College senior with (small) gap between aid and amount due for last semester

Paying for College
1

I’m a 5th year senior at a small private liberal arts college in MN. I transferred into this college this semester from a MN community college, and I transferred as a senior. After this semester (Fall 2015) I have 2 semesters left: next semester (Spring 2016) with three classes and next Fall 2016 with 1 class and an internship. Next fall is the semester that I have the amount due. (I also have a balance for next semester, but I have money I took for that from previous loans at my community college.)

Tuition is 10,350 per semester (supposedly it goes up next year but “not by a lot”) for full time, and I get 7250 in scholarships from the school and stafford loans (BTW I do know what I’m getting myself into with the loans, and there is only one other 4 year in the area that would have cost less, so please no comments on less borrowing :wink: ) I’m 22, live at home and my family’s income last year was around 75000, next year it will probably be closer to 80000.

Naturally then, I don’t qualify for Pell grants, but I knew that going in (I haven’t qualified for a few years). Unfortunately, because I have been going to school too long, and taken too many credits, I also don’t qualify for state grants anymore, which was about 2700 a semester. This is where the gap comes in. Next fall, my internship and my class make me go full time, and so after all aid I have a gap of about 2000. This is after all the savings I can reasonably do by next fall. Asking for a parent plus loan is not an option- they would probably be approved, but they are dealing with issues with debt as it is.

I’m looking at private loans at this point; I would prefer not to ask for them to be a cosigner b/c they tend to whine and judge without giving any sort of constructive advice or help, but I will if it’s needed. (They do pay all the bills, which I appreciate and is also why I don’t want to ask for more.)

Questions:

1: I currently have a scholarship through the school that they gave me because no one knew that my state grant would be gone until I got to orientation in august. There is a possibility that it could be renewed, but it’s not likely. Ignoring the fact that you don’t know the college, its policies, or its people, do you think I should ask/push for them to consider renewing it, or would it likely be a waste of time?

2: In terms of private loans, does anyone have experience with specific lenders or things that I should ask/watch out for? All the articles I’ve read just go on and on about how you shouldn’t do it to go to your dream school, which is completely inapplicable.

Thanks for reading and any help you can give!

2

If you don’t ask, the likelihood of renewal is probably close to zero. The worst that can happen is they say “no.” How much time will asking the question take?

Any private loan will likely require a cosigner. I don’t think that anyone here will give you flack for taking on $2,000 in additional debt in order to finish.

3

Could you take the remaining 4 classes in the spring and then get a paid internship? It sounds like you owe a whole semester tuition for 1 class and an internship in fall semester?

Are you currently working at a job that you do on/off campus or on the weekends? Could you work extra hours in the summer to get the extra money?

4

@mommdc You are exactly right, and that’s what’s frustrating. The internship is 8 credits, and the class is 4, which equals 12 credits or full time. I think it’s ridiculous that I’m paying the same price for an internship where I’m working and there is minimal teaching going on and a class where teaching is the main part of it. Unfortunately, if I change the number of credits for the internship (which I could), I would be under full time, which means I would lose 3500 in scholarships.

In terms of taking those 4 classes in the spring, I have 3 more classes I have to take (because that’s when they are offered), and the one class I’m taking in the fall looks like it is only offered in the fall. I could push to get it offered in the spring, but then I wouldn’t be full time in the fall, so again I would lose my scholarships which are the reason I can afford it. But a paid internship is a good idea, thank you!

I do work (work study) and I have as many hours as I can right now. I am probably going to get a job this summer, but how many hours I want will depend on how many hours (if any) I can get from my work study jobs.

5

Ask for more money, but if that fails, borrow the few thousands and get your degree so you can start making real money. If necessary, take a part-time job (12 credits is not a busy course load, especially with an internship), even at $10 a hour, that would add up. When you graduate, pay the loan off before trading up cars or buying luxury items (big TV, travel) or getting a bigger apartment (moving out of your parent’s house) or before you start spending money on bars, Starbucks, etc.

Possibly the aid you get will be an on-campus job or pay for research, etc.

What is your total debt under the worst case scenario (no more aid)?

6

I already get aid through work study, but I’m maxed out between my schedule and the amount of hours I can get. Te problem next fall will be if I take an unpaid internship (which has to be about 15 hours a week), I don’t know how I’m going to fit in 15 more hours a week of work. Not because I don’t have the time, but because of the amount of hours/times available, and if I look for work outside campus, I doubt anyone is going to want to hire someone who can only be there like 15 hours week. (I’ll look, obviously, but I just can’t see it being very common).

If I don’t get anymore aid, my total debt will be 26,000.

7

Ask about the scholarship. You need one more semester. In the grand scheme of things, you need such a small amount you may be able to get it. If not, well, at least you asked.

If you do need a loan, what about an unsecured loan that is not a student loan? Yes, payments would be due right away, but they won’t be terribly large on a 2K amount. You are working, so you may be able to qualify for a small amount. If everything else fails, and I do mean last resort sort of thinking, think about putting that last 2k on a credit card. Ordinarily, that is the worst idea ever, but you have a small amount to borrow and you will be done very soon. it won’t start a vicious cycle of charging your tuition. But again, you’d have to make minimum payments right away.

8

@ordinarylives That’s what I was thinking! It’s only 2 grand, and they want people to graduate, so it would be to their interest as well. The idea of an unsecured loan is a good idea, since I have an account with a bank close by that I could definitely ask for that type of thing.

I constantly am getting 0 percent for 18 month credit card offers, because I have a credit card that has 0 percent until next september, so that shouldn’t be too hard to get, and it’s not like I plan on taking long to pay it off at all, I just essentially need someone to front me the money. I thought it was crazy to think of that, but I’m not! :slight_smile:

The thing that frustrates me about private student loans for this amount of money (and if someone knows if this is wrong/can change, please correct me) is that there’s all this hullabaloo and paperwork all for like a years worth of payments. If I got a credit card, I could just apply, they wouldn’t ask for a cosigner or anything, and I would have no interest building on the money for at least a year and a half.

Thank you (all of you) so much! :slight_smile:

9

Ask if there re any department scholarships, any alumni schoralships, or other sources for funding. Do you have Stafford or Perkins loans? If not, those should be your first choice of loans. You have from now till next September to come up with $2700. You can so it if you are determined to do it. My niece has a regular job, but she makes a lot of money dog sitting, house sitting, babysitting. Look for opportunities. My daughter’s boyfriend makes quite a bit selling plasma, I think about $300/mo. Daughter tried it and it’s not for her, but for him it is very easy money.

10

My town has a free loan society. Although $2700 is pushing it a bit (typical loan to a student is about $1500 and usually it’s a bridge loan to cover books, a computer, and incidentals) it’s not an unheard of sum, especially given these circumstances.

OP- Google your city/town and the words “Free Loan Society”. Ours operates on an honor system (it’s an unsecured, interest free loan) and you pay it back when you can. Once loans get repaid that provides the capital for the next round of borrowers. Many (not all) recipients kick in an extra $100 or more as a thank you for the relatively easy process, honor system, and interest free terms.

Ours is sponsored by the Jewish community but you don’t need to be Jewish to get a loan, and it’s been in continuous operation for over 100 years. Your city may have one…