<p>Hi, I'm the parent of a University of Florida student, who is completely flabergasted at the tuition and fees in addition to being confused on the whole college thing. My wife and I earn a modest salary, no substantial savings or investments to speak of and according to the university/Gov't. my we make too much money for my daughter to qualify for any financial aid. Fortunately, she does receive a scholarship through the state that pays for 75% of her tuition, however, there still is a significant cost remaining, ie. food,housing,books,transportation........ She completed the normal financial aid apps. (FAFSA) and this is where we are, trying to figure out how we're going to pay for her education. She did apply for and receive (2) loans, 1-Stafford (subsidized) and 1-Stafford (unsubsidized) however, they were both for small amounts, 1000.00 ea. and then my wife and I ended up taking out an additional Student/Parent loan, which from what I understand, needs to be repaid after it's final disbursement. I guess my question would be, what options do we have as far as financing her education? I always hear of students taking out student loans to pay for their education. I would prefer for her to take these loans out on her own, however, I understand that it might be difficult for her due to her lack of credit. I would consider co-signing to help her. Also, what about those T.V. ads you hear about for student loans, Astrive, I believe is one, or is it better to go through the school? However, as I mentioned earlier, according to the school, she does not qualify for any substantial amounts. So I've come to the conclusion, you either have to be dirt poor to receive any type of financial aid or filthy rich. So anyway, if there is anyone out there that has gone through this same situation and can provide any assistance, please do.</p>
<p>Middle class parents can get what I'd consider good financial aid from very expensive colleges with large endowments. We are currently paying less for dd to go to a top liberal arts college (with a 40K price tag) than if she were going to our state university. For this to work, your child has to get into a school that meets full need (which means strong stats) and your income and assets are such that the expected family contribution is reasonable. </p>
<p>The route for good financial aid from public universities is to get outside scholarships and merit aid.</p>
<p>I'm confused by the unsubsidized Stafford loan amount. I thought anyone can borrow $3,500 the first year (assuming costs are greater than that).
Are your 2 Stafford loans semester amounts?</p>
<p>I don't like to see kids with more than $15,000- $20,000 in loans upon graduation from college. More than that and it will have a severe impact on their ability to have other considerations than their debt- like graduate school or buying a car.</p>
<p>How much did you plan on paying before she entered college?
We always prepared to pay the costs of an instate college- EFC.
SOme schools do give merit & some give large grants- but those are bonus considerations and not something to plan on.</p>
<p>I would watch out for private education loans- this website has some good basic information about aid
FinAid</a>! Financial Aid, College Scholarships and Student Loans</p>
<p>Here's something I found by googling "Florida Educational Financing Authority":
Borrower</a> Benefits | Education Finance Council - a non-profit organization to help pay for college. You may want to check whether there is a state financing authority; there is one in Massachusetts.</p>
<p>I'd stay away from companies like Astrive. They are for-profit companies and are looking out for their bottom line, not yours. </p>
<p>Can UF's financial aid office suggest anywhere that your d may be able to go for a loan?</p>
<p>According to the financial aid office, my dayghter only qualifies for a small "Stafford Loan" which is still not enough to pay for outstanding expenses. They also suggested on the parents taking out a Student/Parent loan, however, I understand it needs to be repaid almost right away. At this point, I can not afford to start paying on another loan.</p>
<p>Gator dad,
The student loans you see advertised on TV and on this site, Astrive being one of them are basic consumer loans. DON'T be fooled by them. They are nothing like the student loans from the 70-80's. The best student loans are Stafford and Perkins loans that are offered ONLY in a financial aid package. They are the federally funded/backed loans with a some what decent interest rate. The Parent Loan, better known as a PLUS loan is another consumer loan, it is not in shape or form a student loan. It is your debit, your interest and repayment begins immediately. Again, another farce in my opinion. The middle class are the ones who struggle when it comes to financing their children's college education. When you fill out your FAFSA form and find out your Expected Family Contribution (EFC) is 1/3 your take home pay, what are you to do?
Good luck. Have your D accept any Stafford loans she is offered, they are the best help next to outright grant, scholarship etc. Yes, if she does attend a school with higher costs, like my S, she may receive more financial aid. Bottom line though is your EFC.</p>
<p>One of the things your daughter should do, if she hasnt already, is to try to find additional scholarship or grant money in her field of study. There are even scholarships available based on religion, ethnicity, geography and other types of affiliations that she may qualify for. </p>
<p>Beyond that, to cover the funding gap that you and your daughter are experiencing, many students and their parents (often their co-signers) are turning to private student loans offered by banks and lenders such as OneSimpleLoan. Private student loans is an avenue worth exploring because (a) private loan borrowing limits can be much higher than Federal student loans, (b) the funds can be used to pay for virtually all education-related expenses (including tuition, fees, books, laptops, living expenses, etc.) and (c) once your daughter is approved, funds can be received from the lender in as little as a few days. Interest on private loans may also be tax-deductible.</p>
<p>On the assumption that your daughter may not have the credit history to qualify for a private loan, yet you and your wife do, its a good idea for you to co-sign the loan to improve the chances of both qualifying for the loan and getting the amount you need. The private loan needs to be in your daughters name, so she would be ultimately responsible for repayment. This is a good way for her to build her own good credit history. </p>
<p>Theres no question that students should do what they can to minimize the size of their student loan debt. To help with the repayment burden, many private loans offer a grace period benefit, which means the loans dont have to be paid back until after the end of the specified period after graduation depending on the lender you use. (However, you should also know that, in most cases, interest accrues on private loans until they are paid off because there is no subsidy.) Many private loan lenders offer no prepayment penalties, which can help, as well as a small interest rate discount for automatic direct-debit of loan payments.</p>
<p>All in all, if you need the extra funds to cover your daughters extra education expenses beyond tuition, then a private student loan may be the way to go. </p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>"Can UF's financial aid office suggest anywhere that your d may be able to go for a loan?"</p>
<p>Colleges are no longer allowed to have preferred Lender lists because of the scrutiny that the Lender/School relationship went under earlier this summer. It was found out that some schools were getting kick backs from some of the larger lending companies (Sallie Mae, Next Student, etc.) for recommending their loan products. It's unfortunate I know. So, if you do go to UF's financial aid offer for advice make sure it's as objective as possible and make sure the ask them (a) why they recommend a certain lender (get hard facts on interest rates, benefits, etc) and (b) whether they are getting kick backs for recommending certain lenders.</p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>my school gave me a preferred lender lis( for Stafford)t- and said that outside of those three lenders it would involve more paperwork & possibly more cost ( first disbursement was last month)
One of the banks I already had an account with, so I went with them.
It pays to research though.</p>
<p>OP,
If you co-sign for your D's student loans, YOU ARE STILL ON THE HOOK if she defaults. It's all fine and dandy to say she's responsible for them, but the bottom line is that if you co-sign and she doesn't make payments, the loan institution will be coming after you and affecting your credit. There are plenty of sad stories to this effect on CC.</p>
<p>I thought unsubsidized Staffords were available regardless of financial need...you might check with the FA office on this. We've done the analysis at our house and feel that borrowing on home equity (in our situation) makes more financial sense than PLUS loans, etc. Our kids will be borrowing money through Stafford in their names and getting PT jobs, however.</p>
<p>Is your D working a part time job? That could take off some of the pressure right there by her being responsible for books, spending money and incidentals.</p>
<p>Per the Stafford Loan folks, you can borrow up to the max Stafford regardless of financial need. If your D got $1,000 from Stafford, my guess (and check your paperwork) is that it was subsidized. She should be able to borrow the balance ($2,500 = 3500-1000 for a freshman) as an unsubsidized loan.</p>
<p>Undergraduate</a> Stafford Loan information from StaffordLoan.com</p>
<p>The total Stafford (combined for sub or unsub) for a freshman is $3500 so she may be able to borrow another $1500 on top of the $2000 she has been awarded. There is additional Stafford available ($4000 for freshman) if parents apply for and are turned down for a plus loan. </p>
<p>The parent plus loan repayment does start 60 days after disbursement.</p>
<p>finaid.org has good info about loans
FinAid</a> | Student Loans</p>
<p>According to the UF website, the cost of attendance after a 75% tuition scholarship is $12,545.</p>
<p>Student summer job/savings: $3000
Student part-time/work study job or parent loan: $3000
Student loan: $3000
Parent contribution: 3500.</p>
<p>$3500 is $300/month out of current income. A modest income family that doesn't qualify for financial aid should be able to swing that. She would eat about that much in food if she was at home. If you didn't save for college in her high school years, then you'll need to take out parent/home equity loans now. If you need to, tighten the belt...cancel the cable, ditch the cell phone, put off the vacation. Either you or your wife could consider looking for a higher paying job, or working a part time job in a field you enjoy...at the bike shop, refereeing youth sports, etc...for extra income.</p>
<p>For further clarication of my first post to the OP regarding financial aid:</p>
<p>Assuming you did qualify for need-based aid, the starting point for all need-based aid is as follows:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>It is assumed the student can contribute about $3000 per year towards school expenses from a summer job.</p></li>
<li><p>It is assumed that the student will take out a loan of approximately $3000-$4000.</p></li>
<li><p>It is assumed that the student will take a work study or other part time job earning a minimum of about $2500 per school year.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>So, that is the starting point for all financial aid calculations...it's assumed the student will be responsible for about $9000 of their expenses.</p>
<p>Then, on top of that is the expected parent contribution.</p>
<p>Only then do you qualify for a grant from schools that provide need-based grants.</p>
<p>Most public schools don't do that.</p>
<p>In your case, the gap between the student's contribution and the cost of attendance is about $3500. If you did qualify for need-based aid and had a $0 parental contribution calculated, $3500 would be the grant amount. In your case, it's reasonable to expect a family of modest income level to pay that amount either through current income or through loans. That's the reason you probably don't qualify for any need-based aid.</p>
<p>Also remember that financial aid that is for purposes other than tuition and fees is considered INCOME and is taxable. Finaid for room, board, books, and personal expenses would fall into this category.</p>
<p>I thought scholarship/grant money used to pay for books was not taxable. I know books are not a qualified expenses for hope/education tax credits but thought they were for deciding if scholarship money is taxable. So confusing!!!!</p>
<p>From IRS publication 970</p>
<p>scholarship/grant/fellowship</p>
<p>
[quote]
Qualified education expenses. For purposes of tax-free scholarships and fellowships, these are expenses for:</p>
<pre><code>*
Tuition and fees required to enroll at or attend an eligible educational institution, and
*
Course-related expenses, such as fees, books, supplies, and equipment that are required for the courses at the eligible educational institution. These items must be required of all students in your course of instruction.
</code></pre>
<p>However, in order for these to be qualified education expenses, the terms of the scholarship or fellowship cannot require that it be used for other purposes, such as room and board, or specify that it cannot be used for tuition or course-related expenses.</p>
<p>Expenses that do not qualify. Qualified education expenses do not include the cost of:</p>
<pre><code>*
Room and board,
*
Travel,
*
Research,
*
Clerical help, or
*
Equipment and other expenses that are not required for enrollment in or attendance at an eligible educational institution.
</code></pre>
<p>This is true even if the fee must be paid to the institution as a condition of enrollment or attendance. Scholarship or fellowship amounts used to pay these costs are taxable.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>hope/education credits
[quote]
Qualified Education Expenses</p>
<p>For purposes of the Hope credit, qualified education expenses are tuition and certain related expenses required for enrollment or attendance at an eligible educational institution.
Eligible educational institution. An eligible educational institution is any college, university, vocational school, or other postsecondary educational institution eligible to participate in a student aid program administered by the Department of Education. It includes virtually all accredited public, nonprofit, and proprietary (privately owned profit-making) postsecondary institutions. The educational institution should be able to tell you if it is an eligible educational institution.</p>
<p>Certain educational institutions located outside the United States also participate in the U.S. Department of Education's Federal Student Aid (FSA) programs.</p>
<p>Related expenses. Student-activity fees and expenses for course-related books, supplies, and equipment are included in qualified education expenses only if the fees and expenses must be paid to the institution as a condition of enrollment or attendance.</p>
<p>In the following examples, assume that each student is an eligible student at an eligible educational institution.</p>
<p>Example 1.</p>
<p>Jackson is a sophomore in University V's degree program in dentistry. This year, in addition to tuition, he is required to pay a fee to the university for the rental of the dental equipment he will use in this program. Because the equipment rental fee must be paid to University V for enrollment and attendance, Jackson's equipment rental fee is a qualified expense.</p>
<p>Example 2.</p>
<p>Donna and Charles, both first-year students at College W, are required to have certain books and other reading materials to use in their mandatory first-year classes. The college has no policy about how students should obtain these materials, but any student who purchases them from College W's bookstore will receive a bill directly from the college. Charles bought his books from a friend, so what he paid for them is not a qualified education expense. Donna bought hers at College W's bookstore. Although Donna paid College W directly for her first-year books and materials, her payment is not a qualified expense because the books and materials are not required to be purchased from College W for enrollment or attendance at the institution.
[/quote]
</p>