<p>Hi, I'm new to this site and I am in dire need of assistance. Sorry if this post was in the wrong spot or anything.
Anyway, I have a big problem with my financial aid and need a lot of help and questions answered. I'll start with this: I'm going to be starting my freshman year at a private college this August and I have outstanding debt that isn't covered by my financial aid. I decided that I would take out an additional student loan to cover the cost but my parents refuse to cosign for it. My oldest sister (who has good credit and all of that) said she will cosign for me and I can just apply for more financial aid on my own next year. So here are my beginning questions; if I were to have her cosign for me, if I kept up payments and things, could she eventually take her name off of my loan? Also, is it possible to take loans every semester, just to cover my expenses or do I have to do it by the full year?</p>
<p>Please keep in mind that I need answers ASAP. My debt has to be paid in less than 10 days.
Any information is useful.
Thank you.</p>
<p>You will not be able to take out a private loan on your own. I looked into this during undergrad - I had a relatively high paying job but still couldn’t get a loan without a cosigner. It’s really difficult since students have little to no credit history.</p>
<p>No, your sister will not eventually be able to to her name off the loan - it stays there ’til the loan is paid off in full.</p>
<p>How much money are we talking about? And what makes you think you’ll be able to just “apply for more financial aid” next year? Didn’t you get the max you were eligible for this year? Why would next year be different?</p>
<p>If you’re getting ready to embark on four years of study at a college you can’t afford, you could have a problem. Keep in mind that, even with good credit, your sister’s ability to cosign for you may not last forever. At some point (possibly as soon as next year), the lenders are going to say “enough is enough” and stop approving her for additional loans. Then what do you do?</p>
<p>“I have outstanding debt that isn’t covered by my financial aid.”</p>
<p>Financial aid isn’t supposed to cover your outstanding debts. It is supposed to help you pay for college. If you can’t service your pre-existing debt while attending college, you should ask to defer your enrollment until the second semester or next fall so that you can get a job and pay off this debt before you start college. Pick up the phone tomorrow, call your college, and ask how to set that up.</p>
<p>^^^ I think the OP means she has additional debt to this college, for this coming year, that isn’t covered by financial aid.</p>
<p>^^^ In which case my post should read:</p>
<p>If you can’t afford the costs of this college this fall, you should ask to defer your enrollment until the second semester or next fall so that you can get a job and save up the money that you need to pay the difference. You also should think long and hard about looking for a less expensive college that your family can afford. Your best option might be to apply to a new set of colleges during your time off.</p>
<p>As others have said, students are rarely able to get any loans on their own, especially those in their teens without work experience an ample credit history and a job paying a certain amount. Why would any bank or lender want to take that risk on someone right out of highschool? So YOU really aren’t borrowing the money, your cosigner is. And why should they take the cosigner off the loan when it gives them more security? Many times your cosigner is stuck with the debt even if you die. So, no, you can’t take over that loan in any case I’ve ever known, and I wouldn’t permit it or advise it in any case. It makes no good business sense to do so.</p>
<p>And you won’t be anymore likely to get loan money next year either. Your freshman year package is usually your best. Colleges tend to schloff more of the cost onto to the student each subsequent year, even the most generous schools as you are supposed to be taking an increasing part in paying for your education. So expect even more loans in your package next year, and less of an award overall. So if you can’t make it work this year, it’s not like you are going to get more or lending venues are going to open up next year. It doesn’t work that way. Also costs tend to go up each year, though some upperclassmen can mitigate some of that by getting off campus housing and cooking their own meals. But upperclass housing on campus tends to cost more, significantly so , at many colleges. </p>
<p>So, unless your parents are willing and able to pay for you, or you can get the funds elsewhere, it’s highly unlikely some outside student lender is going to let you borrow without someone they consider a good risk signs with you, and then that guarantor really is the main borrower, not you. It shows up on their credit reports and they are as on the hook as you are. That’s just the way it works.</p>