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Say I go to school for one year. Then take a break from school to do somthing else. How does this work with student loands? Sorry if I missed somthing.
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Jun 16, 2007 00:41
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Wiggy Marie posted:Reverend Cheddar, are you asking if in the event you receive this scholarship, it would be a good idea to: Question answered. Reverend Cheddar fucked around with this message at 09:29 on Jul 22, 2018 |
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Jun 16, 2007 02:13
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My student lending has run into a snag. I've finally gotten the FAFSA submitted and processed (ARRGH, documents were in my apt in Sweden), and now I'm having trouble getting the actual loan. My school is Kungliga tekniska högskola (on the Dept of Education's list), and I'm trying to get a Stafford loan (sub and unsub) through someone--anyone. John D. Ford direct loans won't have me because the school's not in the States, and the private lenders' sites simply don't work when I try them. Do you know of any place I can do my Stafford through? Recommendations?
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Jun 16, 2007 04:42
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potatoe_chip, private loans are not my specialty. So what I'll do is tell you about what happens with a Stafford loan. I know that most of this is similar, but I won't say it would go the same way. Believe me when I say that education-related private loans are taken as seriously on credit as student loans - which means they can ruin your credit. And when I say ruin, I mean ruin. With a federal loan, first they do everything I mentioned before, then the lender releases your loan to the guarantor (private loans have a guarantor, too). The guarantor serves as the collections agency. If you do not pay them, they will: 1. Garnish your wages (take your income, POST tax) 2. Garnish your tax return, if you have one (you will not see a penny of this) If you still do not pay, they will threaten to take away whatever degree you got. Yes, they can do this. The government paid for that degree, not you, and since you haven't paid, they will take it away. If this doesn't work, THEN they will pursue you legally - that is, take you to court and potentially put you in jail. This is considered a last resort, as the other things they do, plus the general terrifying aspect of what they CAN do, normally scares people into cooperating. Private loans work nearly the same way. It's the same idea - this loan paid for your degree, not you. If you do not pay the loan, they will take away what it paid for. Some private loans will go another route - they will remove the funds from the school, and then the SCHOOL will be on your case for the missing funds. And you will be expected to come up with the totals out of pocket, because you won't be able to take out a loan due to ruined credit. I cannot emphasize enough how much these loans ruin your credit. Please believe me when I say that it's not possible to exxagerrate just how bad they do. Ruined ruined ruined!!! Don't not pay your loans. If you know you won't pay them, don't take them out. You will ruin your life. RUIN. IRQ, every federal loan is superior to a private loan, save for very very few private loans which actually *do* give a low interest rate. Take out the GradPlus before you touch alternative loans. You'll have all those nifty forbearances/deferments to use in the future, and you can consolidate it into your other federal loans later on. You can't do that with a private loan. VideoTapir, I would be downright shocked if student loans became dischargeable through bankruptcy, and I must say that I am fully against the idea. The government paid for your education; when you file bankruptcy, you don't forfeit your degree or the education you've already gained, therefore you still owe those loans. Honestly, most of the problems with the program today can be directly tied to the private/alternative loans. Students are graduating with 40-150,000 in private loans. In PRIVATE loans. With interest rates as high as 25%!!! What the gently caress man? That's just wrong. I'm praying that there's a serious rehaul of the Direct and FFELP programs coming, because of those amounts don't change significantly, the problem will just keep right on getting worse. majexto, first you would go through your six month grace period, and then you would need to use a type of deferment/forbearance to pause your payments until you were back in school at least half-time or more. If you run out of forbearance/deferment time, you must start paying back your loans. Reverend Cheddar, you gotta do whatcha gotta do. If you need to take out loans and can get federal loans, take them and screw private loans. They will be the death of you, trust me! Groda, we meet again! How are ya buddy? Hmmm...let me take a look and see if I can find anything through personal research. I'm a bit lost if Direct won't do it, but I understand that they have weird policies and procedures. Direct is a strange beast. Real quick: have you asked the financial aid office if they participate with any US lender(s)?
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Jun 16, 2007 06:39
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Wiggy Marie posted:VideoTapir, I would be downright shocked if student loans became dischargeable through bankruptcy, and I must say that I am fully against the idea. The government paid for your education; when you file bankruptcy, you don't forfeit your degree or the education you've already gained, therefore you still owe those loans. That's no different from any other debt where the property it purchased isn't recoverable. And they wouldn't be looking at the possibility right now if the industry had been keeping its nose clean. quote:Honestly, most of the problems with the program today can be directly tied to the private/alternative loans. Students are graduating with 40-150,000 in private loans. In PRIVATE loans. With interest rates as high as 25%!!! What the gently caress man? That's just wrong. I'm praying that there's a serious rehaul of the Direct and FFELP programs coming, because of those amounts don't change significantly, the problem will just keep right on getting worse. This is why I am SOOOOO glad I (probably) won't need them. If I do, I won't need much. (Well, so long as I either work, or live on like 10 grand a year above my tuition and fees. Done it before, can do it again.)
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Jun 16, 2007 07:28
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True, but we're not talking about property, we're talking about the education that you use to find a job to obtain that property. The government looks at that a very different way. You can't pull the knowledge out of someone's head, but you can revoke their degree and it accomplishes the same goal. That's why revoking the degree is an option for severe delinquency. Also, if you can't pay your freakin' student loans...please. 98% of the people who call us and have defaulted had every bit of their deferment/forbearance time available. If they'd just swallowed their pride and called us earlier, or read their MPN which talks about the deferments/forbearances available, they wouldn't have defaulted in the first place. There's a good reason why there's considerably less pity for someone who defaults on their student loans. That takes *effort*. I doubt these loans will ever become something that can be discharged through bankruptcy, highly. But hey, anything can happen.
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Jun 16, 2007 07:40
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I am starting law school in the fall, and was pretty settled on GradPLUS for my expenses not covered by scholarship/stafford loans (about $15000 a year), until I heard about NJCLASS loans for New Jersey residents. There are a few repayment plans, but I'd likely do the one deferring interest and principal while in school. For that, the interest rate would be 6.65% while in school and during the first four years of repayment, then 7.40% after that. Do the advantages of GradPLUS in terms of consolidating and anything else outweigh the higher interest rate? Since the school I'm going to is a direct lending school, the interest rate is 7.9% for GradPLUS. Or should I go with the NJCLASS loan?
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Jun 16, 2007 16:30
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The NJCLASS loan is excellent, and I would highly recommend it, if you are comfortable knowing you can never consolidate it with your federal loans. If you're certain you can handle that payment as well as your federal ones, it really is an awesome loan which features a nifty fixed interest rate which is lower than the GradPlus - and will remain that way. The only caution I could recommend is reading every inch of the application once it is sent to you, and not being shy to call in and ask any questions you might have about the language. Make sure there's no stipulation that states you can lose that fixed rate if [delinquency/whatever thing] happens.
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Jun 16, 2007 17:37
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Wiggy Marie posted:The NJCLASS loan is excellent, and I would highly recommend it, if you are comfortable knowing you can never consolidate it with your federal loans. If you're certain you can handle that payment as well as your federal ones, it really is an awesome loan which features a nifty fixed interest rate which is lower than the GradPlus - and will remain that way. How much do you know about the NJCLASS loan? im checking it out right now, and it seems to be one of the better options. The only thing is, they don't have much detailed info on their site (i guess i have to start applying, then itll give me a contract midway through it?). I just have a few quick questions- the disburstment is one lump sum or divided up? and secondly, am i suppose to loan out the full amount for 4 years, or take seperate loans each year? Third, if i want can i pay more then the required monthly amount to lower my further payments? What about if i go with option 2 (just quarterly interest payments)? Thanks in advance.
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Jun 16, 2007 20:38
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I don't work with this loan, so not as much as I could. I know that it is offered the the higher education authority of New Jersey, which generally has the best interests of the students in mind. The best thing to do is call them up and ask for a blank copy of their contract along with whatever flyer they normally hand out for kids, and start reading. I might actually start to do this myself, so that I can look over alternative loan information and maybe start to help you guys with those in more detail. Disbursement is normally divided into 2 sums, but this is not required for an alternative loan so there's always a chance it could be sent in just one sum. A school certification is still needed to send the funds; there are some loans that allow exceptions to this, but I don't believe the NJCLASS would be one of them. You would take out a separate loan for all 4 years. I *have* heard of students taking out one lump sum and just using that, instead of 4 separate loans. I doubt this could happen with the NJCLASS, but it can happen elsewhere. You can pay however much you want to on your loan at any time. I always recommend doing the full deferment of payments and just making payments whenever you want to, so that you don't have to worry about actual due dates and can pay whatever/whenever you like. If you have actual payments due, though, you can always pay above them without penalty.
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Jun 17, 2007 19:49
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Wiggy Marie posted:The NJCLASS loan is excellent, and I would highly recommend it, if you are comfortable knowing you can never consolidate it with your federal loans. If you're certain you can handle that payment as well as your federal ones, it really is an awesome loan which features a nifty fixed interest rate which is lower than the GradPlus - and will remain that way. I suppose I'm not sure if I should be comfortable not being able to consolidate. I don't think I'd mind the administrative hassle of having two bills to pay as long as the total I paid was lower. With the interest rate reductions to consolidation - how likely might it be that the consolidated GradPLUS loan would end up being cheaper than the NJCLASS loan, unconsolidated?
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Jun 17, 2007 20:33
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I'm going to be starting college in the fall / spring, and am working on my application now. I was divorced in March 07, but filed a Married/Joint tax return with my ex-wife for 2006. According to the FAFSA site, I have to exclude the income of my ex when putting my tax info in. My question is, when calculating my tax burden for the FAFSA, do I assess my income as Single, or Married/Separate?
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Jun 17, 2007 20:38
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The rate on the NJCLASS loan is lower, which is always a good thing. If you were to take out a GradPlus loan and consolidate later, you would have a weighted average of you lower Stafford/Perkins rates with the 8.5% of the GradPlus - which can jack up your interest rate a couple of points overall. Honestly, if you're sure that you'll be fine, payments-wise, I'd say go for the NJCLASS! You can always defer your student loans for a few years to hit the crap outta the NJCLASS and pay it off sooner if you'd like to. @KJ&AR@, all FAFSA-related questions should go here: http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/ Or you can call them here: 1-800-433-3243 They are very sweet people and are happy to help. The being said, my common sense says that since you've been married and are now separated, you will need to file as Married/Separate.
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Jun 17, 2007 21:51
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What are the best private loans and their interest rates if their use becomes necessary? Also what would be the difference in interest rate between applying with no credit history and having a cosigner with good credit history?
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Jun 17, 2007 22:58
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Donutblaster posted:What are the best private loans and their interest rates if their use becomes necessary? I don't know, which ones have you looked at and what did they say? quote:Also what would be the difference in interest rate between applying with no credit history and having a cosigner with good credit history? The rate itself will be higher. Alright kids, this has happened enough now! I don't want to be rude or scare people away, but stop trying to ask me what company is better than another. I'm here to help guide your decision, not make it for you. If you provide me with a list, I will review the companies and give you a breakdown of my thoughts/impressions or try to break down the programs, which I did for someone else way back in the beginning of this thread. But asking me who you should choose over any other is not what I'm here for. If another poster wants to recommend a company that's perfectly fine, but I won't make your choice for you. The only company I would say to avoid is Sallie Mae, because they have a bad reputation, I get complaints about them daily at work from people calling in, and currently they are at the center of the student loan debate and taking a lot of hits.
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Jun 18, 2007 01:52
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Wiggy Marie posted:I don't know, which ones have you looked at and what did they say? These two both seem fairly reputable in that they are at least actual banks as well as being lenders, so they at least don't NEED to screw people to make their money through loans. They obviously might just do that anyway through. http://studentloan.citibank.com/slcsite/fr_ccund.asp http://www.wachovia.com/personal/page/0,,325_496_8294,00.html On the other hand this seems similar but I've never actually heard of SunTrust. http://www.suntrusteducation.com/ploans-academic-answer.asp Now the APR seems bizarrely low, since they mark it so it appears to be below the prime rate. (which I believe the Parent PLUS loans are based on, and I can't see how a private loan would ever end up with a lower interest rate then a Federal one, even with a cosigner.) I'm thinking that either I'm reading into this wrong, or theres a big catch. Anyway sorry for the vague first question but the thought of dropping a large loan on my parents that they will have to start paying back immediately makes me want to jump off a bridge. theracecard fucked around with this message at 07:01 on Jun 18, 2007 |
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Jun 18, 2007 02:36
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Wiggy Marie posted:If you still do not pay, they will threaten to take away whatever degree you got. Yes, they can do this. The government paid for that degree, not you, and since you haven't paid, they will take it away. Wiggy Marie posted:Private loans work nearly the same way. It's the same idea - this loan paid for your degree, not you. If you do not pay the loan, they will take away what it paid for. Some private loans will go another route - they will remove the funds from the school, and then the SCHOOL will be on your case for the missing funds. And you will be expected to come up with the totals out of pocket, because you won't be able to take out a loan due to ruined credit. Do you have a source for the lender's authority to do either of these things? I can't find any legal basis for revoking a degree or somehow taking funds from a school by force. According to http://www.finaid.org/loans/default.phtml: quote:Consequences of Default Obviously finaid.org isn't the end all of authority but I can't find any other source for the claim except in this thread. 10-8 fucked around with this message at 03:53 on Jun 18, 2007 |
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Jun 18, 2007 03:40
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10-8, the lender doesn't do this, and the guarantor tries not to. It only happens when a person has double-defaulted - defaulted once, then defaulted again - or gone so far into delinquency that the guarantor gives the loan over to the Department of Education. The loan must be in collections status with a very very severe delinquency...and that is the point where the Department of Education actually steps in. The only reason I know it's done is because a friend of mine works at a collections agency who collects on the Department of Education's behalf, and they have this legally granted capability. They have the ability to revoke your degree or license for whatever employment you may have if you do not pay - and they will do it with a smile. You don't hear about it often because God willing someone scares you enough before this point for it to never come up, but there are those who receive a call which states if they do not pay their loans, in full, then their doctor's license (or whatever else) will be revoked. But again, the lender does not do this. It's done by the guarantor or the Department itself. DonutBlaster, the rate is as low as, not fixed in place or guaranteed. That means if you have the best credit ever, that MAY be your rate. Also, that loan's interest rate is based on the LIBOR rate, not the Prime rate. Student loan interest rates are based off of what's called the 90 day Treasury Bill (T-Bill) plus a percent added on top. This amount is different for Staffords and PLUS/GradPlus loans, hence the difference in the rate. But they're not based on the Prime rate, which is why their rates can be lower than Prime. Also, I will try to glance over all of those for you in the next day or so, but just off the top of my head I've not heard anything specific about any of those companies - and no bad news is a good thing! But they're still alternative loans, so I hate them  You can consolidate private loans, but not with your federal loans and most likely without a fixed interest rate. You can, however, pay them off early without penalty, so sometimes it's not a bad idea to try and take out a personal loan with a lower rate and use that to payoff the alternative loans. It's kinda like consolidating, right?
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Jun 18, 2007 05:40
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Wiggy Marie posted:10-8, the lender doesn't do this, and the guarantor tries not to. It only happens when a person has double-defaulted - defaulted once, then defaulted again - or gone so far into delinquency that the guarantor gives the loan over to the Department of Education. The loan must be in collections status with a very very severe delinquency...and that is the point where the Department of Education actually steps in. You are correct that in many regions defaulting on a student loan can be grounds for having one's professional license revoked; this would prevent a doctor from practicing medicine or a lawyer from practicing law. Even in this case though, the only agency with authority to revoke such a license is the authority that granted such license in the first place, e.g., a state bar association or medical board. Yes, these licensing boards tend to respond favorably to notices by the DOE that an individual has defaulted. Nevertheless, it is still the licensing board itself, and not the DOE, that does the actual revocation of a license. You're speaking of "legally granted capability" to revoke the actual degree itself, but I can't find any statutory authority for the Department of Education or any other guarantor to revoke a degree after default of a student loan. I'm interested in this topic and I've been searching Lexis for a few hours now trying to get to the bottom of this. I just can't find anything to corroborate what you've said. I'm planning on taking the bar exam in a few months, and while I don't plan on defaulting on any of my law school loans, it's always good to know what's what. I agree with you that if I were to default I'd run into trouble with my state bar. But nobody can take away my actual J.D., nor my underlying B.A., except for the schools that granted those degrees. Perhaps my J.D. is largely useless without an accompanying license to practice law, but I would nevertheless still have my J.D. It's important to make the distinction between professional licenses and the actual degrees upon which the licenses are granted because only a very few industries are required to be professionally licensed. If I had just stuck with my B.A. in English and gotten a job as a copy editor, there isn't anything the DOE could do to touch me so far as my degree is concerned. In such a scenario, I don't have a license to revoke. I'm also curious about the second point I raised above. I have never heard anything about private lenders being able to "take back" the money previously given to schools after a student defaults. I can't even imagine where the private lenders, or their guarantors, would believe they have the legal right to do such a thing. Not to mention, having worked closely with school bursars offices in the past, any of the bursars I know would tell the lender to stick it and leave the school out of the collection process. It isn't the school's problem. What you've described in both cases -- the DOE revoking degrees and private lenders getting their money back -- is just not how unsecured loans work. A lender or guarantor, even the DOE, can only act within the authority granted it by law, and both of these concepts just run contrary to every bit of public policy that forms the cornerstone of unsecured lending law and bankruptcy law. I hate to say it, but both of these concepts sound like scare tactics used by lenders/guarantors to get deadbeats to pay. I don't believe there's any basis in law for any of it. I'm open to being corrected if you can cite to any specific law or regulation that allows for either of the two issues we're discussing.
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Jun 18, 2007 06:24
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It's entirely possible that I misunderstood what my friend said, as I don't personally work in a collections agency, and therefore our compliance department doesn't handle any of this form of delinquency nor how it can be treated at that point. I have no access to those documents, unfortunately, as it's something totally different from what we do. Just don't go delinquent, everybody. That's the best and safest option. As for scare tactics, it's sad but they'll say a lot more just to get a payment. Some guarantors will say that the delinquency will no longer be on the person's credit report after rehabilitation...but I'm not pointing any fingers. Those are the really fun calls to take. 10-8 posted:I think you are confusing professional licenses such as those granted by state bar associations and medical boards with the actual conferral of a degree, be it a J.D., M.D., or B.A.
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Jun 18, 2007 16:37
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Wiggy, I have a question about NTHEA consolidation. It looks like they have some kind of partnership with EdFinancial when you go to fill out the application. Is the loan serviced through EdFinancial or actually through NTHEA? I can't really tell that it will go through NTHEA instead of EdFinancial. The reason I'm kind of concerned about this is that all my loans are through EdFinancial. The online app asks for username and password information, and I'm wondering if I use my existing username and password, will it try to consolidate under EdFinancial's terms or NTHEA's terms. I obviously prefer NTHEA's terms and just want to make sure I do it right. Also, in your opinion, which is better? Equal payments, interest only starter payments or interest/balloon? Aericina fucked around with this message at 02:22 on Jun 19, 2007 |
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Jun 19, 2007 02:19
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Aericina posted:Wiggy, I have a question about NTHEA consolidation. It looks like they have some kind of partnership with EdFinancial when you go to fill out the application. Is the loan serviced through EdFinancial or actually through NTHEA? I can't really tell that it will go through NTHEA instead of EdFinancial. First of all, THANK you for also posting this on my board!!! For that alone, I love you forever! Edfinancial is the servicing agent of NTHEA. So NTHEA will consolidate and then own your loans, but Edfinancial will do all of the servicing. In order to consolidate with NTHEA, you have to go to their website: http://www.nthea.com. You may also call them directly and request a consolidation application be sent to you. I my humble opinion about payments, it depends on your ability to pay. Equal payments will allow you to pay less over the life of your loan, which is never a bad thing, but if you use an interest-only plan you can play around with your payments more. What I would recommend is use the interest-only plan if you need to, and just make higher payments than it calls for. That way if you ever need to pay less one month, your monthly minimum will already be lower so you already have some payment flexibility built in. You are never penalized for paying above what's due, so use that!!!
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Jun 19, 2007 02:51
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Wiggy Marie posted:First of all, THANK you for also posting this on my board!!! For that alone, I love you forever! Thank you for that info. I was on their site earlier and when I went to click on the electronic loan application, it sent me to EdFinancial's website. That is what confused me. So in your opinion it would be ok to use that site/my existing username/password? I suppose I could just print out the application and fill it in manually if I was that worried about it. I just saw nothing on the EdFinancial site that said it was an NTHEA app and not an EdFinancial one which is why I am confused.
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Jun 19, 2007 03:27
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Go ahead and start the process, and continue until you see something specifically about NTHEA. If you never do, just call them up and get you a physical application. It *should* work through Edfinancial.com, but if you get uncomfortable just call up NTHEA and they should take care of you.
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Jun 19, 2007 03:36
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SO I just received something from "MyRichUncle.com" in the mail which promised 5.8% starting rate guaranteed with a .25% reduction with autopayments and a 1.5% reduction after 48-payments. Has this already been discussed in this thread? if not, has anyone heard anything about it?
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Jun 19, 2007 22:50
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I have tried to contact the company to see what I can find out. Research through Google proved to give varying results - this company seems to be both hated and loved. Will report when I get a response. The biggest (or weirdest?) point I've found so far is that the guy who runs Finaid.com knows and likes the company...and oh, he just happens to be on their board and has stock with them! Hm.
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Jun 20, 2007 03:43
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I have a $2500 bar study loan through myrichuncle. I uh..got the money, and will have to pay it back. I'm not sure what else to say. The interest rate is high, but its not a regular school loan and I didn't have a cosigner, unlike my regular school loans.
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Jun 20, 2007 04:07
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Interesting... I was just looking into getting a student loan for my last semester of Uni and I need about 6000 to cover everything for a while. The day I found this thread I got this thing in the mail promising rates lower than the OP's original two favorites. I figured either there was a catch, or this was what the OP was saying about companies getting competetive around July 1st. I still want to make sure that I get the best deal for my money, so i figured I'd ask the experts first.
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Jun 21, 2007 02:13
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Wiggy Marie posted:Groda, we meet again! How are ya buddy? Well, other than this, it's going pretty well. I talked to one of the members of my international office, and it looks like she wasn't the one who got the ball rolling on their recognition by the Department of Education. She did mention Sallie Mae and AMSA, but, other than that, only told me to send her: 1. SAR 2. School certification form 3. Master promissory note Also, she might already be on her summer vacation, so, ummm, gently caress.
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Jun 21, 2007 02:56
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Peantoo posted:SO I just received something from "MyRichUncle.com" in the mail which promised 5.8% starting rate guaranteed with a .25% reduction with autopayments and a 1.5% reduction after 48-payments. Has this already been discussed in this thread? if not, has anyone heard anything about it? This is what their website quotes: "In addition to the 1% interest rate reduction at repayment, MyRichUncle rewards you with another .25% discount off your already low interest rate if you opt to make your loan payments via direct-debit or ACH. Finally, borrowers will receive an extra 1.5% reduction off the current outstanding principal on their loan debt following 48 on-time consecutive payments." So their total interest rate reduction is 1.25%. Honestly, several companies I know of do this amount, but it's not a bad deal. I've e-mailed them about the balance rebate. This is the e-mail I sent: "Is the 1.5% reduction of the principal balance a rebate of the original principal balance or the current principal balance, whatever that might be? So if my loan is 5000.00 originally, and I've paid it down to 3000.00 after 48 payments, will I be getting 1.5% of the 5000.00 or the 3000.00? Is this applied directly to my principal, or as a payment so that some interest is also satisfied? Thanks!!!" They responded to me by this morning on my last e-mail, so I expect a response by tomorrow. The reason I bolded "48 on-time consecutive" is that this translates to after 4 years of month-to-month payments without missing or skipping a single one. I didn't see anything about a grace period, so you can assume that there isn't one. I'll wait to see about that pricipal rebate before I pass judgement. They're not offering a bad deal, but honestly...my own company offers better. In your FACE, myrichuncle!!! What other lenders have you looked at? I'm glad to take a gander at their benefits and see what you can get. Groda, I am still researching, but honestly, it might be best to keep nagging that lady (or someone else in that international office!). All I can say is that if they can take Staffords, then they should be able to put you with whatever lender you choose. You should be allowed the same rights as a stateside student, so search away and find yourself a decent lender. Essentially you'll be sending a physical Master Promissory Note with the name and lender code of whatever lender you choose on it, in addition to the SAR (provided by FAFSA) and the certification from the school for the loans (which MUST have the lender's name included, so choose carefully and make sure it's the same as the one on your MPN). I think I sent you one before, but I can get you a new copy, or you can go to most lender sites and download a blank one (or most guarantor sites, for that matter). Wiggy Marie fucked around with this message at 04:44 on Jun 21, 2007 |
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Jun 21, 2007 04:41
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Wiggy Marie posted:Groda, I am still researching, but honestly, it might be best to keep nagging that lady (or someone else in that international office!). Have you managed to rule out this John Ford direct loan thing? Is it really as clear-cut as I'd thought? Wiggy Marie posted:Essentially you'll be sending a physical Master Promissory Note with the name and lender code of whatever lender you choose on it, in addition to the SAR (provided by FAFSA) and the certification from the school for the loans I'm sorry, but I don't quite follow the wording. Chalk it up to da chronic. Wiggy Marie posted:(which MUST have the lender's name included, so choose carefully and make sure it's the same as the one on your MPN). Make sure my name is the same? Sorry, da chronic again. Wiggy Marie posted:I think I sent you one before, but I can get you a new copy, or you can go to most lender sites and download a blank one (or most guarantor sites, for that matter). Sorry, I don't remember this. In any case, I'm registered on your forum, so you've got my e-mail address.
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Jun 21, 2007 05:24
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Wiggy Marie, I checked your forum before asking this and didn't see anything conclusive. Are the limits you list for Stafford loans for independent students? My school's finaid department lists the max as $5500 for 3rd year students for both, while you say it's $10500 and the $5500 is just for sub. I am going to be calling them tomorrow asking about this and I want to be sure this is the actual limit in case they stick to the $5500 stated limit. Very nice thread, by the way. I registered on your forum. darkeye fucked around with this message at 08:06 on Jun 21, 2007 |
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Jun 21, 2007 08:03
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I was so very, very tired when I posted, and I apologize for the confusion! Let me try again:Groda posted:Have you managed to rule out this John Ford direct loan thing? Is it really as clear-cut as I'd thought? No, I have not. Honestly, if they participate in the federal loan program, you should be able to go with whatever lender of your choice, but Direct is not an FFELP lender. They are considered and treated as a separate entity by everyone, which means Direct can do certain things no one else can - and can also refuse to do certain things. Like work with this particular school. Have you called Direct up and asked them if they would be willing to participate with this school? To translate my long paragraph of random phrasing: You will need to fill out and send in a Master Promissory Note, which will have your lender's name on it. You will also need to obtain a School Certification from the school itself, which will also have your lender's name on it. If the school certifies a different lender then the one on your MPN, you will have a delay in processing. Make sure the lender matches. And you will also need to provide the Student Aid Report (SAR), which should have been sent to you by FAFSA after this was processed. This would come from FAFSA, not the school. http://www.northwestern.edu/sfs/stafloan/stafmpn.pdf Here's a link to the Stafford MPN in pdf format. Don't worry about the source; this is a federal document and doesn't change from one place to another. Standardized! Does any of it make sense now? I apologize again; I was practically drooling on the keyword when I posted before  darkeye,, thanks for registering! You have no idea how much it's appreciated, and I love you for it The limits I listed can honestly go either way. I've seen schools break up loans in odd ways, but the basic rule of thumb is that the Subsidized is need-based, and the Unsubsidized is non-need based. This means that people with greater financial need (according to FAFSA, not according to actuality) will receive more Subsidized funding, and those without greater financial need will receive more Unsubsidized funding. On July 1st the aggregate totals are changing slightly, so I will modify my OP to reflect that change. I'll let my buddies at Texas Guarantee (my favorite guarantor!) break this down further into Independant vs. Dependant for your eyes, since my own eyes are crossing! http://www.tgslc.org/borrowers/loans/stafford.cfm Your school is lying. Lying! Or maybe they're just telling you what you personally are eligible for. I sure hope so, 'cause otherwise...LIES!
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Jun 22, 2007 02:56
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Uuugghh, this is all so confusing and the reason I didn't go into business or take any math beyond college algebra...OP, tell me, in your honest opinion, where is the best place to get a $6000 dollar student loan? If you give me a name and 2 reasons, I will go there tonight and get it.
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Jun 22, 2007 21:56
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Peantoo posted:Uuugghh, this is all so confusing and the reason I didn't go into business or take any math beyond college algebra...OP, tell me, in your honest opinion, where is the best place to get a $6000 dollar student loan? If you give me a name and 2 reasons, I will go there tonight and get it. I work for a student loan company, and am therefore really really biased. I can't tell you who to go with, sorry hun! BUT, I am more than happy to go through a list of lenders for you. Maybe they have a preferred lender list on their website? Or did they maybe send one to you in your awards package?
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Jun 23, 2007 00:44
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CropGuru posted:Is it illegal to take out loans, toss them in a CD or MM account, pocket the interest, and pay back the principal on finishing a Ph.D.? I was glad to see this answered, I'd been wondering the same thing. I was actually accepted to grad school yesterday (hurrah!!!!) so I'm going to go back and reread the whole thread now.
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Jun 23, 2007 07:25
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carbon sixty posted:I was glad to see this answered, I'd been wondering the same thing. For an example of the "whatever you want" you can do with your student loans, a friend recently used her funds to help pay on her wedding. Totally school related! Congratulations on being accepted! The GradPlus loan may become your friend!
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Jun 23, 2007 17:46
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Great thread! This Fall, I am entering an MA program for music as a 25 year old independent. The school is covering my tuition, and giving me a 12k/year stipend. I am living on campus, and my rent is $600/month. I filled out a FAFSA, and my EFC is 952. I figure I'll need another 6k/year on top of the stipend to cover food, books, materials and tools. Which type of loan do you think would have the lowest interest, given my situation and the ways in which I must use the money? Also, do you think I might get a Pell Grant? Thanks! (PS - I signed up for your site as "SA_GoodOld") IzzyFnStradlin fucked around with this message at 17:13 on Jun 24, 2007 |
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Jun 24, 2007 17:10
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Here is my issue. I need like three grand for housing. I don't want to get all of my parents tax/income info (like fafsa). What do I do?
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Jun 24, 2007 22:36
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GoodOldDrinkinDays, thanks for signing up! Makes me very very happy You *might* get a Pell Grant. It's late enough in the year that this might not happen, because that's literally first come first serve, and if you didn't file your FAFSA in January-March you might not get anything, Pell-wise. You may still be able to get the Staffords, though. Have you already received your Financial Aid Awards Package, and if so what did it say? Any loans on it? If you're looking to open a new loan that's not based on the FAFSA, you're going to have to look at either the GradPlus loan or an alternative/private loan (yicky yick yick!). Dreadite, why on Earth would you want to skip the FAFSA step? If you end up taking out a private loan, you will pay a *ton* more in the long run than you would through the FAFSA. The only thing I could recommend is apply for as many scholarships and grants as possible.
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Jun 25, 2007 03:36
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