4-year Uni w/ Sallie Mae -> Community College, FAFSA/out of pocket -> Worried!

<p>I went to St. John's University my freshman year. Decided to come home, was giving myself gray hairs over my Sallie Mae loan amount and accrued interest. Paid for a year of community college out of pocket, with I think a Pell grant given to me for about 3/4 of the amount for the years? I am looking to transfer to either NYU Steinhardt, Hunter College, or California State LA (granted that my GPA stays high and I am accepted). My worries are my loans. My mother was my cosigner my freshman year, but since then we are estranged. My fathers loan is shot, due to divorce. My grandmother, also recently divorced, is shot, and my aunt is currently putting two kids through college as well. What should I do about payment on my loan, and school for the next year after I'm done at community college? I can provide more information if needed, I wasn't sure what to put. Thank you :)</p>

<p>If you are worried about the loans you already have, then look at schools that are affordable to you and where you can minimize future loans. Are any of the schools you are looking at instate to you? Do any of them meet full need? </p>

<p>If you will be junior level when you transfer, the max direct loan you can get in your own name is $6500.</p>

<p>No more private loans! A Pell student shouldn’t be borrowing Sallie Mae or other private loans!</p>

<p>What state are you in? Your profile suggests PA. Whose home are you living in now? Dad’s? </p>

<p>You need to commute to a local public univ once you’re done with your CC. Which local PA univ can you attend?</p>

<p>No NYU…no OOS publics like CSULA. Who would pay for that??? </p>

<p>If you think that your frosh year loans are giving you gray hairs, you’ll be bald with worry if you keep borrowing to attend NYU or similar. </p>

<p>Harshness Alert!!! The reason why the people around you have credit that is shot is because you’ve been surrounded by people who have little clue about money, lending, credit, etc. Don’t follow their lead. Follow the people who have excellent credit and few money issues </p>

<p>Your thinking that you can borrow your way thru is just, well, nutty. On one hand you realized that St. John’s debt was bad, but then you’re considering schools that would just give you more huge debt.</p>

<p>/harshness ;)</p>

<p>I think Swimcat meant to write that the max loan as a junior will be $7500</p>

<p>I live just outside of Philly. The only school closest to me that has what I want to study is Penn State, but I can’t transfer into the program without prereqs that I can’t fufill at community college. I’d essentially be starting college over again if I attempt to transfer there. Personal issues have arisen that I think getting away from the area for a while would be ideal, as well. I just want to see what my options are.</p>

<p>You don’t have a lot of options since money is a huge issue. </p>

<p>PA state schools give lousy aid. Borrowing a lot is very short-sighted. Are you still a CJ major? If so, how much will you be earning when you graduate?</p>

<p>How much did you borrow for St. Johns (sallie mae + federal loans)?</p>

<p>Are you saying that no CC near you has the prereqs for CJ (or whatever you major is). Does another CC offer them online?</p>

<p>You really need to come up with a plan that won’t require any debt beyond federal loans.</p>

<p>If being around home too much is an issue, then you can get around that by studying at school, working, etc. The problem is that you won’t likely be able to afford to “live away” since a Pell Grant and a student loan will be needed just to cover tuition…and you’d still need some job income to pay for some costs.</p>

<p>I’m not a CJ major anymore, I’m planning to study Food/Nutritional Science and I want to either minor or double-major in Psychology or Business to go along with it. The prereqs required are major-specific science/bio/math courses that aren’t really offered at my cc because the major isn’t offered there. I was told that taking the gen-ed equivalent to bio and the math courses I would need at certain colleges would be a hit or miss as to whether or not the credits would transfer. I also didn’t really do anything with my finances when going away to school the first time, my mom handled it all and told me to just worry about school. My naive self didn’t think too much about the loans then, wish someone was kicking me in the butt about it!</p>

<p>Go to the counseling office of your community college and ask for help. They will know which colleges that students from their CC have done well in transferring, and let them know that cost is an issue. </p>

<p>You may need to take courses online (state courses so that the cost is so set), or you might have to find another major. It’s not worth it to take on the kind of debt that NYU or other private school is going to require. Also , commuting saves a whole lot of money. Living away is about $10K in additional expenses. You have to look at affordable options. A couple of my kids ended up majoring in GETTING OUT WITH A DEGREE, because the pursestrings were going to be cut at a certain time, and DH and I weren’t interested in possibliitles that were going to take more time. All we wanted was for them to get the danged degree. So if you were my child, that would be what I’d tell you. </p>

<p>I want to tell you that it’s been rough for some of mine even with NO loans. But at least they don’t have that monkey on their backs. FInding a job paying a living wages, a place to live on their own has been a challenge. Finding the hours at some jobs is an issue. It’s not been an easy go at all At that loan interest just keeps on chugging along when you have those loans. It seems to me that your family is pretty strapped already, so you can’t count on much finanical help from them. If you can get some meals and place to stay, that alone is a big deal. Plenty of time later in life when you will be scraping to pay the rent and food bills without that option. Take advantage of it while you can. It may not be ideal , but it is in your best interests to resolve those issues with your mother. I know a number of young people who tossed their heads in the air, left home early, took out loans, and now in their 30s are back home, eating some very nasty tasting crow. As bad it was with the parent, there was really no one else out there to help them out as much. Had they stuck it out earlier, they might not be stuck at home now.</p>

<p>I was told that taking the gen-ed equivalent to bio and the math courses I would need at certain colleges would be a hit or miss as to whether or not the credits would transfer.</p>

<p>Don’t just accept random babble that you’re hearing. </p>

<p>Visit the local univ and find out if they’ll accept the gen-ed equivalent Bio and Math courses for that major. CCs often have articulation agreements with the state schools (same state) that they will accept the CC’s courses. </p>

<p>Sometimes if the class isn’t the “exact one” you can get a waiver to accept. </p>

<p>I can’t imagine that a food science dept wouldn’t accept the standard Principles of Bio or the Bio for Non-majors that are offered at CCs. </p>

<p>And, most certainly the CC offers a math class that is acceptable. You need to find out which ones are.</p>

<p>Are you saying that you have no idea how much you borrowed for St. John’s?</p>

<p>You can’t do anything about the loans you took in the past. You can do a lot about the future. You are going to have to adjust your course of study plans. Forget the double majors and some of those things. You literally cannot afford them. Just get the danged degree, find a job and look to taking some courses as certificate courses later. You don’t have the luxury of getting all of those majors and specialties, and frankly they aren’t worth that much on the job market. If you were accepted into a nursing or engineering, or IT program, that’s a whole other thing, but the chances that any of those majors are worth more than beans more than any other general majors is just plain old gas. Get your degree, find a job and then see what training and courses can bring you into something concrete. You can’t afford your “druthers”.</p>

<p>Right now I have about 32k to pay off, so I’m assuming around that much? I really don’t know. Again, my mom told me I didn’t have anything to worry about because she was going to do it all. I probably sound like some naive *******, right?</p>

<p>“I probably sound like some naive *******, right?”</p>

<p>No, you sound like a typical child of parents who aren’t financially savvy. Your mom’s mistake is one that we see many parents commit.</p>

<p>Take a deep breath. Think about a major you can get through quickly that will get you a job so you can pay down that debt. Then take the next step toward that major.</p>

<p>Are you considering Food Science/Nutrition so that you can become a Registered Dietician? Or are you interested in getting a job in the food industry? Penn State might not be the only in-state option available. For example, Mansfield offers Nutrition and Dietetics: [Mansfield</a> University - Nutrition](<a href=“http://www.mansfield.edu/learn/nutrition/]Mansfield”>Mansfield University | Mansfield University)</p>

<p>You are, unfortunately, rather typical. There is nothing you can do about the what you already owe. That’s a done deal. BUt you can see why NYU Steinhardt or those other options are not good ones for you. You don’t want to rack up a whole lot more. Parent are not perfect, and many of us make the wrong judgement. Financially, it happens a lot. You won’t have to start repaying your loan most likely until you are no longer a full time student, but the interest is going to be accruing except on your subsidized Stafford and PErkins loans.</p>

<p>Right now, you need to take the next step which is to get your degree with the least amoung of additional loans, and cost. YOu may have to work while. Most college students go to school part time and work full or part time, and eke out that degree over a long time, bit by bit, painfully. That is the reality. They live with whoever will subsidize them, even though it’s ideal, and often downright toxic Spend as much time at work, at friends, other relatives, or best of all at the college, studying to get thorugh school the best you can. Who and where else will you find subsidy for living expenses? You go with the options you have. Sorry and too bad that it’s not so good or down right bad. If truly abusive, you need to find something else, and you just might not be able to afford college right now It may not be your top priority in life at the present. College is not the be all to end all. </p>

<p>A very dear friend of mine, a wonderful, gracious woman encouraged her daughter, signed and abetted her through about $80K in loans over her years in college, and now they are both in so much debt and trouble. They owe more than double that with interest and no more have the ability to pay it now than they did when they signed for the loans. All the girl can find is part time work in a coffee shop. She’ back to living with Mom after spending years living on her loans. It’s time to pay the piper and he exacts a heavy toll over time. and when you can’t pay It’s hurt my friend in terms of her business–can’t get credit, can’t refinance her house, both have lost job opportunities due to credit checks that show the huge outstanding balance and late payments and status. I don’t see an end to this for a long time. </p>

<p>You need to find options that you can afford. I wanted to be Philosphy major or Writing Seminar major once upon a time, but I had a departmental math scholarship,and the jobs out there were in Math. I don’t regret my decision. I’ve taken plenty of courses in the subjects that interested me and had plenty of opportunity in those fields. Finding a good paying job, even with the Math has been more challenging, and with the pay, I can buy what I want in the things that interest me. Lots of hand out there to take your money in form of payments or loans. You want to get into the lane that is GETTING the money, not paying it out. So get your degree and find a job. If you truly can’t afford to do that right now, find a job and work towards the degree later.</p>

<p>Right now I have about 32k to pay off</p>

<p>Ok, so did you borrow for your soph year? If not, see if you qualify for some SUB loan and bank it for emergencies (only)</p>

<p>If you borrow $15k (7500 each year) for your Jr & Sr years, and you borrow a couple thou SUB loan this year, you’re going to have about $50k in debt. That’s a lot. (don’t know what your mom was smoking if she thought that borrowing $32k per year for a CJ degree (or any degree) was ok. How much did she think you’d be earning upon graduation…or did she not think past her nose?)</p>

<p>I don’t know where in the Phila. area you live, but West Chester University might be within commuting distance and if so, would certainly be one of the most affordable options. You would have to check with WCU’s Dept. of Nutrition to see how many of your credits would transfer.</p>