<p>I've searched and found lots of info about scholarship, but not about loans.
My Daughter got her financial aid package, she got two scholarships, work study, and the package talks about an expected Perkins Loan, a suggested Stafford Loan and suggested PLUS loan.</p>
<p>We will definitely have to do some loans, although she is still trying for other outside of the school scholarships as well.</p>
<p>The question now is where is our best place for loans?</p>
<p>We are planning on refinancing our house, our bank is working out a better interest rate for us. Are we better off including a portion of this huge tuition amount in our refinance, or is there a better kind of loan for us to use?
She will be assuming some of the debt herself, but we plan on helping as much as we can.</p>
<p>Any advice is appreciated!!</p>
<p>Momster, I am far from a professional when it comes to finance (VERY FAR!) but I have heard it said that it is not a good idea to refinance a house in order to pay for college tuition.
Have you looked at Parent PLUS loans?</p>
<p>No, NMR, I'm just learning all this stuff. That was recommended in the NYU FA package. It looks like it's about the same intereste rate we would have with our mortgage, but the mortgage we can use on income tax.
Where is the best place for me to find out more about PLUS and other kinds of loans? NYU's financial aid website? or other sites?</p>
<p>Here is a Web site about the PLUS loans:</p>
<p>PLUS</a> Loans - Federal Parent PLUS Loans for Undergraduate Students</p>
<p>Have you also looked into the TuitionPay plan?</p>
<p>Oh, another learning experience for me!! Isn't this fun?</p>
<p>Momster, we have used TuitionPay for years to pay our younger daughter's private school tuition. Go here:</p>
<p><a href="https://secure.tuitionpay.com/cgi-bin/WebObjects/TuitionPay%5B/url%5D">https://secure.tuitionpay.com/cgi-bin/WebObjects/TuitionPay</a></p>
<p>You might also spend some time on the College Confidential financial aid threads. </p>
<p>One nice thing is that NYU has said that the scholarships/financial aid our girls were given will remain the same for four years, as long as the families' income remains steady and the students remain full time and in good academic standing.</p>
<p>Make sure you go directly to the lenders' websites for the latest origination fees and interest rates. Carefully compare origination fees, interest rates, whether interest rates are subsidized, and dates repayments begin. (I'm getting my grad school loan from a recommended nonprofit that charges zero fees and subsidizes Stafford loans 1% at repayment. Maybe there's a nonprofit in New York that does something similar.) Use an online calculator to figure out your repayment obligations while she's in school and after she graduates. Assuming she goes full-time and graduates May 2012, some repayments (home-related loans, maybe PLUS loans, etc.) kick in immediately or within two months. Others will kick in around November of 2012 (6 months after graduation for Stafford), and others around February 2013 (9 months after graduation for Perkins). Especially notice how those payments will differ based on her consumer and housing choices now. The difference between a 9,030 dorm and a 12,850 residence hall adds up to 15,280 over four years plus interest until paid back. Dining costs between the two options may not differ much if your daughter is like mine and is too busy to cook as much as she would like. U-Hall has a kitchen and the most desirable location for our daughter (Tisch/Stella Adler), but she thinks she will be just as happy in a dorm. Either is fine, but in 2013 she would rather have money to pay for her first apartment rather than help us pay back a loan for a residence hall that's history. Housing choice and summer work are helping us keep loans to a bare minimum, and we only expect her to pitch in a small amount toward loan repayment to have some skin in the game. (Did I just use a sports metaphor? Wow. Having a daughter at a performing arts school has meant never having to listen to sports metaphors, so where did that come from!?)
Make sure your daughter remembers to carry at least 16 points per semester to retain her scholarships.
I found it very helpful to jot down a timeline of all this coming and going of money. Double check me on any details you find useful because we're all just moving through this anaconda of a learning curve together. Thanks everyone for the helpful advice I've gotten on this site over the past two years. Hope this helps.</p>