Researching student loans, wow my head is spinning. Any info?

[okeydokey]

I won't even talk about our EFC, it is unreasonable & Penn State is only a fraction of what they think I can spend on school & it's way way way too high

It's not though. They are looking at your income and assuming you accepted your responsibility to save for your kid's education, starting years ago.

If the EFC for Penn State is too high, then don't choose Penn State.

The EFC for my child's Freshmen year is the entire cost of attendance at an in state public Florida University (about 20,000 this year). My husband and I both work and I never expected to get "free" aid. I did not expect the tax payers to subsidize their education. They already get subsidies by enrolling in Public Universities.

 

[Judique]

I've been following this thread closely as I have one continuing their education. They've already got the associates from a community college and have been working full time. Now it is time to go back and she's been accepted into an engineering program at Univ Of Maryland. Because of age and independence, I'm not part of this FAFSA, but will be contributing.

I have 2 other children who managed to get degrees without going into excessive student loan debt. It's taken a combo of work and school and a bit more than four years. It's certainly an expensive learning process for all.

 

[LuvOrlando]

I'm going to add my 2 cents, hesitantely as I am feeling shame. Glad this is a message board and not RL!

Oldest kid went to college. Kid did great in HS and got into an expensive school, got a good scholarship. Not full though. Dh and I didn't go to college, and we were not in a position to fully pay. We could pay enough to cover community college, or half of local univ. For kid to go to the school, meant loans. However, the major is skilled and in demand and really, paying should not have been a problem. I cosigned, in the end about the amount of a nice SUV.

...fast forward, kid has a good job, and chose to marry someone who chooses to not contribute financially (no kids). So guess who is paying the private loans? Yup. Because I cosigned, and also want to get a new mortgage soon (moving). It is a MESS. And taking away from my own minor children. We will never again cosign a loan, and I'm not encouraging the others to go away to school. I regret it.

I fully recommend NOT cosigning ever!

Such an unfortunate situation but you have zero to be ashamed of, on the other hand your son should be ashamed to keep his wife home while you are absorbing his expenses like this. Such a shame

This is good advice. We are not signing anything we aren't prepared to pay.

 

[LuvOrlando]

If you have money in the bank to pay for college, why a 12 page angst-ridden thread about how you're going to pay for college?

I have 2 kids so in one year everything doubles. The angst is because it's a lot of money and responsibility & worry so I want to find a reasonable financial plan for absorbing all this. If you are in a position where this sort of magnitude of a choice and expense does not prompt angst I don't really think we have a meeting of the minds

 

[LuvOrlando]

If you want to use the university's free payment plan, you might want to lock that in now. At DS's school, the payment plan opens in May and breaks it into 5 payments a semester. If you miss the May deadline, it's 10% down and 4 payments. If you miss the next deadline (mid July), it's 20% down and 3 payments. After that, you are SOL.

Going to accepted student orientation soon & I hope they build this into the parent portion of things.

One friend did the school payment plan and was very happy. I just worry about overextending ourselves but maybe it's just better to do this. Another friend paid the second half over 6 months

I still don't have the financial breakdown for the fall semester yet

 

[Mrs. Ciz]

Going to accepted student orientation soon & I hope they build this into the parent portion of things.

One friend did the school payment plan and was very happy. I just worry about overextending ourselves but maybe it's just better to do this. Another friend paid the second half over 6 months

I still don't have the financial breakdown for the fall semester yet

I would look into it now on my own. We waited until DS's July orientation and almost ended up missing the payment plan sign up entirely. As it was, we had to come up with a 20% down payment that we were not prepared for. We made it work, but it was a rough month for us financially. I share this so no one else thinks they can wait unit summer orientation to get all the details and still sign up for the 5 payment plan.

 

[mistysue]

I have 2 kids so in one year everything doubles. The angst is because it's a lot of money and responsibility & worry so I want to find a reasonable financial plan for absorbing all this. If you are in a position where this sort of magnitude of a choice and expense does not prompt angst I don't really think we have a meeting of the minds

Please tell me they divide the EFC between the two kids...? How do they work that out, since a lower EFC means you get possibly more grants or subsidies, are you expected to have the same EFC per child or is it equally divided? Is there a higher percentage for multiple children? Does it work more like a child support where the first gets totally screwed and the next child gets a huge grant to cover "mom and dad's" portion?

 

[MariMama]

Going to accepted student orientation soon & I hope they build this into the parent portion of things.

One friend did the school payment plan and was very happy. I just worry about overextending ourselves but maybe it's just better to do this. Another friend paid the second half over 6 months

I still don't have the financial breakdown for the fall semester yet

They don't build it into the parent portion of orientation. They expect you to research and use their website to find all the info you need. If you wait until orientation, you may be too late to sign up for a payment plan.

 

[okeydokey]

Please tell me they divide the EFC between the two kids...? How do they work that out, since a lower EFC means you get possibly more grants or subsidies, are you expected to have the same EFC per child or is it equally divided? Is there a higher percentage for multiple children? Does it work more like a child support where the first gets totally screwed and the next child gets a huge grant to cover "mom and dad's" portion?

Your EFC should be the same regardless of how many you have in college. Two kids in college should mean more aid, but that could just mean more loans.

 

[mistysue]

Your EFC should be the same regardless of how many you have in college. Two kids in college should mean more aid, but that could just mean more loans.

That makes one really good argument for having your kids as close together as possible! My oldest will graduate just in time for #2 to start... which will cut down on how much pity any school takes. Even if the aid is just loans, it seems you may be eligible for more loans with some version of a subsidy- lower rate or deferred onset of payments- either of which can be a huge perk to a person who doesn't get that.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

It's not though. They are looking at your income and assuming you accepted your responsibility to save for your kid's education, starting years ago.

If the EFC for Penn State is too high, then don't choose Penn State.

The EFC for my child's Freshmen year is the entire cost of attendance at an in state public Florida University (about 20,000 this year). My husband and I both work and I never expected to get "free" aid. I did not expect the tax payers to subsidize their education. They already get subsidies by enrolling in Public Universities.

IIRC, the EFC is the same regardless of which school the student chooses. It would not be specific for Penn State or any other school.

 

[LuvOrlando]

So I decided it's best to be proactive so I got a full time job in order to absorb the expenses that are giving me anxiety. Started 2 weeks ago. So we paid for summer in cash but I still do not even have a bill for fall and neither do any of the other parents I know- sure there are estimates but I want real numbers. It's a bananas process

 

[teller80]

So I decided it's best to be proactive so I got a full time job in order to absorb the expenses that are giving me anxiety. Started 2 weeks ago. So we paid for summer in cash but I still do not even have a bill for fall and neither do any of the other parents I know- sure there are estimates but I want real numbers. It's a bananas process

Some schools allow you to pay your bill with your credit card with no surcharge (one of my kids was lucky enough to go to a school like this), so I looked around for the best rewards credit card and put it on that and then paid it off. Every little bit helps!

 

[McKelly]

Going OT again but most advisors these days recommend to find out in advance exactly what classes will transfer to the 4 yr college of choice and only take those particular classes at a community college. Following the community college's curriculum to get an associates degree is a waste of time. Not that it's not an accomplishment but I have one too and didn't even care to attend commencement. Neither did my friends there. It was kind of a joke among us.
I'm not knocking community colleges. Ds19 will be attending ours in the fall after a semester at an expensive private school which was one of a tiny handful that offered a major in software engineering. He then decided he didn't want SE so it's back to community until he figures out what he wants. It's 1/10 the cost of the private school which we can easily afford OOP.

I totally agree with this. This happened to me. I went to a community college - my parents didn't help, and I didn't have the money to pay for the four year colleges. Well, when I was ready to move to a four year, yes, most of those credits transferred, but ONLY as electives. They did NOT transfer as required courses at the four year -hence I had to take classes all over again. I ended up dropping out - ran out of money - and I never went back. Something I regret to this day.
But at the same time - I work with young graduates who are saddled up to their eyeballs in student loan debt. And their advice to me - to tell my kids that they should start at a two year college - and save money.
The answer is what the poster said above - make sure you know EXACTLY which classes will not only tranfer but COUNT towards their degree.

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

This is a long thread and I didn't have time to read the whole thing, so excuse me if I posted this before.

If your child takes out any private loans, the co-signer will be responsible for paying this if your child becomes disabled or dies. A federally insured loan will be forgiven; a private loan will not. It is essential that the cosigner takes out a life insurance policy on the student to cover the loan repayment.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

This is a long thread and I didn't have time to read the whole thing, so excuse me if I posted this before.

If your child takes out any private loans, the co-signer will be responsible for paying this if your child becomes disabled or dies. A federally insured loan will be forgiven; a private loan will not. It is essential that the cosigner takes out a life insurance policy on the student to cover the loan repayment.

I agree 100%. Despite ds19 being young and healthy, life insurance on him was not cheap when we looked into it. So when comparing federal vs. private loans, we factored the life ins cost into the equation. We all like to think nothing bad will happen to our kids but anyone working in a hospital/emergency room knows otherwise, even if it is a skewed view of reality.
For me, peace of mind is priceless.

 

[tzolkin]

I agree 100%. Despite ds19 being young and healthy, life insurance on him was not cheap when we looked into it. So when comparing federal vs. private loans, we factored the life ins cost into the equation. We all like to think nothing bad will happen to our kids but anyone working in a hospital/emergency room knows otherwise, even if it is a skewed view of reality.
For me, peace of mind is priceless.

Were you looking at whole life? Term insurance should only be a few dollars per month (especially if you are only looking for a death benefit amount to cover the loans).

 

[msmayor]

Going OT again but most advisors these days recommend to find out in advance exactly what classes will transfer to the 4 yr college of choice and only take those particular classes at a community college. Following the community college's curriculum to get an associates degree is a waste of time. Not that it's not an accomplishment but I have one too and didn't even care to attend commencement. Neither did my friends there. It was kind of a joke among us.
I'm not knocking community colleges. Ds19 will be attending ours in the fall after a semester at an expensive private school which was one of a tiny handful that offered a major in software engineering. He then decided he didn't want SE so it's back to community until he figures out what he wants. It's 1/10 the cost of the private school which we can easily afford OOP.

I totally agree with this. This happened to me. I went to a community college - my parents didn't help, and I didn't have the money to pay for the four year colleges. Well, when I was ready to move to a four year, yes, most of those credits transferred, but ONLY as electives. They did NOT transfer as required courses at the four year -hence I had to take classes all over again. I ended up dropping out - ran out of money - and I never went back. Something I regret to this day.
But at the same time - I work with young graduates who are saddled up to their eyeballs in student loan debt. And their advice to me - to tell my kids that they should start at a two year college - and save money.
The answer is what the poster said above - make sure you know EXACTLY which classes will not only tranfer but COUNT towards their degree.

The college my son is transferring to after his associates degree at community college will accept those students with an AA/AS from any NJ community college automatically at the Junior level AND consider all General Education credits as complete. The only credits a transfer student with a degree needs to take are those required for their specific major.

Anyone who takes classes at a community college that would be considered part of their specific major requirement should never expect those credits to transfer to the four year institution as anything other than electives. If a 4-year college is going to award a specific degree in a major, they want to know that the recipient has completed THEIR degree program. I think that's pretty standard in the world of academia.

 

[georgina]

Please tell me they divide the EFC between the two kids...? How do they work that out, since a lower EFC means you get possibly more grants or subsidies, are you expected to have the same EFC per child or is it equally divided? Is there a higher percentage for multiple children? Does it work more like a child support where the first gets totally screwed and the next child gets a huge grant to cover "mom and dad's" portion?

Yes, your EFC is basically split in 2, but there are very few schools that meet full need without loans (and they are hard to get into!) They also require the Profile in addition to the FAFSA.So, a lower EFC per child might not get you much more aid. Penn State was mentioned; they are pretty bad with giving aid.

So I decided it's best to be proactive so I got a full time job in order to absorb the expenses that are giving me anxiety. Started 2 weeks ago. So we paid for summer in cash but I still do not even have a bill for fall and neither do any of the other parents I know- sure there are estimates but I want real numbers. It's a bananas process

I think that is wonderful, congratulations on the job and being proactive.

 

[crisi]

Anyone who takes classes at a community college that would be considered part of their specific major requirement should never expect those credits to transfer to the four year institution as anything other than electives. If a 4-year college is going to award a specific degree in a major, they want to know that the recipient has completed THEIR degree program. I think that's pretty standard in the world of academia.

There is something implied here that you aren't stating, but I'll state it outright.

Most major programs have coursework that starts your Freshman year that is a pre-req for courses you take your Sophomore year, so that you can take upper division coursework your Junior and Senior years. So while completing your general ed requirements at a Community College is awesome, you probably won't complete your Bachelors in two more years if every course required for your major is required to be taken from the school granting the degree.

Some of the courses required to graduate may only be offered once a year - I had one only offered once every other year. If you missed it the year you needed it, there was no way you were going to get around a fifth year.

So you may need to spend an extra year in school, or take some Summer coursework.