<p>You decide.
Read more: [Students</a> Loan Debt Horror Stories - Business Insider](<a href=“Students Loan Debt Horror Stories”>Students Loan Debt Horror Stories)</p>
<p>…the concern is what financial situation will your parents be in, and place you in, if this path continues? Another year of the same and no other loans are available? At the end of the day, how much will you be on the hook for…and what will you have to show for it? Consider your expenses coming out of college…rent, car payment, insurance, cell phone, loan payments, etc…throwing out a number here - $2500?/month * 12 * 1.35 (taxes) = $40,500 a year starting salary, and that’s living cheap and how much will your loan payments really be? Are you sure you can make enough to cover your living expenses, including your loan payment? </p>
<p>Perhaps looking very hard at your end goals and considering a variety of paths to get there, contrasted with two “traditional” paths, may be worthwhile…having done the loan thing myself, as well as working two part time jobs through undergraduate and graduate school, and living at home with parents much of the time, along with six siblings doing the same thing, taking the same boring path, (now we are doctors, lawyers, accountants, teachers, etc.) we all agree - the loans were worth it, and the the years to pay them off justified, because we came out with professional licenses that meant if we couldn’t get a job, we could hang out a shingle…my oldest child is set to begin college next year and, unless she has a hard, set goal of a professional license or some other arena with a positive outlook, and/or gets into a top tier school, where the financial stress is worth the investment because the resulting degree may likely mean more “open doors”, she will be shown a dollar amount and a list of options to choose from re: “how to get there”…and she can choose how to spend the money, and I will strongly suggest that it not be at a four year camp where she can drink underage, stay up late, miss class and get average grades while securing a degree in social skills only to run out of money a year and a half into it…when I suggest “lowered tiered” schools with the liklihood of more merit aid, or staying at home, going to the local university and getting a job, growing up, and then transferring to a “higher tier” school in two or three years, I almost cringe when I hear her comments about “I wouldn’t want to have to tell people I’m going there”. Are we, as parents, expected to pay for a bright, shiny sticker that says “I am going to blankity-blank-blank college”. Even if my child performs well in that college, is it worth it to just say she got accepted to, and attended four years at, that college? Is that degree really going to be worth the investment? Seriously? Because at this point, if I can’t justify the return, I’m not investing, because I can buy that sticker at the craft store for two bucks.</p>
<p>As we are a good few months out, and she has ACT’s, etc to take, I have not had the “reality check” talk, though I have the summary, and have shown it briefly to her and asked if she’s ready to talk…she has declined for the moment, though knows the talk will be had in the next month or so…it may help that reality hits her during the summer, and not when she’s in the school “bubble”. I understand that. I really am not as mean as I sound. Just painfully realistic. Ouch.</p>
<p>I am guessing your parents never had a “reality check” talk with you re: finances. I am a bit in shock how the suggestion of a “loan” is categorized as “aid” and how “paying for something” is considered synonomous with “borrowing money for it” - it’s not. Black and white - there is no grey matter in that - either you pay for it, or you don’t. Borrowing is paying over time, at best. It’s a burden I do not want my children to undertake unless I feel they can bear the cross and, if they falter, that I can, and will, carry. Apparently your parents are in a situation where they very likely may not be able to step up to the plate down the road - so if you go that route, prepare to bear the burden yourself. I think you sense that already, and it’s not feeling too good now, and that feeling will not get any better.</p>
<p>If I was in a financial position whereby I could stroke a check for their college with no hesitation, I still don’t know if I’d do it…that might not be a very “smart” thing for me to do…you have validated my presenting my children with a flat number, and a list of “paths”, and they can make the choice…and by default they will likely be starting out someplace that they won’t want to share with all of their friends though about four years later they will be happy and content about their path, and able to provide for themselves in the lifestyle they choose.</p>
<p>“Smart” is not always about where you go to school, but about the choices you make in “getting there”. You are apparently very smart to recognize your dilemmna - trust yourself to make a wise choice. It’s not always fun, but it’s life. And trust this - about 20 years from now, I can pretty much guarantee that your friends and confidantes really won’t judge you, or even care about, where you went to college as much as how you excel at your career and live your life - and the weight of loans can be a burden on both. </p>
<p>Don’t worry about what other people think. Again, trust yourself; you are now the grown- up. You know what to do. Have a good cry, and then off to execute your decision. Chin up and good luck, you will be fine.</p>
<p>college and graduate school, in my day, were a fraction of the cost, relative to the return, that it is today, so your choice of a “room and board” college has a lot more of an impact on your financial state for years to come…my parents did not pay for my college and graduate school, nor my siblings…hence the working and the loans and the boring path, etc…though my dad did offer up a bit of assistance - if we went to summer school and earned an “A” in a course, he would pay us the cost of the tuition for that class…smart man.</p>
<p>JR, are your parents going to PAY $50,000, or is that the amount of debt in your name that they’re willing to pay off in the future? If the former, I’d think you could swing option 1, assuming your parents’ income/credit is good enough to keep qualifying to co-sign on the private loans (keeping in mind the debt they co-signed for your sister). $35000 is more debt than the average student has for undergrad, and it’s more than I’d let my kids borrow for undergrad, but I don’t think it’s totally unreasonable. $81000 of undergrad debt is craziness.</p>
<p>Your parents are going to have that debt in their names anyways. If a parent is a cosigner for the loans that taken out for you, that parent is equally on the hook as you are and it shows up on the parent’s credit reports. These cosigned loans hamstring BOTH parent and child which is one reason why they are not considered as desireable. The terms are also not as flexible as PLUS and if the interest rate is over 8%, it’s more expensive than PLUS. Also if anything should happen to you or the parent, PLUS has insurance built in, and the loan is forgiven. Not so these. Also the penalites are much heavier on these loans.</p>
<p>That the loans are in your name too, can be an issue if the debt is too large when you are looking for jobs. Some companies and industries don’t want to hire people in too much debt. And if your parent misses or is late on a payment, your credit gets zinges along with the parent’s. You know better than any of us and even them, perhaps as too how good they are about their bills. </p>
<p>But, they did not gain a single thing by putting your name on the loans and either of themselves as cosigners, just stuck you with the loans as wells themselves. So one other thing is clear; your parent or parents do not look into these things thoroughly. The only thing just in your name are the DIrect Loans, and you got $5500 in those freshman year, and are entitled to take out $6500 for the next two years., $7500 senior year. For most students, those loans are all they should take out. Since the interest starts up the instant the funds are released, you are talking owing about $30K just on those by the time you graduate.</p>
<p>I suggest option 1. Does the school you have in mind guarantee to meet need for students after the transfer year? What would your need be at that school anyways? Do some numbers and find out. But if the school does not tend to meet need, you are not likely to get much. I’ve seen too many students who have been assured of some additional possibilities of funds in the future not get them. Most colleges put their money towards incomiing freshmen. That’s just the way it works. If you can get the money from the to pay off your loans that have been taken out, and get them to bankroll you you can end up in pretty good shape.</p>
<p>Yes, all this debt stuff is scary. I have two out of college who are struggling with even no debt. The third got a great job but he is alarmed at how that paycheck is dwindling as he selects his health insurance, 401K, SARs, disability plans, etc, etc. That final paycheck is going to be less than he made over the summers since he was only paying social security with no withholdings from it and we provided everything. He called in a panic about those numbers. Thank goodness he has no school loans, a paid for car. He asked me how the heck others are doing this. Do the numbers for the debt you are thinking of undertaking. It’s no guarantee that you are going to get that $50K+ a year job on the onset, and even if you do, by the time you take out everything you should out of that figure, it’s not going to be an easy go paying for school loans out of it.</p>
<p>Do make sure you shut down any future borrowing in your name. There are parents who have wrecked their kids credit that way. Don’t know of any examples personally, but have heard, read about this. I’ve known kids, personally who have done this, and it’s a tough go. Cost parents opportunities. </p>
<p>I have a friend from years ago who borrowed, both parties knowingly, from the cosigned loans as well as the Direct loans. She was accepted to an OOS public in a 5 year program that had good returns in terms of jobs and salary. So they went for it despite the fact that she could have commuted for free in state and the family was hurting financially. They considered this an investment as their DD was truly an exceptional young woman who always did well in school. Well, she didn’t continue the program for whatever reason, took six years to get through the college, though, yes, she did graduate, with an Arts and Sciences degree, major in philosophy. She’s nearly 30 years old now, delinquent in her loans, and owes close to $200K on the original $90K due to forebearances, late fees, penalites, etc, etc. Her mother’s business was ruined, already on thin ice, and getting anything is a problem because their credit is trashed. I know another woman who owes even more than that for law school and ug and can’t pay it. These are just personal cases I know.</p>
<p>Yes, your parents are laughing this off because they know you won’t go after them. In family things like this almost never get charges pressed. But it is a serious breach, as you now know they will sign your name to things with abandon as they feel that is their right. That would scare the heck out of me that there are folks out there that would do this, have done this and think it’s just fine.</p>
<p>So, yes, the idea is that my parents will be able to pay $50k total toward my college expenses, the majority of which will be paid out-of-pocket while I am in school. This leaves $35k leftover, though I figure I could have about $10-15k paid off by myself from part time jobs, and/or paid internships.</p>
<p>I am just so lost on how my parents believe everything they are doing is reasonable and not atypical. They seem to believe that parents with similar incomes are doing the exact same thing as they are. My parents have never been ones to have a bad history keeping up with the bills, or any related issues. Apparently, though, they see $49k of debt in my sister’s name reasonable despite the fact she will be a teacher.</p>
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<p>They are probably correct. One of my sisters has pressured her son to go to a private school on moderately large loans - he wanted to go to the local community college as he’s worried about the size of the loans.</p>
<p>I think that identity-theft within families is a rampant problem - as family members know that their families won’t want to have to bring a ton of legal problems into a family dynamic.</p>
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<p>My sister is doing reasonably well - she and her husband certainly make more than we do; and I think that she’s received financial help from her husband’s family. I don’t understand their approach though. It’s a family dynamic that I’ve seen in various families that I generally don’t understand. Money dynamics do strange things to people.</p>
<p>My husband is very much the “do it by the rules” business man, who tends to dot every “i” and cross every “t” in what he does. But the relationship he has had with his mother has not been that way, and that seems to held precedence over what the exact legalities are. He still does not get it that he has to stick to the rules as his mother has become less able to comprehend things. So it works with parents and their children as well.</p>
<p>In my specific case, it would have been a heck of a lot easier and my son would have appreciated it, if I had just done all of the work in processing his DIrect Loan last year, and it was a pain in the neck coordinating it so that he did what he was to do, while I submitted what parental end of it. He hated every second of it and, yes, I could have done it in a quarter of the time, as I am very familiar with the process. I made him do it as a learning thing, and I can tell you it was not appreciated. I also firmly believe that if I had told him that we needed to borrow the whole amount due to financial issues and asked to use his name he would have almost certainly given consent and not thought a thing about it, so blind he is in trust with us in financial issues. So many kids are. My mother and MIL are, as well with my DH and I. With my kids, I"ve insisted that they physically do these things and that it’s “in their faces” but many people simply don’t. Many “good” people don’t.</p>
<p>OP, you are now legally an adult, and you have gotten an early warning call of how your parents see things in terms of doing what they think is the best thing on your behalf and how casual they are in terms of using your information. Truly, get a new FAFSA PIN and guard it. So that they cannot repeat this whole thing or use the school loans as personal lending options for themselves,which, yes, some parents have done/</p>