful or can I justify taking a loan from them?
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Jul 3, 2010 19:02
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Doctor Bovine posted:simpletuition.com recommends the Sallie Mae Smart Option loan. You pay interest (around $40/month) while you're in school, and higher monthly payments when you graduate and (in theory) pay the loan off more quickly and cheaply. Does anyone have experience with this? You can justify taking out a Sallie Mae loan assuming: (a) You're studying something that guarantees you gainful employment OR you have a cosigner that guarantees to be able to make payments for you if you cannot (b) They offer you a reasonable interest rate, preferably a fixed interest rate, (mine is 5.5%, which is amazing and lower than some of my federal loans, whereas I have a friend owing them 80,000$ @ 14.5%) (c) You understand fully and willfully accept that you will be paying back at least, and probably more than, 200% of your principal (if you borrow $16,000, the amount you will have paid after all payments have been made will be at least $32,000). This assumes you make ALL payments on time and do not have any financial difficulties. (d) You understand that this loan will never, ever, ever go away unless you pay it in full on their terms. It is only dischargeable in bankruptcy if you are certified totally and permanently disabled by a physician. When you sign your name to that loan, you will be owing it until it is paid off - unless you leave the country. Honestly, I do not believe SLM is really that much more evil than any other bloodsucking private financial institution, they are just the biggest in the student loan market. My experiences just happen to be with them rather than Wells Fargo or Citibank, or whatever. I have never heard anyone say anything good about a private student loan. As for the Smart Option, well, it is always better to pay interest if you can afford to. However, if you are a broke student who has to borrow for his education, you probably can't afford to out of your own pocket, so you'll be using the money from a loan to pay off the interest on that loan 
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Jul 3, 2010 19:35
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Thanks, Antwizzle. I'm actually the co-signer-to-be. My sister is attending undergraduate this fall and I plan to help her with loans. She'll probably end up borrowing around $80,000 for all four years (Edit: 1/4 of this will likely be federal). I plan to pay something small every month (maybe around 150) to try to offset some of the interest that will accrue. I do not have any students loans or debt (because at the time my parents could pay for my school), so I'm in a position to ease her burden. Is it really true that you pay double your principal? My early payments will help make a dent in that, right? Do student loans accrue compound interest prior to graduation -- or does that only happen after? Doctor Bovine fucked around with this message at 20:43 on Jul 3, 2010 |
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Jul 3, 2010 19:45
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Doctor Bovine posted:Thanks, Antwizzle. I'm actually the co-signer-to-be. My sister is attending undergraduate this fall and I plan to help her with loans. She'll probably end up borrowing around $80,000 for all four years (Edit: 1/4 of this will likely be federal). I plan to pay something small every month (maybe around 150) to try to offset some of the interest that will accrue. I do not have any students loans or debt (because at the time my parents could pay for my school), so I'm in a position to ease her burden. First, have you gotten back your FAFSA results? 25% of the total amount borrowed seems a little low to be given in awesome federal loans, although it's good that you're lowballing it. For comparison, 57% of my loan principals were federal (although the total amount owed is now predominantely private), and I was in a lovely situation where although FAFSA said my parents could contribute due to their income, they actually could not. Unfortunately, FAFSA calculations only consider the parents' income & amounts of dependents and not their expenses - if your parents make $200,000 but pay $160,000 anually in bills and debts, FAFSA will still consider that they can pay for it all. I do not know your family's situation, but it would be much better for your parents to borrow PLUS loans on her behalf even if their income is low, and for you to help pay on those, rather than for you to cosign on private loans. But if there is any strife between you/her/the parents, and they are unwilling, this will probably not work. It is absolutely true that you (your sister really, but you should assume the worst) will pay back double the principal on a standard repayment plan. Seriously, these things explode like no tomorrow - 30K becomes 100K, 200K becomes 550K, etc. Sallie Mae I do not believe is required to disclose this when you sign the loan since student loans are not bound by the FCRA, unless this has changed. Please read FooF's posts above as they are incredibly informative and he(she?) has actually worked for SLM. Your early payments will absolutely help mitigate this, and 150$ a month will make a very significant difference. I can't answer your last question for all private lenders, but SLM does not capitalize interest until after you graduate or drop below half-time enrollment. Once the above happens, any interest is added on to the principal (capitalized). This is where the compound interest comes from. If you pay off interest before graduation, there will be nothing to capitalize and hence no "compound interest". It is in your greatest interest to do so. Please let me reiterate what a huge decision you are making. I greatly respect and commend you for doing this as your sister might otherwise not be able to get an education. However, realise you are not cosigning on a $1000 watch or even a $20000 car here. The federal loans she can get in her name, since those are not credit based. But this will permanently intertwine her finances with yours, so you have to be careful. I would rather sign on a $500,000 house than a $50,000 student loan, since the former is dischargeable in bankruptcy in case all hell breaks loose. I hope she's not majoring in Psychology. I'll be happy to answer any other questions you have.
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Jul 3, 2010 21:20
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Both of my parents were laid off from their jobs over a year ago (so I'm not sure why the financial aid package wasn't better), and doubt they would qualify for a PLUS loan. I offered to co-sign for a private loan, since I cannot borrow a PLUS loan for her. My father has been doing short-term contractual work for a company that has offered to hire him full-time. I believe he starts in less than two weeks. Would it be possible for me to co-sign on a PLUS loan that they take out? I have perfect credit (no debt, no late payments on my record).
Doctor Bovine fucked around with this message at 21:36 on Jul 3, 2010 |
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Jul 3, 2010 21:32
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My girlfriend's mom got a 5k loan through nelnet for her 2 years ago. She hasn't bothered to pay on it at all since then and (of course) they are knocking at her door, saying things like "we'll make it so your daughter can't get her transcripts" and so on. Are loans obtained by parents subject to deferments like traditional student loans are? Are loans given to parents for their children like traditional student loans in that there's basically no recourse at all for the lendee when destitute and unable to pay?
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Jul 4, 2010 00:37
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Doctor Bovine, if your parents don't qualify for a PLUS loan, a PLUS loan denial may help your sister take out more federal loans (if she's not already maxed out of course). Unfortunately you can't take out the PLUS loan for her, it has to be a parent. Private loans are definitely iffy, and that amount of private loans is, frankly, insane. You will need to be VERY careful and be aware that your credit will be just as affected as hers by that debt. I hate Sallie Mae for several reasons. They're pretty much everything people hated about student loan companies and they're so big that there's nothing anyone can do about it. Rather than go into a list of personal grievances, I will just say that I am severely biased against them. They have fabulous employees who I've worked with, but the company itself is awful. (Sorry SLMA employees) peengers, is it a private loan or a PLUS loan? If it's a PLUS loan then yes, it's definitely eligible for deferments/forbearances. If it's a private loan, all bets are off. Unfortunately she is going to HAVE to actually speak to the company and ask them what her options are.
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Jul 4, 2010 02:48
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I'm 40 years old and never went to university. Because of the luck of being able to fix computers, I've been able to make an ok amount of money without a degree. However I really don't like doing this. Basically I want to go to school. I figure at the very least I could teach. My passion is history and I'd love to go into classical studies. I live in Seattle so U of Wa is an option. My problem is no matter how I think about it, I'm screwed financially if I go. While my wife an I make enough to pay our bills, we were screwed hard because of Hurricane Katrina and so our credit is pretty bad. So, loans might be dicey. Outside of that, even I get a loan, I don't see how I can physically work and go to school which means no or little income. It sounds like a lose/lose situation other than a shiny degree. Am I being a pessimist, or is this pretty much how it is? Am I missing an "old people" grant or something? The prospect of going through this at 40 is a bit daunting.
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Jul 5, 2010 04:23
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Sounds mostly like you're overwhelmed, but don't lose hope! My mother finished her bachelor's degree at 45 with a hubby who traveled constantly, 3 kids AND a full-time teaching job. She went to school half-time. I myself am going to be going full-time while also working full-time, but I'm cutting my work hours to 35/week and may drop to half-time in school depending on how it works out. But the point is, it's very doable! One thing you can take heart in is that since you've never taken out federal loans, you're eligible to take them out now, and unless you have a bankruptcy on your credit your credit will not affect federal loans eligibility. Credit will only come into play if you need private loans, which hopefully you won't. (If you do have a bankruptcy, you would just need a letter from the lawyer/court stating that you're ok to accept additional debt. Even students who'd DEFAULTED on student loans can take out more, believe it or not). One thing you can try is to take prerequisites at a local community college before heading to U of Wa. It's very common these days and saves you thousands in your education. You would just need to ask the U of Wa registrar if they have a "consortium" agreement with one of the CCs, or if they have one in particular that they guaranteed accept credits from. One thing about education loans, even a private loan, is that payment are deferred (paused) while you're at least half-time in school. Private loans can have a limit to their deferment time (generally 5 years), but federal loans are unlimited. You can make payments any time you like or even pay them off early, but you wouldn't HAVE to make payments while in school.
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Jul 5, 2010 16:10
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Dr Bovine -- Wiggy is right, at least at my university, a PLUS loan denial automatically qualifies you for more Stafford money, in my case it was an additional 6K per long semester I think. However the school's financial aid office must offer you the PLUS loan as an option first. What was the financial aid package breakdown the university gave your sister for their first semester? Typically they will offer you 2K stafford, 1K pell grant, 1K perkins, 3K PLUS blah blah blah, with a nice rear end raping "Private/Alternative loan" amount at the end. Feel free to PM me this info if you are uncomfortable posting it and I will advise you to the best of my ability. Unlike Stafford loans, there is a credit check on PLUS loans, but I do not think it is very stringent, and they are also income based. My mom applied for one with the plans of it being denied since she made < 16,000$/yr, but they actually gave it to her. However, my financial aid counselor was fired for incompetence right before I graduated and the whole department was investigated for fraud, so that might have been an anomaly  It is possible for you to cosign on your parents' PLUS loan; if your credit and income is good, I would highly suggest going this route as it will greatly offset any private loan liabilities you/she may incur. The reason I say this is for whatever reason, my school at least was incredibly generous with its PLUS loan offer - both semesters my mom took them out, I got more than twice the Stafford loan amount offered in PLUS, and my parents did NOT make much money and also did not have a cosigner. So that was another $10,000 I didn't owe to Sallie Mae. For you to do this, the school has to offer you the PLUS loan option first -- I'm not sure what you guys got in your financial aid package. If you spend some time on the phone with the school's financial aid department, it is possible to change the awards package. Explain your situation and negotiate. These things are usually not set in stone but hope that your counselor is competent because if you are in financial aid world you will be spending a lot of time talking to her.The reason her awards weren't very generous might have been that the FAFSA is based on the previous year's tax info. So if your parents' tax return shows that they banked in 2009, but were both laid off slightly prior to filing the FAFSA, they don't consider that.
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Jul 5, 2010 16:40
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antwizzle, if it helps, it wasn't a fluke. PLUS loans are what's called a "soft" credit check, which means reasons for denial will normally be 1. bankrupcty, 2. charge-offs or 3. a lien. Income and debt are not taken into account. Also, while the school offers the PLUS they do not actually perform the credit check itself, so they do not have control over whether the loan is approved or denied. What the school controls is what amount they will certify for the loan. For instance, if the school shows you need 10,000.00 and you apply for 20,000.00, they will probably only certify a loan for 10 grand. Most offices will let you haggle for a little more though.
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Jul 5, 2010 16:58
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antwizzle posted:Dr Bovine -- Wiggy is right, at least at my university, a PLUS loan denial automatically qualifies you for more Stafford money Thank you for the additional info. My sister and I have an appointment with her financial aid counselor in two weeks. In the meantime, I have asked my parents to file for the PLUS loan to get things rolling.
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Jul 5, 2010 18:45
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Ok, I dug thru many many pages of the thread and I can't seem to find what I want. My wife has $35k worth of student loans from one year of school (I know I know,) she has no degree and she is in a job situation where she hardly makes enough to cover her bills, much less try to pay off this $35k in any reasonable amount of time. Her payment is $290.17 a month for the next 153 months. There has to be something, anything, that we can do about this. Please if there is any kind of assistance program or anything of the sorts can someone please let me know. Thank you in advance!!!!
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Jul 8, 2010 08:01
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Bojanglesworth posted:Ok, I dug thru many many pages of the thread and I can't seem to find what I want. My wife has $35k worth of student loans from one year of school (I know I know,) she has no degree and she is in a job situation where she hardly makes enough to cover her bills, much less try to pay off this $35k in any reasonable amount of time. Her payment is $290.17 a month for the next 153 months. There has to be something, anything, that we can do about this.
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Jul 8, 2010 09:54
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antwizzle posted:What kind of loans are they? Federally backed or private? Find out and post here. If they are federal, there is a lot you can do. If they are private, there is not much you can do, but you can probably still lower your monthly payment (although this obviously means you will pay more in the long run). It seems as if they are all private. Thats what the statement from Sallie Mae says. Is it true that she can defer for up to five years if she is in school?
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Jul 8, 2010 09:57
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Bojanglesworth posted:It seems as if they are all private. Thats what the statement from Sallie Mae says. Is it true that she can defer for up to five years if she is in school? The 5 year deferment is talking about federal loans; however, most private loan servicers will defer your loans while you are enrolled at least half-time, as long as you are not in default or severe delinquency, since they can ultimately collect more money off you this way. I have to go to work now but can answer more later!
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Jul 8, 2010 10:22
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