Thanks for all these helpful answers and such and actually i came to an agreement with my father since one of my friends helped me find a job and now he’s willing to sign as soon as I start!! Honestly, this is one school I REALLY fell in love with and my guidance counselor recommended. Theres no way I would choose a safety school. Also, the school I’m going to is the same price as my second choice which is in state so xD
Also, I do have mental problems (I don’t know how else to phrase it without sounding offending to myself XD) so I have been looking for scholarships regarding those disabilities… Seems like a lot of them will cover a ton of my school. In addition to this, my English teacher is helping us get scholarships and grants during a whole month! 
Sorry for the little freak out… Seems a week of sitting on the topic helped and venting here.
Your co-signer/parent may not be able to qualify for loans for all four years as the debt builds up.
Keep that in mind - just because he is willing to co-sign does not mean that he will qualify initially or continue to qualify after the first year.
Does your cosigner own a home? Have any other assets?
How much does this school cost per year?
Is this an online or for-profit school?
Would you like to be paying $1000/month for 15 years to pay off the loan and have to forgo ideas of marriage/homeownership/children because of the debt combined with a low-paying journalism job?
Mounting debt is not a criteria for Plus loans. The issue is whether the parent has defaulted on a federal loan, filed bankruptcy, or is more than 90 days in default on a major debt (missing the Target bill is probably okay, but being in default - not just late- on the mortgage is not). As long as the parent can keep up to date on the bills, which the parent has done before qualifying for the freshman loans, then the future years will be approved. If not approved, the student can borrow $4-5k more. The debt to income ratio is not considered. Having a job is not required. Qualifying for a Plus loan is easy. Too easy.
After your scholarship, is this school still more expensive than in-state public schools? Is there a four year public school you could commute to from home? It is honestly really immature to fall for a dream school you can’t afford, and ask your parent to take on loans beyond what you can take in federal loans ($5,500 freshman year). You say you have had mental health issues – what if you don’t finish school? That money will still be owed by you and your co-signer.
it sounds like the parent will be cosigning PRIVATE loans, not taking a Plus Loan…so those will be harder to qualify for.
It’s Dec. The parent may come to his senses within the next 6 months and realize how dangerous cosigning these loans will be, particularly when the student suffers from a mental illness which could interfere with his ability to finish college OR get or KEEP a good paying job after graduation.
This student has never held a job, ever, so it’s unknown how he would handle a future job, particularly a demanding one, since he suffers from a mental illness. He mentions that a friend is helping him get a part time job. This may be a test that the dad is looking at. If the student is not able to handle the stress of school and job over the next few months, then the dad may realize that the risk of cosigning is too much.
The OP may not like the messages he’s getting, but the concerns are real.
Journalism isn’t a very specialized major-correct? Why is it necessary to go out of state for it?
How far do you live from your closest instate public with journalism? How about commuting from home to a community college for 2 years while completing general education requirements, then transferring to your instate public?
Is it fair for you to let your dad take on the burden of $100k+ in loans? Has he saved for his own retirement? Does he own his own house?
I think this student believes that he will be paying back all those loans.
At some point within the next few months, hopefully the dad will realize that a person with a mental illness should not be further burdened with the stress and anxiety of having to pay back a large amount of student loans.
I think this student doesn’t understand that the any scholarships his teacher is helping the class find are likely for small amounts and only for one year. He may cobble together a couple thousand in scholarships for frosh year, but those will go away after that.
I think the suggestion of starting at a CC is a good idea to see how well he adjust to college.
Is this the same dream school someone had last year for journalism, Northwestern?
OP, at a minimum, you should apply someplace in-state that is more affordable while you sort out the finances. You have until May to commit to a school, so get an affordable option in hand for sure. Or else be prepared to start at your local community college if you can’t get the finances sorted.
Remember that your co-signer will have to requalify every year, which may be hard. Your dad has expressed reservations about getting stuck with your loans already. Also, honestly, journalism is a low paying profession. You likely will struggle hard for years to pay large loans off, and private lenders don’t give you or your co-signer any kind of break if you don’t make much money, become disabled, or die. You would be hest off to stick with your federal loans.
OP - your in-state colleges/universities can be lower cost, especially if something is commuter for a while. For example, start at local community college, and after a few years finish the degree somewhere else. If you have a small scholarship elsewhere, it may be you can obtain a local community college scholarship or a scholarship at a school where you can commute. Do you have anyone you can live with near a four year public college where you can have room/board? Consider all the lowest cost options.
Think about what others have posted. Your GC isn’t seeing you through financially, so saying something is best suited isn’t seeing you through financially. Many GC like to push various schools known for this or that w/o cost considerations.
ETA…elsewhere on this forum, you say you got accepted in September. Was this rolling admissions to an OOS public university?
It’s wonderful,that you are so loving this unaffordable college…but it is UNAFFORDABLE for,you and your family. Re: the open heart surgery…the only thing colleges will look at is unreimbursed medical expenses. Are you saying your family had no medical insurance?
What is their family income annually?
At this point, you say you have $16,000 spread over four years. Does this mean you only have $4000 a year in scholarship money? If this was an ED acceptance, you would already have filed a Profile, and your need based aid calculated on that information. Apparently, you got no need based aid…according to your post.
You could have a credit score of 800 and you, the student, would not be able to get loans in your name only beyond those Direct Loans. You need to read that again and understand it. YOUR credit score doesn’t matter at all. You can’t get huge loans per yer…oh, and by the way…it’s not advisable to take well over $100,000 in loans for an undergrad degree. Sorry…it’s just not.
At this point, you may have actually missed deadlines for admissions applications for some generous scholarships at OSU.
Your bigger issue is that you have apparently accepted an admissions offer…and therefore you are not permitted to apply elsewhere.
But you can withdraw that acceptance offer if the school is unaffordable.
Maybe this is what you should do. The reality is…the school will not likely fund all that you think the should fund.
Acceoting early when you have significant family financial issues really makes no sense. And now you have their offer, and it is not sufficient for you to attend.
In my opinion…time to withdraw that application and move on to schools,where your family can pay their share…whatever that amount is.
Did you apply a where else? Or was this a one and done application.
And lastly…because this deserves its own post.
You say your oarents already have significant debt…but you think it’s OK for,them to assume MORE debt by consigning loans for yountomatrend college?
Sorry…the already have family debt to deal with…not advisable for,them to,dig their debt hole any deeper either.
<<< Is this the same dream school someone had last year for journalism, Northwestern? >>
The OP has rather modest stats…ACT 23 and 3.3 GPA. I doubt the school is Northwestern. Could be Mizzou, possibly. That’s another popular journalism school that isn’t hard to get into.
That other student had much higher stats.
Another thing…your school counselor might be able,to help you find some scholarships…but likely these are local ones that are for ONE year only. Then what??
The biggest question this student has “what will I do if can’t pay my college costs.”
Because getting loans is really very unrealistic…even if the parent cosigns for a private loan…and qualifies this year…what’s to,say the parent will qualify in subsequent years. The parent income is $50k-$60k and they reportedly already have significant debt.
That is a good point others are making. GCs are notoriously terrible at dealing with the financial side of college admissions. They often recommend schools that are unaffordable for students. Your GC may have great recommendations for schools academically for you, but believe us… they won’t be around when you and your parent are struggling with loan payments in the future. Don’t take out more than your federal loan amount, PERIOD. Your family can’t handle sinking deeper into debt for your “dream school”.
Lots of kids don’t get to go to their first choice schools because of cost. I know it is a disappointment to you, but the financial risk is real for you and your family. One of my kids attended her safety with merit aid – partly because she liked it a lot, but also partly because her dad and I got divorced during her senior year of high school, and she picked the financially responsible option that we knew we could pay for. It worked out GREAT for her, too – she graduated Phi Beta Kappa, had excellent relationships with professors and a lot of good friends, had good study abroad experiences, and got a very good job after graduation. Don’t be so dismissive of attending a safety – it isn’t a disaster, and it can work out really well.
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Because getting loans is really very unrealistic…even if the parent cosigns for a private loan…and qualifies this year…what’s to,say the parent will qualify in subsequent years. The parent income is $50k-$60k and they reportedly already have significant debt.
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this is a VERY good point. The student is assuming that the dad will get approved to cosign because he has a 'good credit score." Well, a “good credit score” may be fine for opening credit cards, etc, but for a bank to approve a student loan, is a different story. The family income is too modest for the banks to approve.
this student should have his dad find out now if he’d even qualify to cosign.
But why can’t the parents get Plus loans? Those aren’t hard to qualify for, other debt isn’t considered, nor is credit score.
I agree the parents shouldn’t be taking Plus or private loans, but if they are going to, Plus is usually a better deal overall.
The parent might end up having to do Plus, if that’s the only way he can qualify AND he’s willling to take that risk.
BUT…the parent likely will want his child “on the hook” and he won’t be with Plus. With Plus, it’s ONLY the parent’s loan. The child has NO obgligation to pay any of it back. The OP indicated earlier that the parent was concerned that his child wouldn’t pay. Not having his name on the loan could mean that, at some point, the child may have every excuse in the book as to why he can’t make the payments.
My housekeeper has a Plus loan for one of her kids. Her child was “supposed” to make the payments. At first, he made payments, but after that, she’s been stuck with the loans. Her son has all kinds of excuses, including also a mental health issue. The hard truth is that he knows his name isn’t on the loan, so after a short time of making payments, he started saying things like, “uh, I don’t have the money this month, can you make the payment?” And to protect her credit, she did. And, then once that happened a few times, he eventually stopped paying at all.
This parent (and my housekeeper) does not earn enough to take on this risk. The OP mentioned that his parents only earn about $50k per year and have other debt. So, that doesn’t sound like a family who could absorb this debt if the OP becomes too unhealthy to work, or can’t earn enough. Journalism doesn’t pay much these days, particularly during the early years.
I wonder if this student has any idea of how much he’d likely be earning upon graduation?
Don’t do this to your family - make them take loans for you on top of the loans they had to take already.
Check with financial aid at the school you like to see if they’ll reduce your bill. If not, then it’s unaffordable for you.
You want to go, you got in, but you can’t.
The little scholarships you may get are for one year - cobbled together, they’ll pay for books but they won’t make a dent in your tuition +R&B payments.
Is it Mizzou? If not, then apply. (In addition, Missouri is pretty lenient in letting students be considered residents for tuition purpose after their first year).
Register for the SAT in January in case you can increase your scores and snatch better financial aid at colleges with January deadlines.
I can say, as a journalism student myself, that it is definitely NOT worth going into debt for a journalism degree when you have cheaper options. You will most likely be making <$35,000 upon graduation (depending on where you worked, possible closer to the $25k range) and don’t need to be paying off major loans. You said you’re in Ohio…Ohio University has a fantastic journalism school and you wouldn’t be “settling” by going there. It’s one of the top journalism schools. Ohio State also has a good journalism program (though with your stats, might be a little more difficult to get into). There are also other OOS options that are probably cheaper. I think, at the very least, you should probably apply to some other schools before making a decision. No, these other schools might not be as perfect as this school you really want to go to, but sometimes you have to choose the cheaper school and there’s nothing wrong with that.