<p>I'm a high school senior from New Jersey and I'm really starting to worry about if I'm going to be able to pay for the school I was accepted to next year. I was accepted into Drexel for Chemical Engineering and also accepted into their accelerated PhD program(I would receive PhD in 6-7 years). Along with these acceptances came an 18K scholarship making the total cost a year about 25K. My only option is loans and my parents and I have accepted this from the start. However, I am not to familiar with the loan process and my parents and I are worrying that we won't be approved for a cosigned loan. We live in a middleclass househould with the combined income of my parents being about 125K a year. Their credit history isn't the greatest as they had once declared bankruptcy 8 years ago but they have been pretty good since then. Reason I am divulging all this information is that I am very worried that I won't be able to go to the school I would like and I was wondering what people think I am going to be able to do? Will I be able to get a private loan easily? I dont think I'll qualify much for government aid but if I do how much would you think? Also I want to do the accelerated PhD program so will loans be defered till after I graduate with a PhD? I really would appreciate an answer as myself and my parents are very nervous. Thank you.</p>
<p>I’d consider posting your FA questions/concerns in the following forum. There are some very knowledgeable and helpful people there. Good Luck!
[Financial</a> Aid & Scholarships - College Confidential](<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/]Financial”>Financial Aid and Scholarships - College Confidential Forums)</p>
<p>I was in a similar position. I got accepted to Drexel with 17k a year and zero financial aid. I come from a middle class family from NJ, and I am expected to pay for my college since my parents can’t/won’t. I ended up not going to Drexel in favor for a cheap state school a week before classes started because I couldn’t get my finances together.</p>
<p>You could get a private loan easily, but your parents would have to co-sign. Take the stafford loans the government gives everyone. Try your local bank as well, as that’s where I would have gotten my loan. Talk to Drexel’s financial aid office. When I backed out of Drexel, they were on my tail trying to “help” me. </p>
<p>Best of luck! I hope it works out! Drexel will always have my heart even though I couldn’t attend :)</p>
<p>Assuming you are a US citizen or eligible non citizen, you will be eligible for federal student loans. The amount of Stafford is $5500 freshman year, $6500 sophomore year, $7500 3rd year and up. There is an aggregate limit of $31,000 for dependent students but at some point in the accelerated PhD program you probably are considered a professional or grad student so your aggregate limit would increase.</p>
<p>If they qualify for PLUS loans your parents could apply for those in their names. If they are not approved for PLUS loans because of their credit history, then you would be eligible for an additional $4000 a year in Stafford loans. If their credit is bad enough that they cannot get approved for PLUS loans then they are unlikely to be approved for private loans (in their own names or as cosigners).</p>
<p>Your parents are right to be nervous about this. $25,000 a year is way to much to borrow. If you are just doing the 4 year undergrad part then that is $100,000 which will mean payments of $1100 a year a month every month for 10 years. And that is if you are paying the interest as you go. If you defer the interest it will be added to the loan and the debt will have grown enormously by the time you graduate, to $122,000 or more, which would mean payments of over $1400 a month. If you borrow $25k a year for 7 years than you are looking at a total debt of $175,000 if you pay the interest as you go, with payments once you graduate of $2000+ a month. If you don’t pay the interest as you go (and the monthly interest will be huge as time goes on), your debt at the end of 7 years will have grown to over $240,000 which will mean **monthly payments of $2800 or more a month for 10 years <a href=“depending%20on%20the%20interest%20rates”>/B</a>. This would be a crippling amount of debt to start your life with.</p>
<p>Even if you can borrow this amount the first year or two there is definitely a danger that there would be a point where it would negatively impact your parents credit rating to the point where lenders will not continue to lend them (or let them cosign) any more loans. Even as cosigners this debt is considered their liability and will have a huge impact on their credit rating. Existing debt is taken into account when lenders make these decisions. So you could end up with a bunch of debt and unable to complete the program you started.</p>
<p>You are considering a crippling amount of debt that, if you are able to take on this debt, you will probably really regret in the future. You should do a search on the internet for stories of students who have taken on this amount of debt, are in terrible financial distress and whose lives are basically destroyed because of it (student debt is not allowed to be discharged in bankruptcy). Not only that, but if you ask you parents to cosign these loans for you, their financial well being will be at great risk. When they cosign loans their assets can be taken to pay the loans if you default. For this reason I would never ever cosign a loan. (My own daughter did a consumer finance class at her college and was shocked at what she learned about cosigning loans and how risky it can be, and told me she would never do it herself, or ask anyone to do it for her.) </p>
<p>You need to be realistic and accept that you simply cannot afford this school. It is unlikely you will be able to borrow the funds, which is a good thing as doing so would leave you and your parents with crushing debt. You really need to make sure that you have other school options that you can afford.</p>
<p>We face a similar problem. S was accepted with a very moderate scholarship to WPI (grades/boards/ex-cur are all great, but oh well…). It’s his first choice and he loves the school, but it’s extremely difficult to imagine how on Earth we can afford their remaining costs without massive loan debt - and I believe a student can/should shoulder SOME debt, but this would be too much.</p>
<p>Why are good private colleges so unaffordable?</p>
<p>Thanks for the advice guys, I know 25k a year is alot of debt, but I still don’t mind undertaking it, especially if I’m going into engineering(i’m hoping the high salary will negate the cost of paying back the loan). I intend to have my parent’s name taken off the loan after I graduate, but I still gotta find a loan. Should I start talking to banks/companies now do you think or should I wait till after I send out FAFSA?</p>
<p>Have you done the numbers on a spread sheet?</p>
<p>If you need to talk to banks for a student loan, then you are doomed.
Staffords and PLUS are your best option. A bank student loan is too much and too high.</p>
<p>taking a name off a loan is not that simple, if it can be done at all.</p>
<p>Specifically where are the biggest sources of student loans? Banks you’re saying are too high, what companies offer better loans?</p>
<p>check with your guidance center.
Banks have a fiduciary duty to tell you that better options are available (Stafford and PLUS).</p>
<p>I think those of you who are money-strapped should FIRST evaluate your chosen area of engineering. If the long-term forecast is very good to excellent, I would suggest a 2+2 program where your last 2 years are taken at a decent (Top 50) state engineering school.</p>
<p>I am going to use capital letters because this needs to be said…</p>
<p>EMPLOYERS CARE WHERE YOU INITIALLY GRADUATED FROM…NOT WHERE YOU STARTED!</p>
<p>I know MANY…and I mean MANY current engineers working for the Northrops, Lockheeds, CSC’s, Boeings and other defense firms who attended some Maryland or Virginia (DC does not have one) community college fir their first 2 years and finished up at U-Maryland or U-Virginia. They are sitting in the same office space and on the same projects with engineers who did ALL 4 years at U-Maryland, U-VA, Va Tech, Penn State, etc.</p>
<p>^Just be very careful that it is indeed a 2+2 program. In NJ where you live, after two years of community college, it takes three years to get a BS from Rutgers, Rowan, Drexel, TCNJ, etc. I tried to find a college in NJ that wouldn’t take three years to graduate from, but to no avail. On the flip side, I will graduate with very little debt, even though it will take 5 years in all.</p>
<p>^^^Agreed. I’d strongly advise T/S to listen to the info presented by previous posters. Don’t accumulate unnecessary debt especially when there are other options. Debt begets debt begets debt! The odds are clearly against you and your folks. You have other options. Use them! Your future will thank you.</p>
<p>To piggyback on what ScorpioSerpent said…PLEASE use the approved 2+2 programs between the community colleges and the big schools. Some states have websites that describe transfer credit down to the course. In Maryland, there is a site called ARTSYS ([ARTSYS</a> Main Menu](<a href=“http://artweb.usmd.edu/]ARTSYS”>http://artweb.usmd.edu/)) which has this information.</p>
<p>PS: I did try to help a friend’s son in NJ evaluate the transfer from a NJ CC to Rutgers…and also could not get past doing 2 1/2 to 3 more at Rutgers.</p>
<p>Rutgers was STINGY with the transfer credits :-)</p>
<p>One more note of caution - I am very wary of integrated undergrad-to-grad programs. If you change your mind partway through they can get very sticky with things. Also, in the integrated program are you still paying tuition after you finish the undergrad part? If so - RUN! Engineering PhD’s are almost always able to get tuition + stipend one way or the other, and if that integrated program doesn’t use words like “fellowship” or “assistantship” then you are screwing yourself.</p>
<p>That having been said, I would still be wary of taking on more than ~$10k/yr unless you are getting a “top-money” degree like an MD, JD, or MBA. Once your debt passes about half your projected annual salary you are really in a bad spot.</p>
<p>GLOBALTRAVELER, I have no idea why NJ colleges are like that. It’s kind of pathetic that Pennsylvania colleges will actually take more transfer credits than NJ ones. </p>
<p>OP, I’d consider going to an instate NJ college and save money. Drexel doesn’t rank too far ahead of them anyways. Maybe you can get your masters at Drexel instead.</p>
<p>I can’t believe the OP’s parents are agreeing to this. Drexel is not worth it. I’m not being snobby(i’m applying to transfer there for the fall) but 25k a year in debt just for Drexel is excessive. If my FA came back with those kind of numbers it would never cross my mind to accept.</p>
<p>The blind optimism of youth by the OP is to be expected but his/her parents should know better. Especially considering they’ve been financial trouble before.</p>
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<p>Yeah, you shouldn’t have to pay for a phd in engineering. if you are required to pay for your doctorate degree in this program, I’d really try to get out of it.</p>
<p>okay let me clear some things up
- I refuse to go to a fing community college, idc what cc it is I am one of the top students in my class and the only students who go to cc in my school are the rejects who didnt care about school. I have no intention of staying in-state whatsoever.
- Im not oliver twist here, I’m just saying that paying for a school is going to be a little hard, not to the point of desperation but we just don’t know what its going to be like getting a loan. Many students in my town take on large debts for college and are now attending some of the best private and public schools in the area(and not in jersey).
- The accelerated program works like this, I do the 5 year undergrad program( with those not familiar with drexel it includes 2 co-ops) and starting in my 3rd year I begin taking grad classes and doing grad research. The reason this program is a deal is because I pay the undergrad rate for the years I get my BS but I still can do grad work at the same time. I would only have to pay for the remaining 2 years after the BS and Drexel administration informed me that most of the time Drexel pays for most of PhD students.</p>
<p>Hi Scottykid. I agree with all your thinking except on one point. </p>
<p>Yes, you should go to a college where you feel challenged, where your peers “speak the same language” and where you feel you fit in. CC is a great option financially for kids who don’t know what they want to be doing as a career, or for students who need a transition to the rigor of a regular college, but to go to a CC for purely financial reasons would be a sad compromise. (I wouldn’t say this to just anyone, but in an engineering field I don’t think you should have to make this compromise.)</p>
<p>How much detail did you go into when you calculated the $25k cost per year? The program at Drexel you’re interested in might be too rigid to allow for summer work, but after you have a couple years of an engineering curriculum under your belt, you could make some serious money by doing summer internships. Also, if you can live off-campus rather than in a dorm after Year 1, you’ll save some money there too. Your parents will be saving a bit of money with you away at college so maybe they can contribute more to your education than they are thinking right now. Overall, I think the guideline of not borrowing more than what your first year’s salary will be out of school is a good one. With a PhD in ChemE your salary will be high. You’re about at the limit with a cost of $25 per year, but I’m hoping you can reduce that a little.</p>
<p>My one disagreement with you, and agreement with an other posts, is that you should be cautious about committing to a PhD program before you’ve even started your college experience. So much can happen during those first years of college - you could find a passion that you had never thought of before. That said, if you can do the Drexel program without bypassing a traditional BS degree, then the risk is low. Consider that by the time you finish the BS portion of the program at Drexel, you might want to take a break to get some full-time work experience - for either financial reasons or because you want to think more about what to focus on for your PhD. If you find the right employer, they might pay for all or part of the cost of getting an advanced degree. </p>
<p>Lastly, to answer your specific question about when to start investigating loans. Start looking now. (I assume you’ve already done the FAFSA4Caster?) The federally-subsidized loans that you can qualify for as a student are a good deal, with payments deferred until after graduation (grad school too), but are limited in $$. Your parents can call banks, give an estimate of how much they will need to borrow in their name, and find out what their interest rate will be - it varies depending on their credit rating. Parent loans typically don’t get a repayment deferral. Also, call Drexel’s financial aid office - they might think of options that you haven’t.</p>