Student loans - Advice?

[TygressVirgo]

So I need to apply for student loans, and am generally clueless to financial matters. If anyone has any advice to share that could help me wade through this quagmire, it would be greatly appreciated.:box:

Also is it a good idea to take out a loan given the state of the economy?

[bluestars87]

Well what kind of loans are you looking for? I'm assuming you live in the U.S. due to your last statement.

Can you apply for financial aid and get some loans from the government? Or do you also need loans from a third party/private company, where a lot require a co-signer with good credit?

Here's a good webpage to get started:

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/How_do_you_get_a_student_loan_without_a_co-signer

This is actually a good thread because I was thinking about taking out a loan from a third party company next semester and I could use some help in making my decision.

[Digital Masta]

Unless you're really poor the government doesn't give you much.

[blank slate]

I think you could at least manage getting an unsubsidized stafford loan, which has interest rates that are MUCH lower than that offered by a third party.

A good place to start is by filling out a FAFSA (http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/)

[Fermented Yeast Paste]

Your school doesn't offer financial aid counselors?

[Kaji]

http://www.fafsa.org

File it online and then when your school gets back to you on it just contact your bank about a Stafford loan application to fill out. Give a copy to your school along with the school certification form and you should be set from there.

[Beowulf]

Financial aid is basically the most worthless thing ever. The people who definitely don't need it, often get it. And the people who need it the most have the hardest time obtaining it.

If there was ever anything we needed a complete overhaul on...

[SlickWilly440]

^
That statement is biased b/c if you were having an easy time getting financial aid, you wouldn't have written that statement.


But seriously, talk to the financial-aid office for the school you are attending or are going to attend, you'll probably get a much better response.

[stsparky]

Check if there are things like Pell Grants in your state.

[Harrison]

Just a quick note to point out that (1) college isn't always worth it, depending on your degree program and future job prospects (i.e., the old "would you like fries with that?" joke) (2) with rates rising and lending standards tightening, the money might not be available next year, so take what you can get now, and (3) you should remember that some day you ARE going to have to pay it all back (unless Obama waves his magic wand and makes everyone's problems all disappear).

[mrsiesta]

Just a quick note to point out that (1) college isn't always worth it, depending on your degree program and future job prospects (i.e., the old "would you like fries with that?" joke) (2) with rates rising and lending standards tightening, the money might not be available next year, so take what you can get now, and (3) you should remember that some day you ARE going to have to pay it all back (unless Obama waves his magic wand and makes everyone's problems all disappear).

:clap:
From Obama's site in regards to higher education:
http://www.barackobama.com/issues/education/#higher-education

Higher Education

* Create the American Opportunity Tax Credit: Obama and Biden will make college affordable for all Americans by creating a new American Opportunity Tax Credit. This universal and fully refundable credit will ensure that the first $4,000 of a college education is completely free for most Americans, and will cover two-thirds the cost of tuition at the average public college or university and make community college tuition completely free for most students. Recipients of the credit will be required to conduct 100 hours of community service.
* Simplify the Application Process for Financial Aid: Obama and Biden will streamline the financial aid process by eliminating the current federal financial aid application and enabling families to apply simply by checking a box on their tax form, authorizing their tax information to be used, and eliminating the need for a separate application.

[TygressVirgo]

I really should stop posting right before I log for the night :box:

The school program I am going for is roughly $54,000 for my AS in Graphic Design. I eventually plan to continue onto my BS. It is so worth it to me to do this, even with the cost being so high.

I have applied for fafsa/pell grants, but I was told that at the most it will only cover $14,000 of it given my current status of being a dependent student.

Since I am starting ahead of the scholarship season, I will have to wait to apply for most of them. I have talked to my f.aid office, and they have been very helpful, but I sorta get the feeling that they are just selling me things rather than giving me a neutral point of view. /shrug

I know I have to pay everything back, My uncle who is a home loan consultant has given me a few tips as to how to pay things back the smart way.

I have been offered a choice on stafford loans with the following companies:

Salliemae
Wells Fargo
Chase
Bank of America

Has anyone used these lenders for a student loan? Any type of loan?

*thanks for the responses*

:clap:
From Obama's site in regards to higher education:
http://www.barackobama.com/issues/education/#higher-education

Higher Education

* Create the American Opportunity Tax Credit: Obama and Biden will make college affordable for all Americans by creating a new American Opportunity Tax Credit. This universal and fully refundable credit will ensure that the first $4,000 of a college education is completely free for most Americans, and will cover two-thirds the cost of tuition at the average public college or university and make community college tuition completely free for most students. Recipients of the credit will be required to conduct 100 hours of community service.
* Simplify the Application Process for Financial Aid: Obama and Biden will streamline the financial aid process by eliminating the current federal financial aid application and enabling families to apply simply by checking a box on their tax form, authorizing their tax information to be used, and eliminating the need for a separate application.

When I was going to a community college here in so. california, My tuition and books were totally covered by f.aid. I had more issues trying to apply for f.aid than anything else, that and the moneywas dispersed after classes started.

[mrsiesta]

I really should stop posting right before I log for the night :box:

The school program I am going for is roughly $54,000 for my AS in Graphic Design. I eventually plan to continue onto my BS. It is so worth it to me to do this, even with the cost being so high.

I have applied for fafsa/pell grants, but I was told that at the most it will only cover $14,000 of it given my current status of being a dependent student.

Since I am starting ahead of the scholarship season, I will have to wait to apply for most of them. I have talked to my f.aid office, and they have been very helpful, but I sorta get the feeling that they are just selling me things rather than giving me a neutral point of view. /shrug

I know I have to pay everything back, My uncle who is a home loan consultant has given me a few tips as to how to pay things back the smart way.

I have been offered a choice on stafford loans with the following companies:

Salliemae
Wells Fargo
Chase
Bank of America

Has anyone used these lenders for a student loan? Any type of loan?

*thanks for the responses*

Yikes man, graphic design? Do you know how long it will take you to pay that back as a graphic designer? I'm only saying this because my ex-gf got her degree in graphic design from UH (houston), one of the best graphic design programs in the country. She was top of her class and is struggling to break into the industry, while in tandem struggling to pay her debts and make ends meet. Graphic design is a VERY rigorous and demanding program, and from that, it is very hard to get a well paying job (or even A job) in this field without having many contacts and friends already on the inside. Anyways, everytime I hear/read about someone about to attempt this voyage I feel a need to tell them to make sure they really wanna go down that road and know what to expect when they get to the end of it. In any event, good luck!

[Harrison]

Yikes man, graphic design? Do you know how long it will take you to pay that back as a graphic designer? I'm only saying this because my ex-gf got her degree in graphic design from UH (houston), one of the best graphic design programs in the country. She was top of her class and is struggling to break into the industry, while in tandem struggling to pay her debts and make ends meet. Graphic design is a VERY rigorous and demanding program, and from that, it is very hard to get a well paying job (or even A job) in this field without having many contacts and friends already on the inside. Anyways, everytime I hear/read about someone about to attempt this voyage I feel a need to tell them to make sure they really wanna go down that road and know what to expect when they get to the end of it. In any event, good luck!
:clap: :clap: :clap:

But don't you worry, Obama will wave his magic wand and make $8K of that $51K (are you including living expenses during those two years?) go away. That way, you'll only have to pay about $100K (after interest rates shoot up), which will be about eight years' net pay after Obama raises your taxes to pay for your student-loan credits.

[erbiumfiber]

Ouch...and here I thought I was suffering paying about $28,000 in tuition for my daughter...

Yes, it looks like government loans alone will not do it for you and you will need loans from commerical lenders. I have read on other sites that money is available, although fewer lenders seem to be participating.

Since you cannot get out of paying back a student loan, even with bankruptcy, the evil way that I have heard suggested is to pay for everything with credit cards and THEN declare bankruptcy.

Or pay with student loans, go out and get a job, pay the student loans off with credit cards/home equity loans, etc. and then declare bankruptcy.

It's completely evil, I know.

Do please be careful about taking on too much student loan debt...it can really hurt you well into your 30's around the time you want to start a family and buy a house. I started law school at a really expensive school (Georgetown) that my employer paid some tuition for (covered my whole first year at night) but then my second year would have cost me over $10,000 (this is 20 years ago, it was a lot of money to me) and I was planning to leave my then-husband and had a new baby. It just wasn't worth going into debt so I transferred to an excellent state school.

I realize that in your field the program is really important to help you land that all-important first job so maybe this is worth it to you but try grovelling some more to the financial aid people. Unfortunately, if your parents are responsible people and own their own home and have savings, well you probably don't qualify for much. I was angry when I applied for a GRADUATE school program and they were STILL looking at my parents' incomes!! At 22, I don't think you are your parents' responsibility anymore...grrr.

And I have known people who moved out of their parents' house and worked for a year to become "independent" so that they WOULD qualify for financial aid.

I agree with the previous comment that the system is in DIRE need of an overhaul...it is WAY too capricious these days (e.g., some people getting a complete free ride, others paying everything. Why not make everyone pay the same amount up to say $15-$20k per year and then the rest is financial aid or grants or loans? Why do some people have to come out of school $50-$100k in debt and others have no debt because everything was paid for all on the basis of what your parents earn (not merit-based)? Seems a little messed-up to me...end rant).

[jariten]

I have been offered a choice on stafford loans with the following companies:

Salliemae
Wells Fargo
Chase
Bank of America

Has anyone used these lenders for a student loan? Any type of loan?

*thanks for the responses*


I've had loans with Wells, Chase, and BoA (not student loans...but I'll not regale you with my opinion since that's the route you want to go.)

All were professional companies with good structures. Basically, if you live up to your end they'll live up to theirs.

With all loans, the best advice is to apply to every convenient bank and then take the best deal. If you stay away from fly-by-night organizations, odds are you'll get what you sign up for (whether that's what your really need or want is another story).

[TygressVirgo]

mrsiesta - I am going to a school that emphasizes job placement and its whole program is based around employment. It has a 98% job placement for graduates. I've spoken with a few of the students and they all had positive experiences.

Harrison - I am a tad confused as to you pov on this subject and obama's plan

[Radiance]

Out of curiosity... Fullsail? :D

[TygressVirgo]

Out of curiosity... Fullsail? :D

fullsail?

[Radiance]

Nevermind, I thought they had opened the second campus I heard talk of in California but after looking into it they haven't. They're an entertainment specialization school... (I don't want to use the word university) and for the cost you were mentioning they sounded about right.

[TygressVirgo]

Oh, its an Art Institute School

[bluestars87]

Ouch...and here I thought I was suffering paying about $28,000 in tuition for my daughter...

Yes, it looks like government loans alone will not do it for you and you will need loans from commerical lenders. I have read on other sites that money is available, although fewer lenders seem to be participating.

Since you cannot get out of paying back a student loan, even with bankruptcy, the evil way that I have heard suggested is to pay for everything with credit cards and THEN declare bankruptcy.

Or pay with student loans, go out and get a job, pay the student loans off with credit cards/home equity loans, etc. and then declare bankruptcy.

It's completely evil, I know.

Do please be careful about taking on too much student loan debt...it can really hurt you well into your 30's around the time you want to start a family and buy a house. I started law school at a really expensive school (Georgetown) that my employer paid some tuition for (covered my whole first year at night) but then my second year would have cost me over $10,000 (this is 20 years ago, it was a lot of money to me) and I was planning to leave my then-husband and had a new baby. It just wasn't worth going into debt so I transferred to an excellent state school.

I realize that in your field the program is really important to help you land that all-important first job so maybe this is worth it to you but try grovelling some more to the financial aid people. Unfortunately, if your parents are responsible people and own their own home and have savings, well you probably don't qualify for much. I was angry when I applied for a GRADUATE school program and they were STILL looking at my parents' incomes!! At 22, I don't think you are your parents' responsibility anymore...grrr.

And I have known people who moved out of their parents' house and worked for a year to become "independent" so that they WOULD qualify for financial aid.

I agree with the previous comment that the system is in DIRE need of an overhaul...it is WAY too capricious these days (e.g., some people getting a complete free ride, others paying everything. Why not make everyone pay the same amount up to say $15-$20k per year and then the rest is financial aid or grants or loans? Why do some people have to come out of school $50-$100k in debt and others have no debt because everything was paid for all on the basis of what your parents earn (not merit-based)? Seems a little messed-up to me...end rant).

Yes the system is like a no-win situation for a lot of people. And I seem to be one of them. Financial Aid (FAFSA) won't give me so much to pay for my three classes per semester at AAU. So I have to use government loans to pay for the rest and have been doing that same process for about four years now. Taking three classes per semester at a school that isn't a four year institution where five or six classes are the standard (but most students I talk to take four because Art school has it's time constraints) make it so I'll be in school for quite some time. I don't mind that too much because I need all the practice I can get for my BFA degree in illustration. Time as well.

Which has made me think about taking out a third party loan so I can get a lot more money per semester and maybe not even have to work or at least reduce my hours so I'll have more time to dedicate to my classes...plus paying rent for my current place I stay at off campus. The downside is obvious. Higher interest rates, needing a co-signer with good credit to maybe even qualify for a good loan from that third party lender, and having to pay back a lot more. Makes me think about the people who don't have a person in their family with good credit...and if they go to a college where government loans aren't enough what the heck do they do?

At this point I'm starting to not care as much about the negatives. I'm at the level where I really just want my illustration skills to develop...so I can get a nice job in the future because even though I know the illustration industry is going downhill, I'm optimistic I could transfer to another field like animation or something else. I have a feeling that if my illustration skills look really nice that will make the transition into another field a little easier. Sucks that this is the price I have to pay (literally) to do something I love while in other countries it's not as much as a burden.

America really sucks with higher education...or maybe just education in general.

[Harrison]

Harrison - I am a tad confused as to you pov on this subject and obama's plan
Don't mind me, I'm just bouncing off the walls. Obama's plans so closely parallel the mistakes made in the 1930s, the ones that prolonged and deepened the Great Depression, that the mind boggles. We've even got Stalin on the rise again in Russia. All we really need is a failed artist with political aspirations, one testicle, and some radical new ideas, preferably in Austria. . . .



I guess I'm just in a radically different position. I'm 43, worked and saved, sold a house that had appreciated reasonably well, and am paying cash for law school. It doesn't hurt that the school gave me a nice merit scholarship.

The only debt I've ever had was my home mortgage, and that got paid off when I dumped the house in 2003. Bad timing, but better timing than it would have been today.

I simply cannot imagine taking on major longterm debt to get a degree that does not (virtually) guarantee a high-paying job in the future. Especially when we are heading into a deep recession, salaries are going to be cut, and unemployment will be rising sharply (thus harming future employment prospects).

I wish you the best of luck.

[Digital Masta]

I agree with the previous comment that the system is in DIRE need of an overhaul...it is WAY too capricious these days (e.g., some people getting a complete free ride, others paying everything. Why not make everyone pay the same amount up to say $15-$20k per year and then the rest is financial aid or grants or loans? Why do some people have to come out of school $50-$100k in debt and others have no debt because everything was paid for all on the basis of what your parents earn (not merit-based)? Seems a little messed-up to me...end rant).

This would be me...and I'm at the $100k range.

[TygressVirgo]

Bluestars87 - What school do you go to? Are you gaining experience in both fields?

Harrison - It does scare me to a great degree to be taking on such a debt. On the other hand the larger part of my drive is telling me I can do this if I am smart about things, keep things going as much as possible. Thanks for the advice and the well wishes.

Digital Masta - What field are you in if I may ask?

[bluestars87]

Bluestars87 - What school do you go to? Are you gaining experience in both fields?
Academy of Art University in San Francisco. I'm mostly gaining experience in traditional illustration (my major) and fine arts classes at the moment. Perhaps if I take out a bigger loan I can get experience in other classes faster. And if I do take out a bigger loan, I'm probably not working because I obviously wouldn't have the time for four classes and the time to go to work.

[TygressVirgo]

When I went through orientation, I realized that my school places a strong emphasis in training you for your major, but also giving you enough training in related areas that will give you more options for employment. One of my favorite benefits to going to the school.

Pretty sweet you are going to AAU :)