Freaking out over getting student loans!

[wshupnastar]

Okay, DH is wanting to go back to school. He hates his job, and makes very little money. Circumstances, right now, dictate that I stay home. I do work from home and make a bit of money, but, seriously, it isn't much. We do okay, as far as bills, and even can afford some Disney vacations, but we struggle to save on EVERYTHING!

Anyway, we found out he can get a Pell Grant for under half of his school costs. Other than that, we will have to take out loans for at least $9000

I know he really needs to further his education, if we ever plan on getting ahead, but I am just so freaked out by the thought of that debt! It is actually making me physically sick! We already owe on our mortgage (quite a bit, since we only bought our house last year!) and have some credit card debt that we are working to pay off, so I feel like I am fanning the flames here!

Any words of wisdom?

 

[delmar411]

Is 9k the total for all of it?

If it is total then that's not too bad really. Also he should be applying for scholarships, grants and see if the university will also offer him grants. DH got 2k in grants from the school for this year (just for being an adult going back to school) plus the Pell Grant.

For next year we are going to focus on applying for as many grants/scholarships that we can find to bring down what he needs to take out as a loan.

Think of it as an investment. If your DH can make an extra 10-20k or more each year then your investment in his education will pay off quickly.

 

[delmar411]

also the loans do not come due until after he's been out of FT school for 6mths. You can start paying on the immediately to reduce the interest but it isn't required if that puts you into too much of a financial bind.

 

[My sister's princess]

OP, what kind of loan was he offered. I work in Financial Aid, and there are some loans that are better for the student than others

 

[lucigo]

He needs to take the time to do the research and apply for every scholarship he can find. I have 2 kids in college right now (and my DH is in grad school) and I haven't paid a dime toward any of their college. There are lots of programs out there, and as far as scholarships go, the harder they are to apply for, the better chance you will get it since most people won't want to jump through the hoops. Good luck!!!

 

[tnd]

I know 9K seems like a lot of money (and it is), but it is an investment in your DH's future that will benefit your whole family. If he can get a better job and increase his lifetime earning power, it will be a great investment. Also, federal student loans are pretty good student loans to have. They have a fair interest rate, can be deferred if you have economic issues and the interest is tax deductible.

I agree about looking for scholarship options. The financial aid office at his school will have some good information on that I am sure. One thing I will caution you to do is investigate the job prospects for whatever the degree or certificate is. Don't necessarily trust the schools, talk to people in the industry and find out about post-graduation employement prospects.

Finally, if it makes you feel any better, my husband and I have nearly $250,000 of student loans. They are on a 30 year repayment schedule so it is like having another mortgage, but at an insanely low interest rate. That is a terrifying number to type out, but it was an investment in our future and so far it's paying off well.

 

[Boston Tea Party]

IMHO going into debt to further your education and earning power can be seen as "good" debt. I have student loan debt and don't regret it for a minute. It was needed for me to increase my earning power.

 

[mrsklamc]

Is that for the whole program or one semester? If it's for the whole program, no big deal. If you qualified for Pell a fair amount are probably subsidized as well.

My bigger concern from reading your post- and I'm not sure if this is a concern or not- If you are staying home, is your DH going to continue to work FT while going to school? If not, it seems paying your day to day living expenses would be a larger concern than the loan.

 

[PinkRhombus]

Does his employer reimburse for college? I've worked for several companies that do this.

 

[Kellydelly]

The only thing that would stop me from telling you to go for it is if the field he wants to go into won't actually pay him more than what he earns now. I have a friend who has over $30,000 in student loan debt and when she graduated with a bachelor's degree recently is now earning around $15 an hour. I think she will move up into other jobs that will pay her better in the future, but right now she's being crushed by that debt (when you add it to her other monthly expenses) because her income isn't as much as she was anticipating.

 

[wshupnastar]

Thanks for all of the help. I am starting to feel better, and I know it's thanks to the encouragement on here!

I looked over what we have so far.

He is getting like like $5000 in a Pell Grant

The other amounts are:

Subsidized Stafford Loan $3,500
Unsubsidized Stafford Loan $6,000

I feel so stupid because I have no idea what any of this means.

His employer doesn't reimburse, so it's all on us. He does plan on working full time while going to school. But, since he's pretty used to working a lot, if he cuts back to 40 hours a week at one job, we should be okay. I wanted to get a part time job to help out, but with one car and 2 kids, it's just not working out right now. (We live in the boonies, public transportation doesn't even exist here...and jobs are few and far between...don't even have a Wal-Mart!)

One of the main reasons he is wanting to further his education is to move us away from this little town!

 

[punkin]

That's for one year, one semester or the entire program?

I am guessing one year. In that case over 4 years (i am also assuming it's a 4 year program), you will have $38K in loans. Of this, $24 will have started accruing interest from the day you take it out. As much as that sounds, it is really doable ASSUMING (I am doing a lot of that) DH can get a job that pays significantly more. That is not always possible since he will be starting his career over and will probably have to take an entry level job at first.

 

[delmar411]

Thanks for all of the help. I am starting to feel better, and I know it's thanks to the encouragement on here!

I looked over what we have so far.

He is getting like like $5000 in a Pell Grant

The other amounts are:

Subsidized Stafford Loan $3,500
Unsubsidized Stafford Loan $6,000

Is this what he actually needs for school? I only ask because DH was given both those loans automatically and the amounts are over 8k more than he needs for tuition. You are supposed to adjust them to what you actually need per semester. I'd include books, parking pass and a laptop if he'll need that as well.

Just something to look into.

 

[Dorisk3]

Not all debt is bad. Your husband furthering his career and hopefully finding a job he really likes is good debt. Think of it this way, you are buying into your future and his future happiness.

 

[pixie921]

OP, I understand your feelings. My dh went back to school for his degree (it was required for his job, but there was no reimbursement for work) and we will be paying his almost $20K student loan off 'til we're 50! Of course, our goal is to pay it off sooner, but I'm not sure if that will happen or not. Especially since he's going back for his Master's this fall (fortunately, work is paying for the majority of this degree).

But this is the best job he's ever had, his earnings have gone way up, and it's definitely going to be worth the time together and money we've sacrificed. As others have said, this kind of debt can certainly be worth it. Good luck to your dh (and you, too!).

 

[mrsklamc]

You DO want to know what the terminology means, any time you take out a loan.

The 'subsidized' loan means that the taxpayers will be picking up the tab for the interest on that loan until your dh enters repayment. This is good for you.

The 'unsubsidized' loan means that interest will begin to accrue immediately, even though you arent required to pay on the loan while your DH is in school. If you can swing it, though, I would recommend trying to pay some of that interest while he's in school-otherwise it will be added to the principle of the loan when he goes into repayment, and it adds up to a much higher number than most people think it will.

 

[tasha99]

The only thing that would stop me from telling you to go for it is if the field he wants to go into won't actually pay him more than what he earns now. I have a friend who has over $30,000 in student loan debt and when she graduated with a bachelor's degree recently is now earning around $15 an hour. I think she will move up into other jobs that will pay her better in the future, but right now she's being crushed by that debt (when you add it to her other monthly expenses) because her income isn't as much as she was anticipating.

This is pretty much the position I was in a year ago. I decided to go back to school and get a Masters in a field with a better income potential (speech therapy). When I'm done, I'll have $80,000 in student loans, but a much higher income potential.

 

[My sister's princess]

Thanks for all of the help. I am starting to feel better, and I know it's thanks to the encouragement on here!

I looked over what we have so far.

He is getting like like $5000 in a Pell Grant

The other amounts are:

Subsidized Stafford Loan $3,500
Unsubsidized Stafford Loan $6,000

I feel so stupid because I have no idea what any of this means.

His employer doesn't reimburse, so it's all on us. He does plan on working full time while going to school. But, since he's pretty used to working a lot, if he cuts back to 40 hours a week at one job, we should be okay. I wanted to get a part time job to help out, but with one car and 2 kids, it's just not working out right now. (We live in the boonies, public transportation doesn't even exist here...and jobs are few and far between...don't even have a Wal-Mart!)

One of the main reasons he is wanting to further his education is to move us away from this little town!

Do these loans more than cover what his bill will be? If they do I would recommend decreasing the unsubsidized loan. It carries an interest rate of 6.8% currently it is accruing interest while he is in school. The subsidized loan is a program that has the government paying the interest on the loan for you husband while he is in school. My other question to you is how long will he need to be in school? If it is more than one year you should start looking for scholarships (fastweb.com is one of my favorite scholarship search tools). If you know when they are going to come up to be applied for next year, your hubby will have a great head start on getting them in on time

 

[crisi]

The pertinent questions to answer:

Do these loans cover just a year or the degree?

What is he intending to major in? Is it something in demand?

Are there less expensive college options? (since you said you are in the boonies, I sort of doubt it, but it should be asked).

Is he motivated to complete college? Two years of so-so grades and then dropping out just leaves you with a lot of debt.

 

[OhMari]

Your dh will be asked to attend some kind of loan seminary when he starts classes in the Fall.
My older 2 have loans/ and their interest rates were 2 and 3 %.
My youngest 2 are in college and I just saw the rates at 8.4% for the gov. loans.
Hopefully in 4 years, the rates will drop again.