<p>First, I know that student loans aren't ideal, as most posts here say- but I can't attend college if I don't take out private loans amounting to 20000 to 25000 a year. I got accepted into multiple schools and I got the same/similar packages. 22000 or so grants with 9500 gov.t loans/work-study. To meet my cost, I need the private loans.</p>
<p>I'm planning to apply for loans with a co-signer though- the co-signer can be my grandma or aunt with "mediocre" credit scores.</p>
<p>I also plan to do summer internships at government agencies next year and even apply for a scholarship in a govt. agency so by next year, hopefully, I won't take out another huge loan.</p>
<p>So, for a "one-time thing", are private loans really hard to get?</p>
<p>Are you an international student? Are your co signers international? Those can make getting private loans difficult and even impossible here in the US. You would have to get them locally. I don’t see how you will be able to find employment that will pay $20-25K a year and go to school either.</p>
<p>It will be almost impossible for you to take out the kind of loans you are looking for. You have other options for your education than doing this. Not liking your other options (commuting to a community college or local public university, working full-time and studying part-time, joining the military for the education benefits, etc.) is no excuse for not investigating them. You can’t afford the colleges/universities that have accepted you. It is time for you to find a Plan B.</p>
<p>@happymomof1, can you explain why would it be impossible to take out a loan like that? One of the schools offered us to take a Federal PLUS loan for parents(that’s where the unleft funds should have been dealt with) but my parents aren’t US Citizens so maybe it’s not an option. Then, they gave me a list of “preferred borrowers” and say that I can get the money I need here- ex. wells and fargo etc. So, even with a school accepting me, with co-signers and US citizenship status, would it really be hard for me to get approvved for student loans?</p>
<p>The problem is that if your co-signers have mediocre credit, that while they <em>might</em> be able to qualify to co-sign a 20K loan for your first year, they are less and less likely to qualify the second year for the next 20K chunk you will need. A bank might say yes to the first 20K from grandma, but then balk at the second 20K because the bank decides that 40K (total cumulative) is too much. Now you have a student who has finished just one year at Expensive-University but can’t afford to go back for the sophomore year. </p>
<p>Also, taking out 20K to 25K X 4 in private loans (80K - 100K) is insane… too much debt for any undergraduate. That’s why it requires a co-signer. And frankly, a lot of banks are not going to risk a 100K loan that is unsecured… it isn’t as if the loan is tied to a house that can be repossessed and much of the money recouped. </p>
<p>The tough thing to realize is if a student/parents need to take out 20K+ in <em>loans</em> each year for college, the college costs too much for that family. If the parents have good enough credit/income to actually be approved for all 100K, they probably don’t <em>need</em> to actually take out those loans and can make payments for college in other ways or with far less loans. A kind of catch-22 that happens all the time.</p>
<p>And of course, haven’t even mentioned the 23K or so in subsidized loans on top of the 80-100K. Too much. Find another plan–because even if you get approved for freshman year’s 20K, chances are the subsequent years the application will be turned down for having too much outstanding debt.</p>
<p>I agree you need a different plan. You could attend year 1, possible year 2 and run out of paths to pay tuition or family to co-sign loans. Plus you would be paying back $100,000 for decades and decades to come. You would be far better off attending a local college to where you are living or a community college if you are already in the states and then figure out the tuition costs for junior and senior year. Your degree is from the college/uni you graduate from…not the one you start at.</p>
<p>You can ask the schools where you are accepted for student loans that can be secured with a guarantor. The easiest way is for your parents to apply for a PLUS. If they are turned down, you can get another $4K in loans on your own name. Outside of that, you have to have someone to co sign for you. Be aware that they will be responsible for that loan too, and it will be part of their credit history as well as yours.</p>
<p>What are the names of the colleges that you are attending? If they are REALLY good then they MIGHT be worth it, but if they are just some overly priced private school, then you can find a GREAT alternative elsewhere for a cheaper price.</p>
<p>No, please don’t listen to DantexXx. He’s not the one who will have to pay your $1,250-per-month student loan bill.</p>
<p>You CANNOT afford those schools under any circumstances. Even if you could get approval for that much loans, you would be crippled, possibly for life, by debts you could never pay off.</p>
<p>Doesn’t matter what the school is, $125,000 in debt is about $100,000 too much.</p>
<p>The problem with your relatives co signing with their mediocre credit is that it puts the loans on their credit history. That’s a lot of unsecured loans to hang on a person, and it could affect their ability to borrow for themselves in the future. Can they and their credit histories be on the hook for $80-90K in loans for the next 15 years, maybe more? That’s a huge obligation. If something should happen to you, they have to repay those loans. They are not like traditional loans that can be discharged by bankruptcy.
Co signing a loan for a person is a huge obligation, risk and commitment, let there be no mistake about it.</p>
<p>Your aunts and grandmother cannot take out a PLUS loan for you (only your parents can take a PLUS loan and they are not eligible). Your aunt and grandmother would have to go the private loan route (with mediocre credit histories, it will be a big stretch for them to be approved for 25K).</p>
<p>@polarscribe is right. Don’t listen to me. The point I was trying to get across was that the schools you are considering are probably not worth the amount you are considering to get out of loans. That is way too much. Don’t listen to me! (except for now. ha).</p>
<p>but I can’t attend college if I don’t take out private loans amounting to 20000 to 25000 a year. I got accepted into multiple schools and I got the same/similar packages.</p>
<p>This isn’t true. You could start at a CC and then transfer. What was your EFC? Is your family contributing anything?</p>
<p>Did you apply to any CSUs or UCs that you could commute to?</p>
<p>OP’s location is listed as “Philippines” so unless he’s a REALLY fast swimmer, probably not!
(Although in that case he could probably get a great athletic scholarship…)</p>