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Synonamess Botch posted:They're not really, it's going to be about $15 thousand/yr for the next two years to cover tuition at a private university, less $9,000 in stafford loans and a $12 thousand scholarship. I am studying physics with a co-op and I am not honestly confident about job security. That said, I'm not in a position to back down from this so if I'm going to get hosed I at least want to use some lube. So tuition after scholarship is $3k/yr, meaning you have $6k/yr in stafford loans to live off of? Room, board, and supplies you're probably looking at around 10k or so with a frugal existence. Can you get a work study? Working minimum wage you only need to work 10-15 hours a week to make up for the difference. With more work in the summer (what state are you in - there's may be well paying but difficult agricultural work to do) you can do this without additional loans. Also, any chance of a loan from your parents? Even at a few percent interest you should be able to get better than from a lending institution and it's not an unreasonable request.
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Aug 7, 2012 16:22
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baquerd posted:So tuition after scholarship is $3k/yr, meaning you have $6k/yr in stafford loans to live off of? Room, board, and supplies you're probably looking at around 10k or so with a frugal existence. Can you get a work study? Working minimum wage you only need to work 10-15 hours a week to make up for the difference. With more work in the summer (what state are you in - there's may be well paying but difficult agricultural work to do) you can do this without additional loans. Sorry if I wasn't clear, tuition after scholarship is 24,100, stafford loans are 9k total leaving me with a bill of 15,100. I'm not worried about room and board, I'm renting a house (soon to be apartment) with my wife off-campus. My parents are poor and have bad credit from bankruptcies, so that is a no-go unfortunately. Right now I am unemployed but we live comfortably off my wife's salary alone, suffice it to say if I make any amount of money I feel confident in saying I'd be able to put most of it toward student loans. e: I'm in PA, Lehigh Valley but moving to suburban Phila in October, going to Drexel University if that matters either. Synonamess Botch fucked around with this message at 17:09 on Aug 7, 2012 |
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Aug 7, 2012 17:04
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Synonamess Botch posted:Sorry if I wasn't clear, tuition after scholarship is 24,100, stafford loans are 9k total leaving me with a bill of 15,100. To be blunt, this is a crazy amount of tuition to be paying without substantial need based grants taking the brunt of it. You cannot afford this place unless your wife is making $200k+. You will be paying $100k for an undergraduate physics degree before interest. Just saying... Penn State is $6,509 a year *total* for tuition and Drexel is not exactly well known for a fine Physics program.
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Aug 7, 2012 17:24
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baquerd posted:To be blunt, this is a crazy amount of tuition to be paying without substantial need based grants taking the brunt of it. You cannot afford this place unless your wife is making $200k+. You will be paying $100k for an undergraduate physics degree before interest. 100k+ is a bit of an exaggeration, I'm a junior and I'm projecting just under 50k. Also according to Penn State's tuition schedule it's 27k+ per year for a non-resident (haven't been living here long enough, no I did not move here for school). I won't argue about the quality of the program but I regretfully did not apply to Penn State.
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Aug 7, 2012 17:40
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Synonamess Botch posted:100k+ is a bit of an exaggeration, I'm a junior and I'm projecting just under 50k. Also according to Penn State's tuition schedule it's 27k+ per year for a non-resident (haven't been living here long enough, no I did not move here for school). I won't argue about the quality of the program but I regretfully did not apply to Penn State. Ah, I figured you were starting as a freshman and that you were a PA resident. Still $50k, at an average of ~7% will end up costing $70k if you can manage $600/mo on loan payments and will take 10 years at that rate. Do you have no existing loans? You still have to be careful here or you might end up paying student loans for the next 20 years and/or having uncomfortable if not unmanageable loan payments. How far off are you from being able to qualify as a PA resident? Delaying for a semester might end up saving you substantially in the long run. I didn't mean to imply that Drexel has a poor program, just that they aren't renowned or top ranked in the country for Physics.
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Aug 7, 2012 17:51
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baquerd posted:Ah, I figured you were starting as a freshman and that you were a PA resident. Still $50k, at an average of ~7% will end up costing $70k if you can manage $600/mo on loan payments and will take 10 years at that rate. Do you have no existing loans? You still have to be careful here or you might end up paying student loans for the next 20 years and/or having uncomfortable if not unmanageable loan payments. How far off are you from being able to qualify as a PA resident? Delaying for a semester might end up saving you substantially in the long run. I'll qualify as a resident in October. I could in theory delay school until the spring semester and apply at Penn State, if my wife doesn't kick me out of the house.  Is Penn State's physics program well-renowned? I've heard lots of good things about them but not physics specifically.
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Aug 7, 2012 18:01
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Synonamess Botch posted:I'll qualify as a resident in October. I could in theory delay school until the spring semester and apply at Penn State, if my wife doesn't kick me out of the house. Crunch the numbers and weigh your options. Saving nearly $40k in loans is a powerful incentive to me, but having to wait upwards of 6 months to graduate counterbalances that a bit. You also need to weigh your odds of getting into Penn State. See if you could take heavy course loads and/or summer courses and end up finishing at the same time despite starting a semester later. Also, see if there are any electives or whatnot that you could get in at a community college and transfer in so it doesn't feel like a "wasted" semester. Talk to Drexel financial advisors about need based grants. But, as I'm sure you realize - there isn't much time so you need to figure out where you're going quick! Edit: Penn State is ranked top 10-20 in the nation for Physics. Drexel is ~120-150. baquerd fucked around with this message at 18:09 on Aug 7, 2012 |
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Aug 7, 2012 18:06
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baquerd posted:Crunch the numbers and weigh your options. Saving nearly $40k in loans is a powerful incentive to me, but having to wait upwards of 6 months to graduate counterbalances that a bit. These are basically the fears I had going into this anyway. Guess I'm going to have a nice painful conversation tonight. Thanks for your input, I genuinely appreciate the advice.
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Aug 7, 2012 18:10
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-Blackadder-, yes. Credit checks take your score down each time, so you want to avoid applying for several at once. Wells Fargo has been recommended in this thread before, so I'd start with them. You can also try simpletuition.com to shop around a bit more if you like. squidtarts, I have heard of the process taking as long as 3 months. I would call and check with Direct to see what the progress is. COUNTIN THE BILLIES, you should call the new servicer and ask about your interest rate. It is not uncommon for loans to be transferred from one servicer to another, but your benefits should transfer with them. Synonamess Botch, I would take a fixed rate on that thing because I guarantee it will shoot up to insane rates later. Private loan interest rates work the same way as credit card interest rates but with less regulation. I have never seen one end repayment with less than a 12% rate. If you can get it fixed in the 6-8 rate I'd say go for it. As for program worthiness, I happen to know a lot about Drexel and what I will say is this: the school's tuition is insanely high, however their default rate (as in students who default on loans after graduating) is less than 3%, which is extremely low. Why? Because they have an insanely robust Co-op program that is honestly worth every penny. I do not recommend going to a school that is more expensive than you need to, but my one exception to that is Drexel because of that co-op program. If you intend to use it, I suggest you go in to discuss your finances in person with a counselor to see if it's worth it, AND contact the physics department to ask THEM about the program. Also, Drexel has an alumni contact program, so you can try to contact an alumni of the program to ask about real-world applications and see if it's worth it.
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Aug 8, 2012 02:42
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My grants cover tuition this year so I won't need to take out loans towards that, am I an idiot for taking out student loans to put towards a car?
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Aug 8, 2012 02:42
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Well here's your options: 1. Take out student loans at 3.4 or 6.8% interest rate with deferred payment. GradPLUS and PLUS loans at 7.9%. 2. Take out car loan with ??? interest rate. Rate could potentially be lower than the student loans, payment would be required up front. From what I understand, car loans tend to have relatively low rates that are pretty standard, although I'm not familiar enough to know if that rate is fixed. Student loan rates are though.
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Aug 8, 2012 02:52
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Wiggy Marie posted:Well here's your options: I should mention my credit is sub-600 with the 3 major credit agencies. I have 3 collections out still trying to collect.
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Aug 8, 2012 03:06
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Wiggy Marie posted:Synonamess Botch, I would take a fixed rate on that thing because I guarantee it will shoot up to insane rates later. Private loan interest rates work the same way as credit card interest rates but with less regulation. I have never seen one end repayment with less than a 12% rate. If you can get it fixed in the 6-8 rate I'd say go for it. Thanks for both pieces of advice. I talked with my wife and I'm going to apply to Penn State for the spring term, and hope I hear back with enough time to decide if I want to continue going to Drexel or change schools. If I don't hear back in time or for some reason I'm not accepted then I think I'll be fine sticking with Drexel. And yeah, I've heard nothing but amazing things about their co-op program, which is why it jumped to the top of my list when I was applying for schools. After all, why am I going to school if not to work? But anyway, thanks, and thanks again baquerd.
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Aug 8, 2012 03:09
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Today I heard that my wife's cousins are living fat off student loans. They dine on lobster and live in a nice apartment, and don't work. Their plan is to not work until their student loans go away. Is that even possible? Can someone essentially live off student loans and remain unemployed and not have to pay the loans? It seems unsustainable to me, but I'd like for someone smarter than myself in these matters to put my mind at ease. My wife works full time nights while I go to law school, we take out just what we need, but we'll still be ~85k in the hole when we're done. I just want to know that there aren't people out there gaming the system and getting away with it. If it is possible, maybe it would be better to not let me know, I don't know.
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Aug 8, 2012 03:15
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Stumpus, assuming they're still in school, there aren't payments until they drop less than half-time for over 6 months. If not in school, they could be on deferments, but eventually those will run out. Income Based Repayment (the repayment program with forgiveness built in) requires an AGI, which means income must be filed on taxes, which means you can't have IBR if you're not working. I'm not sure what their plan is, but it might involve defaulting sometime in the future.
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Aug 8, 2012 03:27
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Can you accept only part of a loan amount? What about if you previously declined loans for the year? Can you say "whoops, I screwed up and need $X of the funds previously declined? I'm a grad student, BTW.
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Aug 8, 2012 03:28
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Yes you can, although depending on the timing you might not be able to get the full amount you want back. Most schools will just take a written request via email or fax. Make sure to include your student ID and exactly how much you want reinstated.
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Aug 8, 2012 03:30
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Wiggy Marie posted:Yes you can, although depending on the timing you might not be able to get the full amount you want back. Most schools will just take a written request via email or fax. Make sure to include your student ID and exactly how much you want reinstated. This is very, very good news. Thanks!
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Aug 8, 2012 03:34
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I have about $60k in private student loans hanging over my head (parents made enough to keep me away from good federal aid, but not enough to actually help me pay for college outright). Most have tolerable interest rates (3.5%-4.5%), but the bank meltdown came right before my final year of college and as a result I'm paying 11.25% interest on one loan.  So I'm thinking about trying to pick up a consolidation loan through Wells-Fargo -- does this sound like a good idea? Assuming I get approved, I'd be likely paying $200-$300 less a month and I would only have one payment to forget about instead of three. But I feel like there's going to be some kind of catch (beyond extending my payoff date by a few years).
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Aug 10, 2012 00:07
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I would honestly suggest consolidation in a situation like that, although make sure you confirm the new rate before completing the process. You don't want to get stuck at a higher rate on the lower rate loans if you don't need to!
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Aug 10, 2012 01:22
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Wiggy Marie posted:I would honestly suggest consolidation in a situation like that, although make sure you confirm the new rate before completing the process. You don't want to get stuck at a higher rate on the lower rate loans if you don't need to!
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Aug 10, 2012 02:22
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You could try using an online number cruncher to figure out how much interest you could save, but at that amount a variable rate could murder you in the future. Which loans have the higher balance, the highest rate or the lower ones?
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Aug 10, 2012 02:59
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I have about $40k at the lower rates and about $20k at the higher. All my current loans are variable but they really haven't changed much in the three or so years I've been paying on them.
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Aug 10, 2012 03:28
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Seems like it could be worth it, it's up to you to decide if so though. I'd definitely try the number crunchers online to see what comes out in your favour.
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Aug 10, 2012 22:57
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So I am a bit worried about my fiance, because she is preparing for a Pharmacy program that costs somewhere in the neighborhood of 40-50k per year. Despite the fact that her single mother was working minimum wage when she filed FAFSA (and isn't making much more now), the school offered basically no financial aid (like $1000 per semester), which means the rest of it is coming from student loans with 6.8% interest rates (so I guess Stafford loans? I have to get a lot of the details still). I'm not sure what to do about this. Both of us had full rides for our bachelors degrees, so we've never had to mess with loans before. But the prospect of her coming out of the program with 200k in debt is loving terrifying. I mean even in a best-case scenario where she gets a good job right out of the gate (salaries for pharmacists seem to run around 70-100k per year), that is a hell of a lot to deal with. I'll be moving to South Carolina with her in a month, which means I'll have to start the job searching process all over again and hope I can get a job too. Someone please tell me this isn't about to be the stupidest poo poo we could possibly do and that we won't end up living in a box. Also, when she filed FAFSA I believe she included all of her mom's income information on the assumption that it would make her more likely to get financial aid, but I see in the OP that she didn't have to do that as a grad school applicant. Was that the wrong thing to do? Honey Badger fucked around with this message at 11:58 on Aug 11, 2012 |
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Aug 11, 2012 11:54
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As long as she indicated she was a grad student on her FAFSA it doesn't matter if she put her parent's information, although I find it odd that they offered her so little based on what you describe. Has she called the financial aid office to see what might be going on? As for the cost of the program, I wouldn't recommend one so expensive when there's cheaper out there. Is there any chance of her going to a cheaper one somewhere else?
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Aug 11, 2012 14:12
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I have no idea if anybody can help me answer this question but: So the way to apply for loans at my school is through FAFSA but according to Financial Aid the deadline to be ensured was March 1st. I can still apply but of course there's no guarantee they will cover me. I have to cough up about $3,000 (a little more) for part time tuition for the fall in literally 3 weeks and I'm sorta freaking out. (been job hunting all summer to no avail) Would there be any alternatives to FAFSA? The only reason I ask is because it's the only one mentioned at my school's Financial Aid, none of the others listed in the OP are. The deadline for fall tuition is September 4th. LemonLimeTime fucked around with this message at 16:13 on Aug 11, 2012 |
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Aug 11, 2012 16:11
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File your FAFSA now and pester your financial aid office daily to have it processed ASAP. You can take out a small private loan or pay with a credit card until you can pay yourself back with the FAFSA funds you get. A lot of students do this, it's not the best method but it's the best to make sure you can afford to pay in the meantime.
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Aug 11, 2012 20:43
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Wiggy Marie posted:As long as she indicated she was a grad student on her FAFSA it doesn't matter if she put her parent's information, although I find it odd that they offered her so little based on what you describe. Has she called the financial aid office to see what might be going on? I can vouch that Purdue's pharmacy school, which is a top 5 pharmacy school in the nation, costs nowhere NEAR that much, even for out-of-staters. Where is she going to school that it costs so much?
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Aug 12, 2012 17:10
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Lord Of Texas posted:I can vouch that Purdue's pharmacy school, which is a top 5 pharmacy school in the nation, costs nowhere NEAR that much, even for out-of-staters. Where is she going to school that it costs so much? She's going to MUSC. Just talked to her today, and misunderstood a bit. The total loan is 200k, but that includes money for housing, utilities, and groceries. She isn't sure if she will be able to get any kind of job (it would almost assuredly have to be part-time, and might be too much to juggle with a full courseload.) I don't think they offer assistanceships or anything for first-year students, but that is going to be an option afterward. Tuition for the school itself ends up being $25k a year, and I told her to call financial aid and try to figure out why their assistance was basically nothing and if it was too late to get an appeal or something. And apparently a lot more scholarships become available after the first year (I guess to keep people that can't hack grad school from sucking up all the money and dropping?) I'll be heading up there about 2 weeks after she starts classes, and I'm hoping I can get a job relatively quickly so that I can handle rent and groceries and toss the rest into the loans. I've got a couple thousand in savings as a stopgap if I can't get work right away, but obviously I'd rather not have to resort to that. And unfortunately she can't go anywhere else, it was the only one she could afford to apply to (she got her bachelor's at a sister school that gave her a free application) since she had no job and her mom was living paycheck to paycheck. Even if she could afford to send out more, she couldn't afford to travel for the interview process (unless other programs don't do that? I know poo poo all about pharmacy school) So I guess provided I can get any kind of work at all, it will be 100k in student loans as a worst case (i.e. if she can't secure any more financial aid, get a part time job or become a teaching assistant, or get more scholarships), which isn't quite as soul-crushing. Still an assload of debt though. At least the car is paid off. Also, being broke as hell means she had to take a deferment on the interest that will last until graduation, at which point it becomes part of the principle. Was that a bad idea? Finally, apparently after graduation she has 10 years to pay it off, which seems pretty drat low for so big of a loan. Is that typical? Sorry for all the questions, you guys are very helpful and I appreciate it immensely.
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Aug 13, 2012 08:33
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100k over 4 years seems really high for housing+groceries+utilities. Most college students don't have to take out near that much for basic living expenses (even those who don't have part-time jobs), why is your fiance different?
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Aug 13, 2012 22:50
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I decided I like this better in BFC. Back you go!
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Aug 13, 2012 23:44
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Honey Badger, ten years is the default repayment period and can be changed using different repayment plans or consolidation, so don't worry too much about that. As for the deferment, being on a deferment doesn't mean y'all can't make payments in the meantime. I highly suggest you do so. Even $15 every two weeks can make a difference. As for the cost, tell her to work her rear end off and apply for every assistanceship, scholarship and grant she can as a grad student. That is what will save her the most money in tuition. Eggplant Wizard, now I have whiplash! Wiggy Marie fucked around with this message at 02:38 on Aug 14, 2012 |
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Aug 14, 2012 02:35
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Wiggy Marie posted:File your FAFSA now and pester your financial aid office daily to have it processed ASAP. You can take out a small private loan or pay with a credit card until you can pay yourself back with the FAFSA funds you get. A lot of students do this, it's not the best method but it's the best to make sure you can afford to pay in the meantime. Is there a high possability this could fall through or does this usually kinda work?
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Aug 14, 2012 05:54
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Lord Of Texas posted:100k over 4 years seems really high for housing+groceries+utilities. Most college students don't have to take out near that much for basic living expenses (even those who don't have part-time jobs), why is your fiance different? Yeah, it won't be that high, but the since the loan can't be adjusted after a certain point I think she just decided to err on the safe side and just pay back what isn't used so she can't end up in a situation where she needs money for something and can't get it. Not an ideal situation, I know, but hopefully together we can wear it down as quickly as possible. edit: Also she called financial aid and they literally said "There is no free money in grad school, only loans." What kind of lovely financial aid office is that. Why would a school that seems to be for graduate level only students even have a financial aid office, then? Honey Badger fucked around with this message at 11:33 on Aug 14, 2012 |
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Aug 14, 2012 06:49
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Honey Badger posted:Yeah, it won't be that high, but the since the loan can't be adjusted after a certain point I think she just decided to err on the safe side and just pay back what isn't used so she can't end up in a situation where she needs money for something and can't get it. Not an ideal situation, I know, but hopefully together we can wear it down as quickly as possible. I can empathize with wanting to have an emergency fund, but not at 6.8%. Did she do the math or just panic and put in for the max amount? Does she know if her loans have an early repayment penalty? Does she know if her loans are subsidized (unsub loans accrue interest during school, and on 200k-6.8% that's a lot of interest)? 25k still seems high per year (although not high if she's out of state). You say that she couldn't afford to apply to other schools, but application costs are nothing compared to the savings from going to a cheaper/in-state school. Is it an option to transfer after her first year to a more affordable school? I imagine with school starting now it's too late for this year.
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Aug 14, 2012 14:51
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So I have had to take out a alternative loan for 12,500 for my teaching degree. It is at a 10% fixed interest. My only question is: How badly did I get hosed? It was the best option available to me 
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Aug 14, 2012 23:04
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Lord Of Texas posted:I can empathize with wanting to have an emergency fund, but not at 6.8%. Did she do the math or just panic and put in for the max amount? Does she know if her loans have an early repayment penalty? Does she know if her loans are subsidized (unsub loans accrue interest during school, and on 200k-6.8% that's a lot of interest)? I'll ask her later today about the loan, but I'm guessing she kind of panicked and put more than she needs. Hopefully there is no early repayment penalty because then we could just pay off what isn't needed as quickly as possible without eating too much interest. And yeah, she is out of state. We are in Texas so she looked at UT, but they were almost as expensive. She would be able to apply for other programs after this first year, and transferring is an option, but all of these programs also require in-person interviews, which means anything that isn't nearby is going to require an assload of gas money or a plane ticket. And as far as I know, the loans are unsubsidized. After July 1st it wasn't even possible to get subsidized ones right?
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Aug 14, 2012 23:54
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NinjaPete posted:So I have had to take out a alternative loan for 12,500 for my teaching degree. It is at a 10% fixed interest. My only question is: 10% interest for a teaching degree? If they made a porn out of it, it wouldn't be legal to sell.
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Aug 15, 2012 00:30
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LemonLimeTime, there's never a guarantee on alternative loans coming through because they're outside the scope of federal loans, so I can't say it will work beyond any doubt. But it's not an uncommon practice. You just want to make sure you'll get enough in federal loans to pay off what you previously used to pay tuition and fees. Honey Badger, because they handle financial aid which includes the FAFSA and the loans that go with it. Sounds like they're jerks though, sorry to hear that. A lovely FAO is the bane of many a student's existence. Lord Of Texas, just as an FYI to horrify you: if she's a graduate student she literally cannot have a subsidized loan. As of July 1st this year, sub loans were eliminated for all graduate and professional student. They are undergrad-only now. NinjaPete, that's really not too bad. Just chug away with payments on that bad boy and pay it off ASAP. Private loans are a necessary evil sometimes, so don't feel bad about using them. Any spare change you ever come up with, throw it at that loan. Trust me, you want it gone as soon as possible.
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Aug 15, 2012 01:17
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