Sallie Mae is a good source of loans. My daughter and I relied heavily on them and they have many good features such as a variable rate of interest (which is lower than fixed Parent PLUS).
If a colleges tuition is being raised do they legally have to tell you the actual yearly cost or can they wait till the very last day before may 1st when you have 2 pick a school to post the actual costs for the year? I noticed some schools don’t say a year they say estimated costs for tuition & fees & etc where as others state for the 2015/2016 school year. If I hadn’t accidentally came across a posting talking about the colleges raise in tuition this yr I would have never known about it. Why was it not posted on any of the paperwork I was sent, website pages I read or the students portal?
The schools F.A. Adviser went over each cost on the F.A. award with us. Due to the rise in tuition (which she couldn’t confirm the actual amount) she allowed for higher dorm & meal plans according to last yrs prices stating she would rather we aimed higher due 2 the rise rather than lower. His father wants to wait till the actual posted costs are in writing before he commits.
He has whittled his choices down to a few that are all very similar in the gapped cost amount. His top choice has us owing 10,000 after all aid is exhausted but it’s under a parent plus loan which I understand is not guaranteed. When I spoke to the schools F.AID adviser she assured me that if worst case we were rejected which I will assume in this case (airing on the side of caution) we very well may be. She said students who are denied the Parent Plus Loan automatically get a ex 4000 added to one of the federal loans we were given. Is this true and if so we will be left with a 6000 difference which I feel is a really good package for us being OOS applicants. Am I mistaken about it being a good deal? Even our state school has our difference down under a Parent Plus Loan & it’s shamefully only a couple thousand dollar difference.
Of course it’s going to be out of pocket but is this a manageable cost to be able to pay off if I find a low wage job? I am also suppose to be starting college myself in the fall. I know that everything you earn for the yr affects what you may or may not get offered the next yr for a schools F.A. Award. Will my son lose more money in the end to be able to pay for school the following year or it wouldn’t be enough of a change to cause him to lose aid?
Reading through CC there are conflicting posts. Some encourage your child to work in the summer to save on some of the costs & others say once the child works and saves the aid package may change. Will any money he makes to lower his burden end up hurting him in the end? Will his Aid Award be taken away because he worked a job over the summer? The school briefly mentioned payment plans and said they split it up into 3 payments for Fall & 3 for Spring because I didn’t really go that far into detail but does this mean we probably won’t have a 10 mnth option to spread out the bill or not necessarily? Thank You all for the help.
Well if he works this summer and contributes to school expenses, the money will be spent by the time next years’ FAFSA will be filled out.
Also some schools don’t know what the new tuition fees are going to be until July, because that’s when they finalize the budget depending on funding they receive. But you always have to count on increases.
Many schools don’t set the final fees for the fall until after July 1. Last year my daughter’s school set them on July 2, and the tuition bill was due July 11. They raised not only the tuition but the room and board. Then lowered the board to $9 more than last year. The whole thing is ridiculous, but there is nothing you can do about it.
If you, parents, are turned down for the PLUS loan, the student will be eligible for an additional $4000 in unsubsidized Stafford loans. If you are getting $10,000 in PLUS loans, your student is taking the full $5500 in Staffords. Just understand that as a family, you are borrowing over $15,000/yr. The standards for the PLUS loan are not very strict. If you have filed bankruptcy in the last 7 years, are more than 90 days delinquent on your debts, or have defaulted on any federal loans, you will be denied. Otherwise, you should be approved.
You’re borrowing ~$60k for this school over 4 years? That’s seems like a lot to me, but maybe it’s not for an engineering degree.
How are you planning to pay for YOUR college costs in the fall? Will those require loans as well? My concern would be that if you take out $10k/year Plus loan for your son + a yearly loan for your own college courses, what happens if one or the other is denied? He could get an additional $4k/year if you’re denied for the Plus loan, but that leaves you a $6k gap for him + whatever loans you might need to complete your own education.
I’m looking at an old Parent Plus Loan chart from 2013/2014 I know the prices are irrelevant but I wanted to see what kind of payments we were looking at. It says balance at start of repayment $10,000. The chart says standard repayment. equal installments. 10 yr term. mnthly payment of $113. The next box says graduated repayment. payments rise every 2 yrs. 10 yr term. For $10,000 loan the initial mnthly payment is $77. Highest mnthly payment $170.
My question is if payments on the Parent Plus Loan begin right away is it the full installment payment of the loan that is due right away mnthly? Or is it a smaller % we have 2 pay mnthly, like when you opt to pay the interest on a loan early and it’s a small mnthly payment? Following the numbers from above which payment (standard repayment or graduated repayment) would be what we would have to pay right away?
My understanding is the the interest begins to accrue immediately, but you can defer payments until the student graduates (or leaves school). If so, you could pay anything you want during the deferral period - interest only, some principal, nothing at all.
That’s good 2 hear! It means we will have options. I wasn’t sure if the Parent Plus Loan gave payment options at the very start of payments or if the one mnthly payment broken into the 120 payments was the only option you were offered.Once we start accepting the awards that means we’re choosing that school right? I just want to make sure?
We shouldn’t accept any awards from the packages UNLESS it is the school that we have chosen to attend. Is that correct?
Okay if the school is encouraging us to accept the package and get the ball rolling but there will be an increase in their tuition sometime in April. Is it highly possible the amount we still owe in the award will jump and make our 10k shortage even bigger? OR because tuition rises are a regular thing with schools, when schools offer you your packages they have already figured in the increase in costs? The F.A. adviser broke the costs down with us and she estimated higher meals & dorms because of the rise but she didn’t confirm any prices. Should we trust that the gap won’t get bigger?
I would think it would be in bad taste for the F.Aid adviser to encourage accepting the F.Aid award if once we accept the bill ends up jumping and our estimated costs fall way below the estimate she gave me. I would think that they want my kid to go there and they want my money so chances are in my favor that they would stear me in the right direction not mislead me. Does anyone agree with my assumption?
My question is should we start accepting the awards and get the ball rolling before the tuition increase is officially posted? Is it safe to think the school isn’t going to increase to a point where my F.A. award package will become useless?
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Okay if the school is encouraging us to accept the package and get the ball rolling but there will be an increase in their tuition sometime in April. Is it highly possible the amount we still owe in the award will jump and make our 10k shortage even bigger?
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That is possible. Schools usually change their tuition, room costs and meal plan costs in late spring or during the summer.
So, if this is a school that doesn’t promise to meet need, then possibly there would be no increase in aid after those costs go up in price.
However, if it’s a Calif public, and you were awarded a Cal Grant, and if tuition goes up, your grant increases. (but that doesn’t apply to room and board increases.)
What school is this and what kind of aid was given?
It’s for Arizona State University for OOS. It says Max Offer Award Status Disb. 1
Award Summary
Fed Pell $ 2,512.00
Direct Sub Loan $ 1,750.00
Direct Unsub Loan $ 1,000.00
New American University Scholar- Provost’s Award $6,000.00
Direct Parent Plus Loan $9,780.00
1st half of the yr Total $21,042.00
Total Aid for the yr Total $42,085.00
This aid is how much he will get for 1st half of yr and the 2nd half of the yr. (sorry not sure what it’s called is it term,semester,quarter,yearly)
The adviser said we were at Max Aid so I’m not sure if that means there’s absolutely no way we can get any more aid at all or if there’s always a chance. She charged higher meal plan & higher dorm room costs to my total. She said we were over $4,000 compared to the actual total COA (estimating costs using last yrs totals). She allotted higher prices because of the tuition increase.
After sitting down with his Dad he says it’s doable with the parent plus loan or without. At this point my question isn’t wether it’s too much money but how the system works. When it comes to actual tuition increases across the board and if awards are made according to those prices or if people tend to find themselves falling too far in debt compared to the initial numbers given them in their f.aid packages?
Do you understand what I’m asking? I tend to be confusing. Thank You for any help you can provide. Once again I appreciate everyone who took the time to help explain things to me. I’m starting to understand how certain things work a little better and it has eased some of my fears of the unknown.
What was your EFC? It appears that it must be very low…like around 700???
WHO would be taking out those Plus Loans? You? or an ex-husband?
I can’t imagine any parent of a Pell student (especially one who appears to be getting over $5k in Pell grants) would consider borrowing $40k for 4 years of college.
If your ex will be taking on EVERY Parent Plus loan (and you know he’ll follow thru each year and qualify), then fine. But if you are expected to take on any of these Plus loans, this is a horrible plan.
BTW…that merit award is a finite amount. You will not get more in future years. So every year, including this fall, costs will go up, but that merit aid, will not. any Pell increases will be very small, and should not be counted on.
do you have any other kids to put thru college? Isn’t there any cheaper options instate? It’s really expensive for a Pell student to attend an OOS public and usually not necessary.
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If a colleges tuition is being raised do they legally have to tell you the actual yearly cost or can they wait till the very last day before may 1st when you have 2 pick a school to post the actual costs for the year?
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lol…no. There are no laws about such things. Colleges operate as they see fit. They typically announce their increases in the summer…long after May 1st.
Typically publics have their board meetings in the summer and that’s when increases get announced.
I am VERY confused by what you posted. The parent loan listed appears to be PER semester. It appears that you need to borrow $20,000 per year and your son will be borrowing 5,500. For all four years you will need 80,000 plus interest in loans. Your son will have at least 22,000 plus interest in loans. What am I missing?
Since no one mentioned it and you are new, you need to look at how the COA was calculated. Sometimes schools will include the most expensive meal plan and dorm room in the calculation. Often (not always) you can choose cheaper options and lower your costs. Other items such as books, travel expenses, personal expenses can be lower if the student buy used books (or rents) and watches his money carefully. Also you need to see if the cost of medical insurance was included. If your son is covered under your plan then you should be able to waive this fee if your plan meets the schools requirements. If he has no insurance, you will be required to pay it.
I also recommend that you read the book "Paying for College Without Going Broke ". Disregard the title. It does not have any magic answers but I felt it did a good job explaining the whole FAFSA. It also had a decent section on the impact of the student working.
As other stated you need a four year plan.
I’m sorry but I think this school is not affordable for you. Your EFC is very low, implyong a very low income. You will need to qualify for these large PLUS loans annually. And YOU will be responsible for their repayment.
Does your son NOT have any affordable options?
Those are figures for one semester, and as I read this, you’ll have to take the $10,000 Plus loan each semester, or $20,000 per year. The only money that won’t have to be paid back is pell and the provost award - all the rest is loans. That’s a lot of loans, and really too expensive of a school for you.
I think what they are telling you is that the $42k is the Cost of attendance, and the amount you will be actually billed for room and board, and tuition and fees, will be $38k, so you’ll have $4000 in your pocket (but from loans) to pay expenses like travel and books. If total billed to you is $38k, less $12k provost, less $5000 pell that leaves you paying/borrowing $21k per year (plus $4000 in incidentals). That’s a lot, $25k per year.
Arizona State University
Yearly Cost of Attendance (OOS) = $42k
Tuition: $24,500; Room & Board: $13k; Books, personal, & Transportation: $4,500
Award Summary
Semester 1 + Semester 2
Fed Pell $ 2,512 + $2512 = $5024
Provost’s Award $6,000 + $6,000 = $12,000
Direct Sub Loan $ 1,750 + $1750 = $3500
Direct Unsub Loan $ 1,000 + $1,000 = $2,000
Direct Parent Plus Loan $9,780 + $9,780 = $19,560
Total Grants/Year: $17k
Student Loans/Year: $5500
Parent Plus Loan/Year: $19,560
If I’m understanding the figures you gave us correctly, your son is borrowing ~$27k total for this school and you’re borrowing ~$80k. That’s a lot. If you end up not qualifying for some reason in year 2, or 3, or 4 your son can get an extra $5k added to his loan, but that would still leave him ~$15k short/year.
Do you have any financial safeties in your own state for your son? Where will you be starting school? Are you borrowing to pay that too? If so, I’m not sure you’ll qualify for a 2nd loan to pay your son’s tuition.
I asked the schools F.A. adviser about our EFC. It’s like $678.00. I was under the impression that the EFC was what we had to pay no matter what out of pocket each month. However when I spoke to the F.Aid adviser she said the EFC was just a set price for colleges to figure out your financial aid need according to your income and what you can afford to pay for school. She told me that it does not absolutely mean every family will actually have to pay that amount out of pocket. The actual costs for each family will be different and that includes if their schools packages meet their EFC or not.
Are you saying she is wrong about the EFC and that we should be adding that as a separate payment along with whatever our final cost to pay for school?
I was told by a local college F.Aid adviser that Parent Plus Loans didn’t hold the debt to income ratio against you when applying that only private banks & lenders held you up to those standards. She said we have 2 apply each yr and see if we are accepted but that the Parent Plus Standards were based on a different set of standards. Has anyone personally taken out a Parent Plus Loan?
I am not legally married to my sons father. However we have been living together from the beginning. He has always been on official record as supporting the household costs for the 3 of us. I have worked in the past. I am just unemployed at the moment. I have every intention of going back to work to help my partner pay the costs of my sons education. Right now his dad my partner & provider is supporting the family which is ONLY the 3 of us. He alone won’t be able to manage mnthly payments but we don’t plan on him doing it alone. I will positively absolutely get a job to share the costs. Besides rent we don’t have any big payments due mnthly. Our son is and always will be our biggest expense & only dependent we will have 2 worry about. After my son graduates he will join the both of us in paying off the debt. So it will be 3 people paying off the debt. It seems possible for 3 adults to pay off a mnthly debt of say $1200.
My sons father & my partner will have to be the one to apply for any loans since I have been out of work for a few yrs now. He has been at his job for 9 yrs so he would have more of chance to get a loan than I would. There is a state option but to have the actual college exp of living in a dorm is still putting us at 12k for a parent plus loan instead of the 10k for ASU. I understand what’s cheaper is commuting but that’s not what we want. Unless someone can give 1st hand info on the exp of their own child that went with the option to commute then it’s really not important. My point is that we already know what the options are for poor (working class people) families, we live it so we don’t need advice on what to do if poor. I need advice & info on what to expect and what to take into account when we sit down and add the numbers and possibles to see what’s completely out of the question and what’s actually a feasible long term plan.
I understand that it’s hard for people to understand why we would even consider going into debt if we are poor. Lets also keep in mind poor today means people who go to work everyday pay their taxes like everyone else around them but receive little to no benefits for their labor anymore. We have come from poverty and we are poor. Our parents worked and were still poor. However for us going without lives luxuries & material things so that our one child can have at least some NOT ALL but some of the luxuries that create a childhood in society today was worth it to us. Not everyone would agree but we didn’t ask.
For me unless a family can absolutely say their child has 0 debt form college then they are in the same boat. Debt at the end of the day means you didn’t have the money at the time to pay for services rendered so you took someones help/hand out at the time. Of course you owe that bill and are responsible to pay it back. As long as it is within your means to pay then debt is an option if it means my child gets a good education then there really is no question. Regardless of the naysayers we are all aware that all schools are not created equal.
I won’t lie my kid is a smart kid and talented but he’s no Einstein or overachiever so starting from a lower advantage and not having that do or die drive will not help poor kids break the cycle. Do I believe he can succeed in college? Of course I do. I also feel if you’re starting at a lower bar then you have to reach further than what’s closest to you if you want to breakout. This is why we chose to move & live outside of the city we were born & raised in so that our one & only child could get that little step up with a good education. Results show our decision payed off.
Aiming for a better start at college will pay off as well. It’s not the top of his choices but he is well aware by now you don’t get everything in life that you want EVEN when you work hard you still don’t get what you want. He applied to the school because he liked what they had to offer. As his parents we should consider every single option that may be feasible not only the cheapest. If we lived by that rule our child would have had NONE of the things that children want in childhood. I don’t want my son to just go 2 college and get a job that’s not min wage I want him to breakout of poverty so that he can live and provide a better life for himself and his future family. Not all people can hit the ground running some people need more resources at their disposal to succeed.
My comments are not to single out anyone because everyone took the time to help me & Lord knows I need help lol! My comments may be off point but keeping it real everyone is thinking WHY? This whole college exp is new for me and my family. For most families who are considering the college route I’m sure this process is stressful & overwhelming to many. My personal comments are just a way for me to hold on in the face of adversity & navigate the unknown & stressful waters that make up college planning! We all become overwhelmed at a point and may have no one to exhale to so this was my way of exhaling to CC.
I seriously appreciate every single person who has offered advice & shared their feedback & I Thank You for taking the time to respond. Hearing the PROS & CONS are part of recieving feedback. It’s the whole point really. With this being the biggest decision we will have to make as a family thus far I need to understand what to expect with the loan process, actual college fees and bills and how the system works and of course allow for possible cost increases in our budget in the future. I just want to pinpoint what costs we should be looking at so that when we sit down as a family and seriously put the debt costs on the table we understand what it means. I understand costs can go up but there must be a reasonable debt total families come to when they make the decision to choose a college. That is what I’m aiming for.
Your EFC is your family contribution. You will be expected to pay that amount…at least…to your son’s college.
I think you are looking at this the wrong way.
Right now…you need to look at the Cost of Attendance at the college(s). Subtract any grants your son gets from that amount. The remainder will need to be paid by your family somehow. Your son can take a $5500 loan as a freshman in his name only. You would need to take any additional loans or cosign for them for the balance. Or pay out of savings or current earnings.
Right now, it looks like you need to take well over $20,000 a year in college loans PLUS whatever your son takes in student loans. I’m going to say…that is way to much loan debt. Way too much. Plus you don’t have much income right now if your EFC is $638. You need to be a qualified loan applicant to cosign…in other words you need sufficient income and collaterol to be granted a loan. You don’t have much income, right?
You would likely qualify for a PLUS at least the first year. But the Plus is in YOUR name, and you would be responsible for repayment.
Question…when you completed the FAFSA did you put all of the financial info for both you and the father on the form? Hope so, because that is the requirement since you live together.
As I said upstream, this college does not sound affordable. It just doesn’t. The annual loan amount you need to take is a good chunk of your current family annual income if your EFC is $638.
I would strongly urge you to look for affordable options.
Oh…and regarding the EFC…you cannot receive need based aid to cover your EFC. You are expected to pay that. If $600 or so puts you that close to the limit of your resources, this should tell you…this is all unaffordable.
To help you make an informed decision, you should use the Repayment Estimator to get an idea of what your payments will look like after 4 years of $20,000 PLUS loans.
https://studentloans.gov/myDirectLoan/mobile/repayment/repaymentEstimator.action
Are there any other more affordable options available? It would be terrible if your son got started at this school and had to leave without graduating because you couldn’t get a PLUS loan in a subsequent year. Our D1 has no debt because she did one year away and became very ill and wasn’t medically cleared to return in year 2. She decided to stay put and for her it was the right decision. D2 went away and had a great experience. She has only the Direct loans that were available to her each year. I believe the cost of those will be more than manageable since she worked all through college and put money away. Husband and I didn’t go to college, so we were lost, but when running the payment calculators, we knew based on our income that we couldn’t afford to pay back large loans for a decade. I think the 20,000 per year you are considering will be the cost of a mortgage or rent for a long time.
Wishing you the very best. We all just want to do what’s right for our kids and it’s so hard. I was completely flummoxed with my first kid and we certainly made mistakes.