Accepted.. but I'm not sure to pay.

Paying for College
1

<p>Hi,
I was just accepted to a private four year college. I am a transfer student from a 2 year school transferring with 51 credits. My GPA is 3.3.
I work 20 hours a week as a phlebotomist($11.59) to support myself. I do live with my mother for free however.
The cost to attend this school is $28,000 a year. They have given me an $8000 scholarship every year I attend.
I very much want to attend this school, but I have no idea how I'm supposed to afford it. I have $300 dollars to my name.
Will I be able to take out loans to cover the rest of the cost?
I need to put a $400 deposit in the mail to reserve my place at the school, and I don't even know how I'm going to do that.</p>

<p>I'm a 22 year old cancer survivor, if that helps with anything... So stressed.</p>

<p>Thank you for reading.</p>

2

<p>No, you can’t take out $20k+ in loans to pay for tuition, fees, books, etc…nor should you, that’s too much debt.</p>

<p>By yourself, you can borrow 7500 per year. To borrow more, you’d need your mom to co-sign which probably isn’t a good idea.</p>

<p>Is this a school that you can commute to? If not, then the cost will be higher.</p>

3

<p>The $28,000 cost includes boarding, which is what I would be doing.
Why is it a bad idea to have someone co-sign for me? And, are you saying that I should just give up on going to this school? </p>

<p>Thanks</p>

4

<p>It’s a risk to have that much debt.</p>

<p>What’s your major? How much will you likely be earning when you graduate?</p>

<p>Do you have any student loans from your first 2 years?</p>

<p>Also, would your mom co-sign…and would she QUALIFY to co-sign each year? Some people qualify the first year, and then don’t qualify the later year because their credit takes a hit from the first loan.</p>

5

<p>Are those semester or quarter credits?
How many years of loans would you be looking at?</p>

6

<p>Those are semester credits. I would be looking at attending for two and a half years or 5 semesters.
I have one students loan for $2500 already taken out from the federal government for this current semester at my local community college. Honestly, my debt level is irrelevant to me. My life has shown me that all we have is time, and I want to spend my time doing what I am passionate about. Statistically, my life expectancy is shorter than a healthy person’s, so I must do it now. I just want to be sure that I have that ability. My major is film. I’ve already won several state-level film awards, and that’s with no film education yet.
If there is a way I will find it.</p>

<p>Thanks</p>

7

<p>You have a few serious obstacles to your devil-may-care attitude about debt.</p>

<p>1) There is no guarantee that you can find a co-signer who qualifies. And even if the person qualifies for year #1, they may not qualify for year #2. </p>

<p>2) After you finish a film degree, you will still be stuck with $10 an hour jobs. How on earth will you pay off $600 a month student loans?</p>

<p>Loan Balance: $52,500.00
Adjusted Loan Balance: $52,500.00
Loan Interest Rate: 6.80%
Loan Fees: 0.00%
Loan Term: 10 years
Minimum Payment: $50.00</p>

<p>Monthly Loan Payment: $604.17
Number of Payments: 120</p>

<p>Cumulative Payments: $72,500.70
Total Interest Paid: $20,000.70 </p>

<p>There are so many other ways to learn the craft of film (as you have already demonstrated). Go to a local, inexpensive college, try to live at home. Get a degree in a field that can help you earn enough money to make films on the side–if you are going to make it big in film, you can do it without a film degree.</p>

8

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<p>Why in the world would you apply to a college you “have no idea how (you’re) supposed to afford”? </p>

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<p>Judging from some of the posts in this forum, debt level is pretty irrelevant to a lot of students. Sorry, I just can’t understand that mindset. People these days seem to think it’s perfectly fine to rack up mountains of debt and then just walk away from it if it gets too high. :rolleyes:</p>

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<p>*I would be looking at attending for two and a half years or 5 semesters.
I have one students loan for $2500 already taken out from the federal government for this current semester at my local community college. *</p>

<p>So, at a MINIMUM, you’ll have about 52,500 in debt (actually MORE because a good amount of that debt will NOT be subsidized…so debt will GROW while in college.</p>

<p>Your debt will also be HIGHER because each year, the college costs (tuition, room, board, etc) will rise. Even next fall’s costs will be higher since you’re now looking at the CURRENT year’s costs.</p>

<p>Annika’s payment estimate is too low. Your private loans will likely have a higher interest rate. </p>

<p>Honestly, my debt level is irrelevant to me. My life has shown me that all we have is time, and I want to spend my time doing what I am passionate about. Statistically, my life expectancy is shorter than a healthy person’s, so I must do it now. I just want to be sure that I have that ability.</p>

<p>Oh my…you have health issues? Then, ethically, you should not be risking someone else’s credit by having them co-sign loans that you may not be able to pay if your health issues prevent you from working at some point.</p>

<p>My major is film.</p>

<p>Oh my…again…do you realize how little Film grads earn upon graduation? </p>

<p>Where is this school? What school is this? </p>

<p>If your mom doesn’t live in a city where you could live after graduation and work your craft, the chances of you being able to afford rent and other living expenses while paying back your loans is very low.</p>

<p>I can’t help but notice that you’re not a very thrifty person. You live at home, you work 20 hours per week, but you only have 300 saved. where does all your money go if you live at home? </p>

<p>BTW…^^^^ that alone should indicate that you won’t be able to afford your loans once you graduate. </p>

<p>anyway…as mentioned above, your co-signer may qualify the first year, and then not for years 2 or 3. Has your mom agreed to co-sign? Most parents won’t becaue the risk to THEM is too great.</p>

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<p>Where do you live? There might be options that allow you to commute from home. What’s your FAFSA EFC? You really shouldn’t take out more than Stafford loan levels, especially since beginning film careers start (and often stay) at low pay. Good for you to have kept your expenses low by starting at a community college, but big debt is the best way to keep you from pursuing a film career, because you can’t afford the beginning low wages.</p>

11

<p>Thank you jtmoney, the rest of this post is not directed at you.</p>

<p>Interesting, the question seems to have been misinterpreted. When I asked if attending this school was possible, you all seem to suggest that I need to change my major and school of choice.
I was expecting monetary suggestions. Not one of you suggested cancer survivor scholarships, which I have just began to research.
None of you have said anything that I haven’t already heard from naysayers. </p>

<p>As far as only having $300 goes, I commute over an hour to community college everyday, and I make car payments. Between that and food, I don’t have much left over. </p>

<p>Again, the question was misinterpreted. I asked how to pay for college, not what I should do with my life.</p>

<p>That’s why this topic is in the financial aid and scholarship section.</p>

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<p>Nobody is saying that you should change your major.</p>

<p>The concern is that you’ll get yourself in such debt that you won’t be able to PURSUE your career dream. </p>

<p>Do you know how many people get themselves into debt for college over a certain career (like acting, film, etc) only to never be able to do that job because they’re having to work so much in another field in order to pay their debts??? </p>

<p>*As far as only having $300 goes, I commute over an hour to community college everyday, and I make car payments. Between that and food, I don’t have much left over. *</p>

<p>Thank you. That’s my point. You’re already realizing that money doesn’t go very far when you have personal expenses. As a young film-maker, you may not be earning that much more…yet you’ll have rent to pay, utilities, car expenses, food, health/car insurance, cell phone, internet, cable, etc…where’s the money for your loan payments??? It won’t be there. That’s the issue.</p>

<p>Who is going to co-sign these loans? Have they agreed to do so? Can they qualify 3 times (after their credit rating takes a hit with each co-sign???)</p>

<p>You’re asking how to pay for college. We’re saying that you shouldn’t do it with big loans. If you manage to get a multi-year large scholarship for being a cancer survivor, then great. I didn’t know that there were large multi-year scholarships for that. Are there??? I thought that there may be one-time small scholarships…which won’t help you with your later years. </p>

<p>What school is this? Is it an accredited school or is this one of those specialty “for profit” schools? Is it located in one the cities where such a career is more likely and there are good networking connections (LA, NY, etc)?</p>

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<p>Just continue your scholarship search. It may be a good idea to wait until next year and apply again so that you have more time to secure more scholarships.</p>

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<p>I can imagine that having had cancer can easily leave you with a live for today philosophy. That can serve you well in many ways, but I don’t think that willingness to take on high debt should be one of them.</p>

<p>What folks here are trying to tell you is that many kids graduate with loans they can not afford to pay. Especially those seeking careers that don’t easily lead to high paying jobs.</p>

<p>I’m sure you know that your keeping your health good will require a low stress life. No one wants to see you get in over your head.</p>

15

<p>You say they offer $8k in scholarships but do they provide any additional assistance? Most schools have grants and work programs to assist you. What is your EFC? If this school doesn’t help meet that need, I suggest looking at other schools. There are a handful of schools that help meet 100% of need (U of Richmond and Gettysburg come to mind). </p>

<p>We understand your question is “How do I pay for this?” I think the responses are trying to help you avoid the cost rather than pay the cost. $70k+ is too much debt. If you parents have the ability, there are also Parent Plus loans that they may be able to take on for you to reduce your obligations.</p>

<p>If you are dead set on that school and that major at that price what words of wisdom are you looking for? Or, are you just looking for someone to support your decision?</p>