Thread: Student loans

What are your experiences with student loans for college? I just got accepted into a college where i can study both the things i love: mechanical engineering and russian language. But, this school is out of state and has a $24,000 tuition. My parents are looking down on this school because of the price. What is your experiences with student loans?

Although, if memory serves, I know you're American (don't forget the NZ confusion), it would be better to either mention your location or put it in the handy "Location" field of your profile before asking a practical question like this.

The beloved Blighty government paid for my education. In the third year of my first degree, they started bringing in student loans for undergraduates. The interest rates were so low that some rich kids were taking out as many as they could and putting them in bank accounts..
And my postgraduate studies were paid for too.

Sadly, it's no longer like that back home (UK), getting harder every year from what I've heard.

You should mention both your present location and the location of the school you are interested in.

Although I really don't see why I should be helping you MEs out.

Im trying to figure this out right now as well, but its not as big of a situation because its only for one year. I got into a couple grad schools and am not sure yet if they will offer me tuition and stipends yet, so i have to consider loans. hopefully worst comes to worst, i pay one year and get fellowships my second year and beyond.

Tons of people take out loans though. Its not a big deal. And if you get a job during school, say 10 hrs a week you can start paying it off as you go. A friend did that and his pay off now isnt that bad. Maybe 100 bucks a month for a few years.

Just curious, drew, although I may be way off the mark, you have a degree in International Relations or something similar, right? Are there a lot of available fellowships for someone with a degree in the humanities, esp. international politics?

I have a BA in russian, applying to MA/PhD programs in Russian literature. The fellowships i applied for are just departmental, aside from one school where I applied for a title 4 foreign area studies fellowhip. Seems like the aid varies from school to school, with some departments financing every student (mostly in smaller programs) to some financing about half or a handful. Also depends what level of study. Some schools admit you only into their masters program, and rarely finance these 2 years. Some immediately give you tuition and stipend for 5-6 years. So it all varies.

Cool. Thanks for the info, Drew. Where are you planning on going, BTW?

Originally Posted by drew881

Tons of people take out loans though. Its not a big deal. And if you get a job during school, say 10 hrs a week you can start paying it off as you go. A friend did that and his pay off now isnt that bad. Maybe 100 bucks a month for a few years.

Well now let me see. I know a doctor who had to repay his student loan, hmm how much was it again? Oh yes, one hundred thousand dollars. OK that's $100 bucks a month for....................................10,000 months plus interest.

Originally Posted by DDT

Originally Posted by drew881

Tons of people take out loans though. Its not a big deal. And if you get a job during school, say 10 hrs a week you can start paying it off as you go. A friend did that and his pay off now isnt that bad. Maybe 100 bucks a month for a few years.

Well now let me see. I know a doctor who had to repay his student loan, hmm how much was it again? Oh yes, one hundred thousand dollars. OK that's $100 bucks a month for....................................10,000 months plus interest.

Well, i think most medical schools are running at around 40k a year these days? Also, need based financial aid if he can get it, could pay a large chunk as well. If the education will be better than what is at the state school, its definately worth it. Some state schools are great too, so it all depends where you live.

Remember, if hes able to pay in-state tuition, that will be like 6-7 grand a year (well depending on state) that you can subtract from the 24k. Then take your loans from there at 17k a year. He's not going to be racking up 100k in loans. Working like 10-15 hrs a week at school, im sure he could save some money up or at least help pay for expenses such as books, and theres always summer employment, where you can save a lot of money, especially if you live at home during the summer. So if you manage it properly, you can come out with a manageable debt.

Paying for college: First you need to fill out a FAFSA and see what kind of grants you can get, for instance Pell is what you want. Also look at scholarships. After you have weeded out all the free money, then you should apply for an unsubsides Stafford loan. There are allot of if, ands, and buts to this loan, but basically if you are approved, which most people have no problem with, then you pay the loan off whenever you graduate. Like everyone said, you pay small payments every month until it is paid off, and usually this interest rate is incredibly low. Also, DO NOT LIE on your FAFSA about anything!!! Not that I have ever done this, but they randomly check behind you to make sure your answers are valid. So I would suggest not lieing about your location. Where are you planning on going to school?