I'm seeking advice about loans for University

[plastick]

Hey all. I am posting to ask for serious advice about student loans.

I am transferring to a University and will attend for three semesters. I have calculated that my total costs for living and tuition will equal around $16,600. That is one big loan!

I will be getting a bachelors degree in computer networking and I assume that it will be relatively easy to find a relatively good job out there with which to pay back my loans - I would be satisfied earning around 40k per year (I'm assuming that's low for a lot of technical professionals on this forum).

I have done some scholarship research but not found too much, and I am now starting to do some student loan research. So if anyone can give me any good low interest student loan advice, such as where to go and what things to stay away from, it would be a great help to me.

EDIT: I have applied for the FAFSA but always get screwed somehow... won't get help from them again this year.

 

[GeneValgene]

did you apply for financial aid? shoot for subsidized federal loans, that are little to no interest

 

[Heisenberg]

The university should have a student aid/loan office that can help you with this far better than people here. That said, FAFSA is a good place to start.

 

[Savij]

Cantact the student aid office of your school. They will tell you to do the Fafsa, submit tax forms and that junk. Wait for them to get back to you. If you still want more after your financial aid package, go to some banks and find out what they offer.

Do the fin. aid office first...NOW!!!! Some of the loan and grant money is first come first serve. You absolutely want as much federally subsidized loans and or any grants you can get.

 

[cHeeZeFacTory]

well if you live in CA, and have low house hold income, you can probably qualify for pell grants & cal grants. You'll need to fill out that fafsa, although it is real late for 06-07 school year.

 

[tennisflip]

I was about to start a loan thread myself since I received only enough to cover about 25% of my tuition from federal loans. Typically, where is the best place to go to after getting all you can from federal loans?

 

[plastick]

Originally posted by: tennisflip
I was about to start a loan thread myself since I received only enough to cover about 25% of my tuition from federal loans. Typically, where is the best place to go to after getting all you can from federal loans?

How much did you get from federal? What were the stipulations?

 

[Savij]

Originally posted by: plastick

Originally posted by: tennisflip
I was about to start a loan thread myself since I received only enough to cover about 25% of my tuition from federal loans. Typically, where is the best place to go to after getting all you can from federal loans?

How much did you get from federal? What were the stipulations?

The school fin. aid dept. can help you out there too. I got loans through my school. If nothing else, shop around at banks and such.

 

[tennisflip]

Originally posted by: plastick

Originally posted by: tennisflip
I was about to start a loan thread myself since I received only enough to cover about 25% of my tuition from federal loans. Typically, where is the best place to go to after getting all you can from federal loans?

How much did you get from federal? What were the stipulations?

I was offered a combination of subsidized/unsubsidized Stafford Loans totaling $10,500... or $5,250 per semester.

 

[plastick]

Originally posted by: Savij

Originally posted by: plastick

Originally posted by: tennisflip
I was about to start a loan thread myself since I received only enough to cover about 25% of my tuition from federal loans. Typically, where is the best place to go to after getting all you can from federal loans?

How much did you get from federal? What were the stipulations?

The school fin. aid dept. can help you out there too. I got loans through my school. If nothing else, shop around at banks and such.

Yeah... I am a Wells Fargo client, and I think I heard that they have good loans.

 

[tennisflip]

Originally posted by: Savij

Originally posted by: plastick

Originally posted by: tennisflip
I was about to start a loan thread myself since I received only enough to cover about 25% of my tuition from federal loans. Typically, where is the best place to go to after getting all you can from federal loans?

How much did you get from federal? What were the stipulations?

The school fin. aid dept. can help you out there too. I got loans through my school. If nothing else, shop around at banks and such.

Was you financial aid package all from federal loans?

 

[plastick]

Yeah, I basically know NOTHING about loans right now

 

[tennisflip]

Originally posted by: plastick
Yeah, I basically know NOTHING about loans right now

You're not the only one When my brother started med school I believe he got all the money he needed from federal loans, I thought the same would apply for an undergrad but that doesn't seem to be the case

By the way, I have another question for anyone to answer. If I were to take out a loan from, for instance, Wells Fargo how long does this process take assuming I have an adequate cosigner and excellent credit history?

 

[plastick]

Originally posted by: tennisflip

Originally posted by: plastick
Yeah, I basically know NOTHING about loans right now

You're not the only one When my brother started med school I believe he got all the money he needed from federal loans, I thought the same would apply for an undergrad but that doesn't seem to be the case

Well I have an associates degree, so I dont think that I am still considered an undergrad..or am I?

 

[tennisflip]

Originally posted by: plastick

Originally posted by: tennisflip

Originally posted by: plastick
Yeah, I basically know NOTHING about loans right now

You're not the only one When my brother started med school I believe he got all the money he needed from federal loans, I thought the same would apply for an undergrad but that doesn't seem to be the case

Well I have an associates degree, so I dont think that I am still considered an undergrad..or am I?

I already have a bachelors degree but I'm returning for a 2nd degree... for me that still counts as undergrad. On the FAFSA form I just stated that I was a 5th yr undergrad.

 

[plastick]

ttt

 

[Savij]

Originally posted by: tennisflip

Originally posted by: Savij

Originally posted by: plastick

Originally posted by: tennisflip
I was about to start a loan thread myself since I received only enough to cover about 25% of my tuition from federal loans. Typically, where is the best place to go to after getting all you can from federal loans?

How much did you get from federal? What were the stipulations?

The school fin. aid dept. can help you out there too. I got loans through my school. If nothing else, shop around at banks and such.

Was you financial aid package all from federal loans?

A mix of grants, federal, and private loans.

 

[aswedc]

Ok, here are the basics.

The federal loan which is not need based is the Stafford loan. The amount you qualify for varies by class level and dependency status.

If you have an associates degree, you are either a sophomore or junior, depending on how many credits the university accepts in transfer. Ask them about it.

As for dependency, you need to tell us (and FASFA when applying for official aid) your age, whether you're a veteran, whether you're married, and if you have any dependents yourself in order to determine if you qualify as an independent or not.

 

[Rumpltzer]

I ended up paying for undergrad on my own at a state university. During my senior year in high school, I applied for every scholarship I could find. Most of them were local scholarships and not national ones. Of the 33 that I applied for, I got like 12 of them. Some were a few hundred dollars, and some were a few thousand. Paired up with the grants that I was offered by the university and through the department of education, it ended up being enough to pay for my freshman year at UIUC without taking any of the loans.

By living lean for the next three years and filling out the FAFSA, I took out about $12,000 through undergrad and all of it was in Stafford and Perkins Loans offered through the government programs and the university. I got a lot of grants from the university and the government because I was on my own and making $8,000-$12,000 per year (during summer internships) made me look very, very poor.

Paying them back is no problem at all. I consolidated everything with the low interest rates into a 3.0% fixed for the next ten years, and I paid off the two that were at 8.0% by paying heavy on them for eight months until they were gone. The Department of Education pulls like $180 out of my bank account every month, and I hardly notice it.

Good luck.

 

[WildHorse]

try to get a job with a tuition reimbursement benefit, night classes