Financial Aid + College Loans/Paying for college

[T B0NE 10]

Alot of you know that I'm going to UW-Madison in the fall.

 

Right now I've been getting emails and letters about financial aid. Neither of my parents went to college so we are all new on this stuff.

 

I was offered a $5,500 unsubsidized Stafford Loan.

 

I'm figuring I'm going to have to take a loan out eventually, but is this something I can wait on and take a loan out when I need it? Because I got a letter in the mail telling me to accept or decline the loan online.

 

I dont have too much saved up for college, around about $5,000. I'm guessing I'll get around $2500 in local scholarships for next year as well. And I don't expect my parents to help me out too much, nor do I really want them to. I will be working this summer and probably during school as well. So basically how am I going to make up for the $20,000 UW costs a year and when do I start worrying about loans and stuff? And what to do on the stafford loan offered?

[RyDogg66]

I think the saying is that school loans and a home mortgage are "good" debt. Dont be afraid to take out loans, but dont take out more than you will need for tuition and whatever they are getting for room and board this year.

[pitchleague]

if you really want that college education, I would say take the loans that they offer you, graduate, and worry about when, not if, you get a job. If you're putting your heart and soul into your college education, it will all be worth it in the end. If you slack off like many of my friends did in college, that "good" debt turns into "bad/horrible" debt since you either don't get a job or drop out of college.

 

How many scholarships do you have? Any grants? Those help out. There's money for college out there every year that doesn't get claimed. Look around on the internet for some programs that could help out.

 

I had a lot of student loans (10+ years ago now) but not as much as many other classmates that I knew. In the long run, they were worth every penny because without them I would never have been able to go to college. If a college degree (emphasis on the degree, not the experience of college) is that important to you, I say go for it and get to college, loans and all.

[PlayerHader]

Unsubsidized? Your parents must be making decent scratch then. You should count on them for some help, since being their dependent greatly affects the loan offering you get.

 

That said, don't hesitate to take loans. If you are going to get a degree and a job in a field you enjoy, it is all worth it.

[thablingster]

As a student, your undergraduate federal student loan limit for your entire undergraduate career is $57,500. $5,500 is the maximum in loans a first year, dependent student can receive whose parents are eligible to borrow a Parent PLUS loan on their behalf. Based on the fact you were only offered unsubsidized loans, I'm guessing you may not be Pell eligible and your EFC (from your completed FAFSA) is fairly high.

 

As a previous poster said, people do consider school debt to be "good" debt. It is definitely recommended to not take any more loan eligibility than you need to meet the cost of your tuition, housing, books, and fees. You do have the option to decline any excess which is sent to you.

 

The main thing about receiving loans is basically knowing what you are getting yourself into. It is a great thing that they are available, but you'll want to make sure you take advantage of them, do well in school, and put yourself in a position post-graduation where you'll have the least amount of debt possible and be able to pay them off.

[whizkid]

You're going to have to start paying UW in a little over 3 months. You probably should have been worrying or at least thinking about how to pay for this at least a year ago. I think there are going to be a lot of graduates with debt hurting starting this month, having had the misfortune of graduating in this economy. Or those who graduated a year or 2 ago and have been layed off.

 

I know young folks don't think parents know much, but as a parent of a HS junior I agree with most of the opinions posted by other parents here.

[FVBrewerFan]

I'm not sure how you can pull this off without the Stafford loan. The math seems to say without it you'll be well short of the $20,000. A nd that's including the $2,500 you hope to get in scholarships. If you haven't received any scholarships yet, curious as to why you're counting on it. More importantly, I'm not sure how you expect to pay $100,000 over 5 years to earn your Bachelors at UW? Stafford loans and part time jobs get you half way there AT BEST. I suggest you do the math very carefully, and sit down with your parents to talk about it. Maybe they can loan you some money? As someone said, (and I'm trying not to preach) you should have done this a while ago. Very simply, your parents will probably need to help you out, or you may want to look at other UW schools. Madison is a great school, but there are other very fine state schools.

[T B0NE 10]

If you haven't received any scholarships yet, curious as to why you're counting on it.

 

I've recieved $1500 already. And I figure at least I should get some next week from all the local scholarships. We have a scholarship committee from the high school and they spread the scholorships around abit. I'm guessing to get around $1000-3000.

 

Maybe they can loan you some money? As someone said, (and I'm trying not to preach) you should have done this a while ago. Very simply, your parents will probably need to help you out, or you may want to look at other UW schools. Madison is a great school, but there are other very fine state schools.

 

Well my EFC was around 20,000. But my parents both are blue collar workers who never went to college, and have a pretty big house payment out. There is no way they can afford 20 grand a year. The numbers look like theres a lot of cash but they can't afford to just send me to college. My parents don't have much in savings. They said they are willing to help out, but I don't really want to put them in any more debt. They are really hard workers and I don't want to make money much tighter. I think they might help out on housing, but I'm not in a situation where they can just send me to college. I'm guessing at most they could help me out $5-7,000I'm going to have to carry the load. I've already decided I'm going to UW.

But just for those in college already and have done the loan process. Do I have to take out the Stafford loan now and before school starts or is it something I can wait and take it when I for sure need it. It probably isn't that big of a deal to take it out right now I guess, since I'm going to need them probably for sure.

[ewizabeff]

T Bone,

 

Have a conversation with a UW-Madison Financial Aid Advisor. It's their job to know this stuff. No one on this board knows your situation well enough to give you super good advice.

[T B0NE 10]

T Bone,

 

Have a conversation with a UW-Madison Financial Aid Advisor. It's their job to know this stuff. No one on this board knows your situation well enough to give you super good advice.

Yeah, thats what I'm going to do.

[PlayerHader]

As a dependent with an EFC at 20,000 you better plan on getting something from your folks. My EFC never approached $20,000 and I wouldn't have made it without some help from my folks. Remember, if you were independent you'd likely be eligible for Pell Grants and other aid. Being a dependent catches your parents some nice tax breaks, so it isn't wrong for you to expect some sort of help from them.

 

I kept it to a minimum. If I had a stretch where I couldn't pay my rent for a month, they'd help. I'm not saying you should expect $20,000 a year from them, but have a talk with them and get on the same page.

[mothershipconnection]

Just take all the federal loans they offer you and if you have money left at the end of the semester, use it to pay it back with very modest interest accrued.

 

I fortunately had no debt from undergrad, because EC cost $3000 a year when I entered a decade ago. I didn't realize how lucky I was to get through college debt free with such a small amount of parental help.