<p>i am an international student 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 talked 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 international students? would the loan repayment be very difficult? </p>
<p>please help me because i am still undecided whether i should accept this offer or not. i am very much interested in attending this college. the other colleges where i have been accepted are not offering any appreciable aid, so are out of my reach.</p>
<p>one thing more, would it be better taking the loan from the univ (as in fin aid package) or taking from my own country? (interest rates in my country are ~4% higher but yes, they charge simple interest)</p>
<p>financial aid is mostly consisting of grants and loans. from what I've heard, there are people here on this forum who received fin aid packages wich would indebt them for around $100,000 after 4 years.
I think it's reasonable that you'll be able to pay back your debt. </p>
<p>However, you have to make the final decision and should maybe take your major into account (Econ majors earn usually more money directly out of college than comparative literature majors).
Congratutaltions for you're acceptance! (about which university are we talking here?)</p>
<p>Try to get the lowest interest rate possible.
Also keep in mind that you can usually defer the loan payments to the university when you enroll in graduate school. Most commercial lenders I am aware of don't do that.</p>
<p>Two more questions:
Is the loan component in your fin aid package fixed at 7.5K per year? Most schools increase the loan component every year to account for increases in tuition.
And how is the wage level in your home country? Do you anticipate returning home or staying in the States after graduation? That is also important when deciding where to take the loan; taking the loan in the country you anticipate working after graduation makes you independent of unexpected changes in currency exchange rates.</p>
<p>I have a loan package of 7k per year. It's interest free till I graduate from grad school. It won't increase every year. Also, I can always choose not to borrow it. And it's repayable over a ten year period starting nine months after I finish college, or six months after I finish grad school. No company will give you interest free loans for a period.</p>
<p>Email the college asking about the full details of the loan. If it's like mine, it should be no problem. Oh yeah, and mine was 7% interest after the period.</p>
<p>Well, since the other school didn't give you any aid, you bascially don't have a choice. Also, most finaid packages contain loans, and 7.5k seems to be very reasonable. 30k will not kill you after undergrad. Depending on what industry you're gonna pursue, you'll be able to work it off in about 5 years. You should feel very fortunate!</p>