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Okay, so I've submitted my FAFSA for this coming school year and I'm pretty sure like last year I'll be receiving HOPE, Pell, and Stafford Loans. Are there other federal loans or something I can try and apply for or is that basically it as far as federal aid goes? I keep hearing about Perkins Loans but I've never been offered them. Sorry if this seems really vague, just wondering what my options are. HOTLANTA MAN fucked around with this message at 23:04 on May 21, 2011 |
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May 21, 2011 22:56
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Eugene Jerome posted:My girlfriend has about $20,000 in Stafford loans. From what I understand, you can switch from IBR to Standard, but that's it, and it's almost never in your interest to do so. As for ICR vs IBR, I can't think of any reason to choose ICR. It's possible to come up with numbers where the ICR payment would be less, but it would be only by a very small amount, and in the vast majority of cases IBR would result in a lower monthly payment.
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May 22, 2011 09:22
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Eugene Jerome, I can't say I've ever heard of a limitation on the IBR in terms of changing repayment plans. I do know that there's benefits that go along with IBR that are lost if you change it. Is it possible this is what they were referring to? Unfortunately I haven't worked in servicing since IBR began for everyone, so it's not my forte by any means. T-Shaped, I do know that with most schools once they've sold off the outstanding tuition debt to another company it's gone and they can't recall it. However, persistence could always pay off, and most schools also want their students to continue attending. Basically, try to contact them and arrange payments/recalling the debt. If they insist it can't be done, accept it and call the debt collection agency to start arranging with them, because there is honestly nothing the school can do at that point (it's all contractual obligations). One Sick Puppy, Perkins loans are offered by the school and serviced through the school. I got them last year but won't be getting them in the upcoming year. It's totally up to the school's discretion how they want to award those. If you're an undergraduate, Hope, Pell and Stafford are your federal options. If your parents are willing to get a PLUS that's another choice. Once you hit grad school you can then apply for GradPLUS loans. Konstantin, I agree with you. I know you can switch to standard, and once you're in standard there's no reason I can think of why you couldn't use other repayment options. I'm going to assume that the servicer was thinking of the IBR benefits when they told her that she couldn't switch.
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May 22, 2011 12:00
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Welp, it finally happened. My school's financial aid office finally decided they were sick of putting up with me and cancelled my aid funds for this past semester. Which means that until I can get myself back on their good side, my student loan options are gonna be limited to stuff that doesn't require school certification. I can still prove my enrollment status, though. What are some options here? I know Wells Fargo offers at least two student loan products that don't require certification from the school, but I've checked about five different places so far - the other four being Chase, Sallie Mae, Citi, and Discover - and of the five, Wells Fargo is the only one I've found that offers any such loan option. Wiggy Marie, do you happen to know of any other potential lenders I may not have looked into or thought of yet? Or if nothing else, is there another place you can recommend where I might be able to get this kind of info from (besides Google... yes, I know about Google)? My back is against the wall here and I don't really know where to look or who to trust -- my financial aid counselor told me he wasn't allowed to offer too much help because of some regulation, so he only gave me a little bit of info to go on. EDIT: Also I live in Texas and my school is UT Austin, in case that helps. I. M. Gei fucked around with this message at 06:58 on May 24, 2011 |
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May 24, 2011 06:55
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Check your PMs!
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May 24, 2011 22:30
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Why don't you just graduate El Penis (USER WAS PUT ON PROBATION FOR THIS POST)
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May 25, 2011 16:21
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I'm not sure if this is the place to post this or not, if not please let me know where I should try next. Today I got a call from my mother, saying someone from a collection agency was contacting her about a student loan of mine in default. As far as I knew, all my loans were current except for $40 on one I'm like 10 days delinquent on. So I call the agency in question, and their rep says it's a loan that was initially for $5k, but when I had some trouble making payments last year, it got dropped from my American Education Services account to ... someplace? So it sat in limbo since last August, accruing interest and fees and is now like $6k. Obviously, I don't have that kind of money lying around. I requested copies of my promissory notes be sent to my e-mail since the guy said I only had 2 days left in which to do that. I'm wondering what my options are from here, especially since I haven't received anything by letter or email saying I was missing payments, and today is the first phone call I've gotten, and as far as I know, the first call my mom has gotten. I'm not sure if they had my correct phone number before talking to her or not, but I do know they still had my address from just under 2 years ago as my current address. When I moved, I filled out a change of address form, and everything else I know of has been forwarded/ changed long since then. Can anyone point me in the right direction to go moving forward? In an ideal world I would like this loan included back in with my other ones so I could make monthly payments on it like I am with them, but I don't know if that's possible or what kind of middle ground there might be.
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May 25, 2011 17:13
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Is it a private or federal loan? When you spoke with the rep, did they mention anything about rehabilitation? Federal loans that have defaulted require a period of rehabilitation (monthly regular payments for 9-12 months), and then are sent back to the servicer they came from, so you need to set up rehabilitation payments with the guarantor. Private loans go to regular collectors and are handled through private companies, which means all of the rules are different. The first thing you need to do is call and ask them about rehabilitation. You can set that payment plan up while they find and send you your MPN(s). PS - if they can't find those MPNs, they can't legally hold you accountable for the loan, which means a charge off.
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May 26, 2011 03:34
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I believe it's a private loan. If it's federal it would be either a Stafford or Perkins loan, right? They told me this was on a GATE loan, which if I remember right is a private loan through the school. They said the company who originally owned it or whatever was First Marblehead, and when I asked if it was worth it to call them and see what was up with the loan, they said since it was with them in collections, it would be easier to go through them. I'm assuming a simple email is enough to get the promissory notes from them? I don't want to miss the window on a technicality, since they only called me when I have like 1-2 more days before I can't ask for them or something. Will rehabilitation still be an option for private loans? E: This is in Pennsylvania in case that matters. FromTheShire fucked around with this message at 13:36 on May 26, 2011 |
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May 26, 2011 13:30
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An email is enough for the request but I'm a firm believer in calling when able.
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May 26, 2011 23:13
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Quick question - I finished school about two years ago with around 25k in student loan debt (16k federal, 9k perkins roughly for about $300/month in payments) and have been living at home since then to save some money. As it stands I've got about - wouldn't ya know it - 25k in savings plus about 3.5k in a 401k thanks to profit sharing from my employer. Living at home I can put away about 1-1.2k in savings each month, but I'm 25 now and will likely be moving out some time in the next 6 months and relocating to another part of the country. I've done some estimates and at my current pay rate that would probably be knocked down to about 250-300 after recreational expenses. Not terrible, but not great either. My question is should I try to pay off my loans in full while I have the money and leave myself with very little for a while or continue to make the easy payments and use my savings to start investing? I'd really like to get a Roth IRA going and have been dabbling in the stock market as well. Fake edit: To add a little perspective (I guess this turned out to be not so quick), I work for an engineering company based on Long Island (New York, with a branch in Connecticut as well) that mainly does defense contracting. I've been doing really well here, getting a couple promotions within my first year and receiving 6% and 8% raises in my first two yearly salary reviews - ultimately going from making 15/hr part time to a 45k salary. I recently informed my boss (an issue came up that sort of forced me to say something) that I wanted to relocate sometime in the near future and probably to the west coat. Luckily, through some act of god, he asked if I'd be willing to stay employed with the company and basically set up a one man operation out there. They've worked with some California-based companies in the past and I think they want to expand their business out there. He also said there would be more money in it for me. So, I will be moving out soon and probably relocating, but may actually be making more money because of it.
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May 27, 2011 17:37
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Kind of a dumb/naive question here: My wife and I both have separate federal Direct loans we're paying on. I owe about $9000, and she owes about $14,000. Is there any benefit to combining our loan balances and paying on a single account? Is that even possible with federal Direct loans? Or should we just keep paying on our separate loans? The current arrangement isn't really bothering us, but I wondered if there might be some benefit to a combined balance/payment...
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May 27, 2011 17:54
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BigAlienHoopajoo posted:My question is should I try to pay off my loans in full while I have the money and leave myself with very little for a while... Yes! It sounds like your idea of "very little" and my idea of "very little" are on different planes of existence. Pay them off and be done with them, you'll be able to save the money back up within a couple a years, maybe less if your raises/pay continues to rise so much. And you won't ever have to make a student loan payment again! Edit: Also, consider: if you plug your 300 a month into your savings along with the amount you're already plugging, that's $3600 a year. If you can't save money like you used to anymore (toss up), that's still a pretty significant chunk of change. You seem pretty financially aware so I wouldn't be too concerned about it. Having no loans means no payments on them ever again and they won't be reflecting on your credit should you decide to try and purchase a house or something. Drawbacks: can't claim interest on taxes anymore, can't use to build credit. Benefits: pay far far less now, save thousands in interest, have $300 extra bucks a month to save or spend as needed. Caustic, spouses can't consolidate loans together so you'll have to keep making separate payments. You can both consolidate separately if you'd like, though from the balances and your post it doesn't sound like you really need to. If you want lower payments you can always ask the servicer about different repayment plans or the IBR. Wiggy Marie fucked around with this message at 13:13 on May 28, 2011 |
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May 28, 2011 13:08
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I have a Direct Grad Plus and a Grad Plus loan. I was told two years ago that both would have to be repaid immediately after graduating, but after looking over my account with SallieMae and calling them to confirm, it looks like they are in "post-graduation deferment" until November! At least a piece of me still thinks something is up though, is there any precedence for this?
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May 31, 2011 01:45
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GradPLUS loans have the same 6 months deferment as Stafford loans, so that sounds about right. Whoever told you immediate repayment was a liar! They were probably thinking of PLUS loans, which are in a parent's name on behalf of a student.
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May 31, 2011 03:05
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Wiggy Marie posted:GradPLUS loans have the same 6 months deferment as Stafford loans, so that sounds about right. Whoever told you immediate repayment was a liar! They were probably thinking of PLUS loans, which are in a parent's name on behalf of a student. Awesome, thanks! I've been checking my account every day to make sure I didn't owe anything. 5 more months to find a job!
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May 31, 2011 05:34
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I graduated school last May (2010) and moved from Ohio, where I went to school, out to the DC area shortly after graduation to start my new job. I kept up with my student loans and the repayment expectations and timeframes pretty well throughout school so I wouldn't be surprised when my grace period was over in November/December. I had taken out many separate federal loans in a mix of unsubsidized and subsidized that are now treated as one loan since they're all at 6.8%, all out of grace period, and all being serviced by Direct Loan Servicing. I also had two smaller private loans through Discover bank (I've since paid off one that was at a higher rate than the federal loans). I had received letters every few months from Discover and DLS about interest capitalization and debt balances, and went through exit counseling on both of them. Needless to say, I was informed about the payments, due dates, and balances on these loans, and started paying them all in December, and had no problems up until two months ago... In March, my dad received a letter from ECSI stating I was a month (but only 1 month) past due on a federal Perkins loan in the amount of $2,500. I was surprised as I didn't remember taking out a Perkins loan, although I didn't rule it out on the basis that especially when I started out college, I relied on my dad a lot to help me get through the financial aid process as I was a dumb 18 year old who had no idea what I was doing at that point. My dad didn't remember helping me with a perkins loan, although since I started school in fall 2004, either/both of us could have forgotten. A couple things bother me: 1. March is 10 months after I graduated which would mean ECSI would have been expecting payment after a 9 month grace period. I just assumed all student loans (or at least federal ones) had a six month grace period. 2. I found an email (that I also evidently forgot about - I am a forgetful person) from ECSI dated January 13, 2011 thanking me for enrolling in the e-bill program, however my payment was late in March and I never received an email stating a payment was declined. The amount of the loan is small compared to the rest of my student debt, and I don't even really care about one late payment as I bought a car last August and have no intention of buying a home or other large purchase in anything resembling the near future. However, I would like to make sure that it isn't a scam or this at least sounds normal before I pay off a $2500 loan that I didn't really realize was there until it was late (aside from that January email). Edit - I have paid two payments + the late fee, but I guess I'm just thinking more about it now since it's the next loan I am going to pay off. Thanks in advance for any info/advice.
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May 31, 2011 05:52
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I have two FSL loans borrowed from Bank of America through ACS: Outstanding balance: 11,956.37 - Interest Rate: 6.8% Outstanding balance: 8,240.92 - Interest Rate: 6.225% I JUST got a job, but it was a little too late and I have accrued $690 of past due payments that are 34 days delinquent. I called ACS and told them that I can now afford the two monthly payments of my two loans - but that it would be hard for me to pay the past due amounts. They said if I sign up for CheckmateII Express pay they would "Bring my up to current" and (if I understood them correctly) "forgive as a courtesy" the past due amount of $690 - BUT ONLY if I signed up for the CheckmateII Express pay (automatic payments from checking account). My question is: I don't trust ACS - are these guys just coaxing me into automatic payments with the intent of not removing the $690 past due payments? I've read up on ACS CheckmateII being shoddy and untrustworthy. Before I do this? Is it recommended that I consolidate these two loans with someone like NTHEA or San Antonio Credit Union? (BTW Texas goon here). BTW, Wiggy you rock for posting this thread! This is what the SAforums are all about! Sum the Glad fucked around with this message at 05:05 on Jun 1, 2011 |
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Jun 1, 2011 05:03
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I went over the OP and the first and last couple of pages but heres a question that I am currently really concerned over and didnt really find an answer for. My Stafford subsidized loans went to grace period then forbearance then deferment then repayment after I couldnt keep enough credits last semester. I wanted to know if I can still qualify for a deferment and another 6 month grace period if I were to become a "Half Time" student again. I am a grad student, graduating in August if it matters. Thanks
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Jun 2, 2011 04:12
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Hi there, awesome thread with some amazing information, great job OP! I just wanted to get your thoughts on how I should handle my current loan situation. I have (roughly) 65-70k in debt (yeah I did some stupid poo poo) and although I am currently in deferment, I recently took a new job that will be providing me a pretty fair amount of disposable income, and I would like to start putting that towards my loans. For some information the largest portion of my loan balances are through Iowa Student Loan as private loans (about 50k) with the rest as direct federal subsidized/unsubsidized. What in your opinion would be my best course of action here? Focus on my highest interest ones mainly? Spread it around evenly after taking care of interest each month? Any suggestions on consolidation? Any thoughts or just general information would be greatly appreciated, again awesome thread. Keep the good info coming.
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Jun 2, 2011 04:54
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I'm starting some part time graduate work in the fall. After filling in the FAFSA I was awarded a subsidized direct loan. I can borrow up to $8,500 for the year but I won't need nearly that much because I only want to take one class per semester. So, my question is, if I "accept" the loan, are they going to "refund" me the difference? I really don't need any other money beyond having my tuition covered--I'll be working full time so I don't need to live on loans for my living expenses. And if they do, can I turn around and immediately repay whatever they refund me so that it's not hanging over my head? Thanks for any insight!
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Jun 3, 2011 00:30
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The Agent, Perkins are all equipped with a 9 month grace period, so this is the correct timeframe, no worries! Have you checked your junk mail? Maybe the email was sent there instead of your inbox - gmail does this to me a lot so that might be what happened. ECSI is the servicing company for every Perkins loan I've ever seen, so don't worry, they're legit. Just give them a call and ask if this goes on your credit (maybe, maybe not, depends on their standards). If it does, it's just one report and keeping up a good payment record afterwards will help you build your credit back up. You'll be fine! Sum the Glad, thanks! I've had tons of other people helping so I really can't take all the credit at this point  Anyway, ACS is a legit company and you should take them up on that offer. If those are Staffords, what they're doing is applying a forbearance to bring the account current, and it's something every servicer can do so I promise it's not shady! As for consolidating with NTHEA, I would absolutely recommend this - if they're still doing it. Last I knew no one except Direct was consolidating anymore, so they're really the only choice. skram, once the grace period expires it's gone. However, the grace period is per loan, not per student. If you take out new Staffords they will have a new 6 month grace period. There's a high possibility that the servicer would be able to apply an alignment forbearance to the loans without a grace period so that they stay in forbearance during that 6 months. Beyond that, you'll go back onto the in-school deferment as soon as you're at least half-time again. Congratulations on your upcoming graduation! Bosnian, thank you! Focus on the private loans first, then hit the Staffords. The reason for this is that private loans are the devil; they don't have the same kinds of forbearance/deferment/forgiveness programs, so think of them as high credit card balances rather than private loans. You want them paid off ASAP to be rid of the whole mess. Consolidation may help you with the private loans, you'd need to contact a company like Wells Fargo to see if it would and what kind of payment plans you'd have available to you. On the Staffords, if you can keep them unconsolidated and the rates aren't bad (anything fixed won't change anyway), it could be best to just leave them that way. These days consolidation only really helps with Staffords when you want to fix your interest rate. Pepper Potts, the way it works is they use the loan to pay your tuition and fees, then ALL the rest is refunded directly to you. If you decide at any point that you want to return the funds you didn't need, you may do so with no consequences. Since you have a sub loan, you won't accrue interest while you're at least half-time, which means you can go ahead and take the loan, keep the leftovers for emergencies, and send it back as a payment once you graduate - and never have to pay a dime of interest! I slapped a portion of my refunds into a money market account to accrue some interest. Yes this is legal, and yes you can do whatever you want with the money. It's yours to use as needed.
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Jun 3, 2011 02:54
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I apologize if this subject has been broached before but this thread is just too massive. I apparently didn't read the fine print on my private student loan closely enough and I am now having my interest rate raised on me. The reason: I got my tax return back a few months ago and I thought a perfect use of it would be to pay a little extra on my loans since, as I understood it, extra payments over the minimum go right to the principle. I overpaid by about 150 dollars and the next month I just paid close to the regular amount. I didn't actually bother to look up what the regular amount was since the amount owed they had listed was significantly lower since they had counted the previous overpayment towards it for some reason. It turns out that I actually underpaid my "normal" payment the next month by $9 even though the "amount due" was significantly less than that and nowhere on the payment form did it list the "normal" amount. I found this out today when I received a letter informing me that my interest rates were going up for delinquent payment. I called the bank and they told me exactly what I was expecting...that I could write a letter appealing the interest rate increase and that's about it. I was wondering if you were aware of this practice and if I have any other recourse other than a strongly worded letter since I was never actually delinquent on the amount they said I owed. I realize this is my own drat fault and I was a dumb stupid kid to get private loans in the first place but any help would be greatly appreciated.
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Jun 7, 2011 00:37
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Wait, you paid exactly the amount that showed due? Basically what you did was pay your account ahead a bit the previous month with the extra $150, and then the following month didn't pay the full amount due. Most companies would let something like this slide as you still made your payment since it's a system thing. Assuming you paid what was actually showing due on the note, I would call them and tell them just that and ask to speak with a supervisor to resolve the issue. Be polite but firm and keep asking for higher up the ladder if needed, it's silly to make you jump through hoops but private loan servicers can be lovely. Assuming you really did pay the $9 less than what was due that month (as in $9 less than what was due on the statement itself) write a request and explain about the payment you made the previous month. The system automatically kicks off delinquent/you're losing your benefits letters and it takes someone to manually override that sort of thing.
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Jun 7, 2011 01:05
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Wiggy Marie posted:Wait, you paid exactly the amount that showed due? Basically what you did was pay your account ahead a bit the previous month with the extra $150, and then the following month didn't pay the full amount due. Thanks! I'll give it a shot.
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Jun 7, 2011 02:48
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Are there any private student loans available for language school programs (non-degree). I'm taking a language school in France in the fall and am looking at my options. The school is accredited through CampusFrance and I can get my Visa from enrollment in the school, but it is not a degree school. http://www.institut-europeen.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=60&Itemid=66&lang=en
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Jun 7, 2011 16:16
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Is the public service student loan forgiveness plan concrete enough politically to base my financial decisions on it? From what I've seen, there's no real official website about it and not all the rules are written yet. The one thing I did find from the government about it says that if you are working for the govt or a nonprofit to save documentation of your employment which you can use as evidence once they have a system for submission in order. It's incredibly likely that I'll spend at least 10 years in government or NGOs given my background. Would it be wise to take the longest repayment regime so that I just make the smallest payments as possible until forgiveness? Seems potentially risky to me, but I'd be curious if you knew of any other people trying this out.
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Jun 7, 2011 21:44
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My friend got into a grad program (MS) and is waiting to hear about loans. Is it likely that he will be able to get any federal loans based on the below information? If not for the first semester, what about later?
He's trying to figure out if it's feasible for him to go or if he needs to save more money first.
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Jun 8, 2011 16:44
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Ok, I've been avoiding this as long as I can, but I have to do something about my loans, and I'm nearly blind regarding what to do about them. My loans are a mosaic clusterfuck. They are spread across four agencies (EdFinancial, Citibank, Sallie Mae, and Fedloan). I don't want to get into how I dug myself my deep hole or how I very stupidly went about doing it back in college. So, not only are my loans all over the place, they are pricey and cover a large spectrum. Under EdFinancial: 2 Federal Stafford (1 at 2.7%, 1 at 6.8%) 1 Federal Unsubsidized Stafford (6.8%) Under CitiBank: 4 Privates (3.75%, 4.25%, 2x4.75%) Under SallieMae: 1 Federal Unsubsidized Stafford (6.8%) Under Fedloan: 1 Federal Plus Loan (8.5%)(This one is actually under my father's name) So you can somewhat see I'm in a pickle. I won't discuss how much I'm paying a month, but let's say I'm barely making ends meet. I sent in for IBR on my Sallie Mae and I can only assuming they are processing that because the amount due has been 0 for 2 months now. I will be sending in the IBR for the Edfinancial in the next week. This still leaves me with CitiBank and Fedloan which happen to be the the most expensive. Do I have any options here? IBR is obviously no good for my private citiassist loans and even if the Fedloan one was IBR applicable, the loan is in my father's name, thus father's income applies.
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Jun 9, 2011 01:21
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FuzzyWuzzyBear, I'm not personally aware of any but that doesn't mean they don't exist. Unfortunately for overseas programs you have to go through their financial aid office to ask what private loans are available to non-citizens. You could certainly try a place like https://www.simpletuition.com to see if anything comes up available to you, but most private loans that can go overseas are specifically for accredited universities overseas. Athazagoraphobia, yes and no. The good news is that loans are held to the stipulations that were present when they were taken out. The bad news is that Congress can choose to defund programs like that. The other good news is that would be political suicide so I doubt it would ever happen. I think you're safe basing financial decisions off the forgiveness programs. Eggplant Wizard, he can at the very least get unsubsidized loans. He might need to appeal to the financial aid office about his income levels though, since they base it on the previous year's taxes and he won't have that much income moving forward. How much money has he saved? couldcareless, you should probably consolidate if you want to look into a lower overall payment. To do so you need to contact Direct loans. They're the only ones doing it right now. IBR is a magical program that can in fact make your payments 0. You should called Sallie and make drat sure that's what's happened, you don't want anything to hurt you. You will need to contact someone like Wells Fargo to ask about consolidating the private loans, unfortunately those are their own beast  Good luck!
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Jun 9, 2011 01:49
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Wiggy Marie posted:Eggplant Wizard, he can at the very least get unsubsidized loans. He might need to appeal to the financial aid office about his income levels though, since they base it on the previous year's taxes and he won't have that much income moving forward. How much money has he saved? That is good news. I was afraid the EFC meant they'd just tell him no. I don't know how much he has saved, but he has said that by the end of the summer he should be able to have around $20k saved up. And he has a 401k with I think around the same amount.
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Jun 9, 2011 02:23
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I'm a little reticent to post this, since I feel like an idiot. but here goes. I didn't do so well this spring, and the semester before that I had issues with a grade report being filed. That fall grade was an incomplete, that became an A later. As for this semester, I was taking three classes to try and get back the financial aid I lost for the incomplete (which was fixed). Basically for other reasons I had to drop one of those classes, and was left with 6 credits. I hosed up. One class A, other class F. I need to take classes to fix this. but I now have no money to take classes. How can I take out a student loan? Can I at all? Basically I would like some help in knowing what options are available to me for getting at least $1270 in financial aid for class fees, and then additional money for books.
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Jun 9, 2011 10:04
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Wiggy Marie posted:couldcareless, you should probably consolidate if you want to look into a lower overall payment. To do so you need to contact Direct loans. They're the only ones doing it right now. Thanks so much. I needed some direction on this and this helps more than you know. One question I have, though. I had tried to consolidate my private loans in the past (I forget with who, I think it was Sallie Mae) and they offered me 9% which I thought was ridiculous considering I've got 6.8 highest right now. I will look into Wells Fargo for a consolidation, but I just wanted to know, is 9% really high for a consolidation or is that normal? Should I bitch at them and do what I can to get that lowered?
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Jun 9, 2011 16:17
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Isn't EFC always 0 for graduate school, or is that only if you're independent?
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Jun 9, 2011 22:07
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HeroOfTheRevolution posted:Isn't EFC always 0 for graduate school, or is that only if you're independent? It's only 0 if you're poor  He makes good money right now and has savings, soooo... As a grad student you are always independent for FAFSA purposes, too.
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Jun 10, 2011 02:03
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I skimmed through the first few pages looking for an answer to this question and didn't see one, so I'm very sorry if this has been asked before. I already have a 4-year bachelor's degree and I'm 1 year in for a second, completely unrelated 4-year bachelor's. The second bachelor's has a much more difficult curriculum and I'd like to not work while I go through school. Federal loans shouldn't be a problem but I want to take out additional private loans to support myself with. If I shine with this second bachelor's, paying my loans back shouldn't be a problem. I'm already $30,000 in debt, all federal. What are my options? Is going for private loans a good idea at this point, and will that affect the amount of federal money I can receive? Is my idea even possible? Fake edit: my credit is perfect, don't know if that matters
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Jun 10, 2011 22:27
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Okay, so I have a consolidation question: I have four loans from college. The total debt is about 70k. I have been scrambling to make payments and defaulted on my Chase loan. They called my mother who is my co-signer and basically took our grocery money for the month. I called Wells Fargo, who owns another one of my loans, and requested consolidation services. 1. What does this mean for my credit? 2. Can I be denied this service? 3. Will this help? I'm so broke, and because there's asbestos at the building I work at I will be out of work for three weeks until it's been abated. This means I will have zero dollars for anything. The people at Chase don't give a poo poo, and my mother has lost her mind on me because she has no money either. Because of my family's financial situation and the fact that my parents have made me drop out several times to work and help out, I haven't graduated. Therefore I can't really get a good full time job. Before this gets into E/N territory, what are my options if I am denied this service (if that's possible)?
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Jun 11, 2011 00:00
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Quantumfate, don't beat yourself up! Sometimes your brain just isn't into classes all that much. Let me see if I understand what you've said: are you on some kind of probationary period due to the F you received? If so, unfortunately the federal loans are not an option, as the financial aid office can't certify those for students who are not meeting satisfactory academic progress. I hate to say it because you know how much I hate them, but private loans are your best bet. Or financial assistance from the folks, if they'd be willing... couldcareless, I am honestly not sure but the private loans we deal in often have rates around 9%. The rates are normally variable so that 9% might be subject to change. I wish I could help you more but sadly private loans are definitely not my forte. You could also just call Wells Fargo or whoever you decide to use and ask what the going rate is/what it would be for your loans, they should be able to tell you an estimate (not exact because it's based on credit, unfortunately). HeroOfTheRevolution, EFC is actually based on a person's adjusted gross income (AGI) reported on their taxes, among several other figures. If a graduate student is the only person counted and has 0 income (let's say they're living at home), then they'll have 0 EFC. Someone like me, however, would have a higher EFC because I work full time, so I file taxes which are required for the FAFSA to be processed. Also, as Eggplant Wizard said, graduate students are *always* independent, it's a FAFSA rule of independent eligibility. StppngYoungLad, private loans are certainly an option but the question is are they necessary? I cannot stress how hard you should avoid these. Getting a job and taking the hit on your EFC is so much preferable it's laughable. If you must take out private loans, though, then yes, you can do so - depending on credit. Your credit not only has to be perfect but has to be at a higher rating too. One of the programs I know of only gives to students at 750 score or higher, to give you an idea. spoonfulofwhoopass, if you've defaulted on one I'm really not sure you can do a consolidation for private loans. If you have federal loans, you definitely can - Direct will pay off defaulted loans too. Private loan companies won't, and the consolidation itself is based on a credit check, hence the default will probably strike that option out. Have you called the companies and asked for lower payments/a pause in payments? You can't do that anymore for the Chase, but the others might have some kind of repayment option that will help you out. Good luck! I'm sorry you're going through that
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Jun 11, 2011 05:21
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Wiggy Marie posted:
Well the payment today was supposed to bring me up to speed somewhat. Jesus, if I can't consolidate, what the hell can I do? AES and Wells Fargo are very accommodating but Chase is just loving evil. They will not help one bit.
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Jun 11, 2011 05:50
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The reason they won't is because of the default. They can't really do anything once it's defaulted because it's a private loan. You just have to make payment arrangements and hope for the best. Can your mom help any? I understand if she can't but it's something to check. Beyond consolidation, you can only call them and ask about lowering/pausing your payments.
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Jun 11, 2011 14:01
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