<p>i am an international student from a low-income family and have been accepted in a college with quite good amt of aid. but they have given me a loan component of $7.5k per year. this in 4 years will turn out to be a debt of $30,000 ! i had spoken to them and they said that this is a compulsory part of their package.</p>
<p>is having a debt of such an amount normal among students? would the loan repayment be very difficult? </p>
<p>i really need your help and valuable advice here. i am very much interested in attending this college but i am not able to make up my mind whether i should accept the offer or not. the other colleges where i have been accepted are not offering any appreciable aid, so are out of my reach.</p>
<p>$30,000 debt, at 6.8% interest, paid off in 10 years, requires about $350 monthly payment, assuming loan payments of no more than 8% of your gross earnings. This plan requires an annual salary of about $51,000.</p>
<p>Factors to consider are: What field are you planning to major in? What is the expected starting salary? Are you thinking of professional school after undergrad?</p>
<p>Remember, the debt wizard scenario summarized above assumes no other debt whatever, including automobile, house payment, etc.</p>
<p>Most of the parent posters on cc seem to think 20-30K undergrad. debt is not completely unreasonable, but that is the outer limit for most occupations.</p>
<p>"they said that this is a compulsory part of their package"</p>
<p>What did they mean by compulsory? Is the school telling you that your aid package is $X, of which $7.5k is loans, and while they won't change the loans to grants, you can cover the $7.5k any way you want to? (such as get a job, reduce expenses, get money from your family.) Or are they telling you that you must borrow the money from a lender they have identified? I'm asking because they can't require you to borrow they money (although that may be your only realistic option) and they can't tell you what lender to use. There have been a few stories recently of financial aid officers working together with lenders to steer students towards loans, with the schools getting a percentage of the revenue the lender receives from the loans.</p>
<p>This one let's you see the impact of paying the interest on your loans while you're in school versus defering the interest. If you defer the interest, it gets added to the amount you borrow and you have to pay interest on the higher amount. This can make a large difference in the amount you eventually have to pay back.</p>
<p>qnx: If I understand correctly, the $7.5k per year loan part of the whole finaid package, right? Find out if you will be able to work during the year and summer. You should be able to make up that amount by working about 10-15 hours a week during the school year (although you will not be eligible for Work-Study since you are not a US citizen), and through the summer. </p>
<p>Parents: I don't think the same calculus of how long it would take a student to repay loans applies to international students since they are assumed to return home after completing their studies.</p>
<p>It may be that the yearly and summer wages are already included in the calculations of the EFC - that may be the student's expected contribution, and the loans may be on top of that amount.</p>
<p>Where do you live and what major are you aiming for?</p>
<p>This makes a difference in calculating your ability to pay back loans--but in general, make sure you have the type of visa that will allow you to work part-tim and over the summers. You should be able to pay down that amount while you are in school.</p>
<p>Also, consider signing up to be an RA. That is a $10K savings at most schools.</p>
<p>My niece is earning about $5K annually by working during the school year. (She's doing this so she can spend summers with BF in Europe, but that's another story.) My point is that IF you're concerned with debt AFTER college, one way to solve the problem is to work DURING college.</p>