<p>Hey, i'm a student and kind of confused. I need 30K worth of loans for next year. My parents agreed to co-sign anything but are making me do all the research.</p>
<p>So far i've noticed that Stafford Loans are 6% interest and Parent plus are 8.5% interest. Are there more loans out there that are better?</p>
<p>There are, but first get the rates down so you know what you’re looking at when the school offers you a loan:</p>
<p>Subsidized staffords have a rate of 5.6%, unsubsidized is 6.8%.<br>
Perkins loans (if you’re offered one by the school) are subsidized at 5%.<br>
If your school is a direct lender, PLUS loans are at 7.9%, otherwise at 8.5% (FFEL schools), though some lenders offer discounts/incentives after a certain number of on-time payments (like Discover).</p>
<p>Obviously, you’ll want to take all subsidized loans offered first. There are also private lenders, including banks your folks do business with. Right now, these may be less expensive than PLUS loans but may not offer the option to defer payments until graduation. Also, home equity loans or loans from retirement accounts are often used.</p>
<p>Tons of info here for you, including loan calculators:
[FinAid</a> | Student Loans](<a href=“Your Guide for College Financial Aid - Finaid”>Student Loans - Finaid)</p>
<p>Wait…$30,000 in loans for JUST next year?</p>
<p>^Dude schools are expensive as hell anymore, it is outrageous and elitist. </p>
<p>I live in PA but plan on going to school in Boston MA and nearly every school I checked out was at the bare minimum 20k to upwards of 40k.</p>
<p>^ If you are outraged at school costs then consider other alternatives - like local state schools or Community College.</p>
<p>Even if you can get someone to loan you, or your parents, 30K per year, you should not do this. You will be spending a very large chunk of your income for quite a few years after graduation to pay 120K back. You may have to live at home for years. No car loan. No vacation/travel.</p>
<p>@Erin’s Dad: I plan to do that. It’s just frustrating to be excluded from these good schools with good names because of something fiscal. I mean you have to admit they are getting a bit unreasonable, it’s like the housing market, “Let’s just keep raising our prices and pushing it to the limit so we can prosper and eventually we will blow ourselves up.” Only instead of physically or monetarily blowing up, it will be their good names and reputations that do.</p>
<p>Thanks for the help sk8mom. </p>
<p>Yeah i realize that it’s going to be a huge sacrifice. my grandparents are well off and already agreed to help with some of the loans pending the grades i receive. i applied early decision to the school and willing to face the consequences/adversity.</p>
<p>any other info/opinions would be appreciated</p>
<p>
Yes, and I think it’s frustrating to be excluded from buying the Lexus I want because of “something fiscal.” Personally, I think getting a loan for $30K for one year is nuts, unless you are in Med School or Law School.</p>
<p>Sorry, just my opinion, but I’m old enough to know better.</p>
<p>That level of debt is not just a huge sacrifice - it can be crippling and will certainly have an impact on what you’re able to do in the future, in job choices, family decisions, housing, etc. Unless you’re fairly certain that your grandparents are going to help you out, I wouldn’t even consider $30K a year in loans. IMO, no undergraduate school is worth going $120K in debt. The necessity to go $120K in debt seems like one of the acceptable reasons for backing out on an ED contract - please don’t be noble at the risk of your future.</p>
<p>Yes, it would be insane to have $120,000 in debt when you graduate. You should look at debt calculators to see how much you’d have to pay each month. As far as taking out money, you can only take out about $5500 as a freshman on a Stafford Loan.</p>