Can somebody explain to me about paying for college?

<p>So what happen when you get a loan. So there is subsidized loan right? I know the interest will be cover by the government. And there is also Parent Plus Loan. Let say I have to borrow from both of those sources, will the money be send directly to the school or to me? Are they gonna send the whole amount, like 5000, or by quarter? How long after do they send you the check? How much do they expect you to pay? What's the minimum amount you can pay? If you can explain this using real number or something so I can understand this better. It sounds so confusing right now. And colleges don't look to affordable to me at all. How can anyone manage to take out 10K of loan a year? Do you have to hold 2 or three jobs so you can pay it off? What if your parents can't pay the sum in an amount of time? It seems to me that my family might have to go bankrupt if I decide to go to UC. Anyways, thanks for helping.</p>

<p>a loan is paid back after you graduate. generally 6 months after. the interest rate will vary depending on the deal you sign i guess. once you set up the student loan the bank will contact the school and that portion that you took out will be paid for the year. i mean that's as simple as i can put it. you don't really need numbers to explain it. once you graduate it's up to you to get a job and pay the loan off. worst case scenario you can ask for permission to have the grace period extended but you need to have good reasons. you might get more help at the fin-aid forum.</p>

<p>and FYI....some loans accumulate interest while you're in school, some (very few) don't start collecting interest until after you graduate, and I don't know of anyone personally that is having their interest covered by the government. The government funds the loans, but they're not going to pay your interest for you.</p>

<p>well if you know anyone that has a subsidized stafford loan than that loan is being covered by the government, at least that's what i've been told. and if not the government, someone is clearly covering the interest on that loan. point is that you don't have to pay the interest on the loan and it doesn't accumulate.</p>

<p>o sorry. i have an unsubsidized stafford loan...and wish the govt would cover my interest...</p>

<p>well look at it like this, the stafford loan is supposed to have a lower interest rate than private student loans so even if your interest isn't covered, it's less than you'd have to pay interest if it were a private loan.</p>

<p>Well how about graduate school? I heard that we're not gonna get aid for that right? So how are we suppose to pay for that? And when you said after I graduate, is that from undergrad or grad school? What? It can't be that simple right? You don't have to pay anything when you're studying? Then how does the loaner trust in you taking their 10K and have to wait 4-5 years to get it back?</p>

<p>These websites have a lot of useful information about student loans:</p>

<p><a href="http://www.finaid.org/loans/%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.finaid.org/loans/&lt;/a>
<a href="http://www.fastweb.com/fastweb/resources/index/232?id=QZL2WQBVYYED.4772a2a538a0ef6c7c76d9632484c624%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.fastweb.com/fastweb/resources/index/232?id=QZL2WQBVYYED.4772a2a538a0ef6c7c76d9632484c624&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>as long as your in school you do not have to pay back your loans so if you decide to grad school right after undergrad school then you will start paying your loans after you graduate from grad school.</p>

<p>best advice i can give you if you are really struggling with this is to call up the school's financial aid department. before you call them, make a list of all questions you have and ask the fin aid officer. that should be able to clear up any questions and doubts you may have.</p>

<p>thanks for replying everybody. I really appreciate it.</p>