<p>My EFC is 35K so i am not eligible for fiancial aid. My parents are not helping me out. I will start at a community college which costs 6K a year. Now my parents can help with this a little and i can take an unsubsidized stafford loan. BUT, when i transfer to a university that costs 30-40K a year i really dont know what to do. I also plan on studing abroad which will cost another 10-20K. Not to mention im going to double major which will probably cost an extra year at the university. Sallie mae loans my only option? Ill apply for a state grant. As of now im not eligible for any academic scholarships because im a GED student, but after maintaining a high GPA in CC i should be right?</p>
<p>I’m not an expert - just learning the ropes myself, but you should start with your CC.</p>
<p>Check the website of the CC in regards to transfer universities. Many CCs have “direct transfer” if your GPA is a certain level and many have scholarships attached to the GPA. Many schools do not provide scholarships to transfer students, so you must spend a lot of time researching schools.</p>
<p>Study abroad is not necessarily an extra 10-20k/year. You could look into 4 year schools which permit study abroad at the same as the “regular” tuition fees. Or consider a “short” study abroad program (some have January term or summer term).</p>
<p>Can you work part time while attending CC?</p>
<p>Have you looked into state schools which do NOT cost $30-40k/year? NY state SUNYs and southern universities have cheaper tuition for out of state (OOS) students.</p>
<p>I agree, the best option is to talk to the financial aid people at your community college. They will help you understand what your options are once you transfer. You’re in a tough spot if your parents will not help, so you have to be very efficient getting through school. With good planning you may even be able to do a double major in four years. If not, perhaps you’ll only go over by an extra term, but not necessarily a whole year.</p>
<p>If you want to double major and you don’t have access to money and you want to get out as efficiently as possible, then I’d reconsider the study abroad. You could take one heck of a trip to wherever it is you want to go and spend a fraction of what study abroad usually costs. Not saying it isn’t a great opportunity if you can swing it, but you have to prioritize if you’re paying your own way through school.</p>
<p>I think the first thing you have to realize is you can’t buy what you can’t afford. You can’t plan on 5 years and study abroad if you have no money. </p>
<p>So, first, if you are going from a cc and your parents can’t help you much, try to limit yourself to instate publics. Investigate any merit scholarships for transfer but usually, there isn’t much there. Also, you need to look at what state grants and scholarships are available in your state. In many states, most are given to kids who are Pell Grant eligible. Try to get through cc without taking out loans. (Just rely on your own work and mom and dad.) For your final 2 years, you will probably need to take out loans, work and ask mom and dad if they can contribute. If it is possible to live at home during those last 2 years, that will save you about $10K a year and it may be possible for you to graduate with little debt.</p>
<p>2college is right.</p>
<p>you have limitations that just can’t be ignored or met with big loans. And big loans will ruin your life.</p>
<p>Start at your local CC. Perhaps, take a student loan and set aside for university years.</p>
<p>Work full-time during the summer and part-time during the school year and SAVE as much as you can for university years. (working as a waiter at a restaurant can mean good money!)</p>
<p>Then…for university years…You could have $10k+ saved from jobs and $8-10k saved from loans not used.</p>
<p>Then you can add $7500 student loan for your junior year. That gives you about $17k+ for junior year and $17k+ for senior year (plus any more earnings)</p>
<p>With that (and maybe a bit from parents), you should be able to get your degree at state school…especially if you can get some small transfer scholarship.</p>
<p>You don’t have to spend $30k-40k each year for university years.</p>
<p>As for the double major…so unnecessary and certainly NOT worth more debt or a year’s delay for graduation!</p>
<p>Total federal student loans…$27k…not bad …and MUCH better than Sallie Mae loans which require co-signers and interest payments while in college!</p>
<p>What state are you in? </p>
<p>What is your primary major? What is your likely career?</p>
<p>You can always squeeze in a minor…you can fulfill some of those req’ts at the CC.</p>
<p>(I know it sounds odd to borrow the Stafford loans for frosh/soph years and set them aside for later, but another student I know in a similar situation found this to be the only way to get enough student loan money (without co-signers) for university years after going to a CC.</p>
<p>And…saving lots of money in a student account can’t hurt you since you already have an unaffordable EFC. )</p>
<p>I will start at a community college which costs 6K a year.</p>
<p>Wait…I missed that. What CC costs $6k per year? What state are you in? Why is the CC cost so high???</p>
<p>OMG im in Pennsylvania! and i need to go to a 30K a year school thats ranked top 50 and yeah sure Penn State Smeal would be great but unlikley! if i dont go to a respectable university my career in finance will be limited! its all about prestige and networking i can get that from a regular state school! and i cant spend the money im making parttime/full time right now because i need over 10K just to get a position as a proprietary trader.</p>
<p>Why would Smeal be unlikely if you work your tail off at a CC and transfer?</p>
<p>Why is a CC so expensive in PA? Wouldn’t a Penn State satellite be about the same cost? Can you commute to a satellite?</p>
<p>*and i cant spend the money im making parttime/full time right now because i need over 10K just to get a position as a proprietary trader. *</p>
<p>???</p>
<p>What do you mean? Are you saying that you can’t SAVE the money you’re making part-time.</p>
<p>Well, the bottom line is…there isn’t a tuition fairy. If your parents aren’t going to pay, then you either have to change your career/prestige goals or save the money yourself. Borrowing $100k+ is a dangerous option for undergrad.</p>
<p>You won’t be going to a university for 2 more years. If your parents are currently having some financial trouble (hence their inability to pay), maybe in two years their situation will be better and then they can help you.</p>
<p>what i mean is the money im making part time will not and cannot be spend on school. Once i finish my undergrad i have to contribute that money to be considered into a prop trading firm. I have a GED, so community college is really my only option and its close to home that way i can walk to work and get a ride to college from my mom atleast i save money on a car and gas lol and i live with them so no extra costs like that. If i maintain a 3.5GPA i may be able to get into the Phi Tetta Kappa but it says you have to be invited How do i get invited in the first place? And im sure if im in the PTK i can transfer to a top 50 no problem right? Either way i need an education from a respectable university that way when i get out i can follow my passion which is trading stocks and the money will follow naturally and loans will be paid off in time. And its not 100K+ in loans. I mean the first 2 years at community college my parents can help me alittle so instead of 12K total i may be only looking at 6K. But when i transfer itll be what 35K a year with grants/ and or scholarships and tax reductions. So around 80K total. But i cant change my plans and will not its the only way ill ever succeed in proptrading/hedge funds and if i dont succeed things will not be pretty for me after all im Russian.</p>
<p>and what im doing with the money im making part time which is only like 4K a year anyway is trading it in the stock market. I cant jsut stop trading its what i love to do and compound interest for 20 years will make me prettttyyy rich.</p>
<p>Let me put it in perspective ive been totally obsessed and passionate about the stock market for 6 years now It started as a virtual account, now a real account but all in all ive returned 51% average a year W taxes and commissions deducted. In high school i was already reading books that college students were reading and comprehending them.
So i know when i get my foot in the door i will excel its just a self fulfulling prophecy…</p>
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<p>Phi THETA Kappa is an honor society…you get invited by maintaining a high gpa (3.5, I think) and attending a school with a PTK chapter (not all CC’s do). Transfer admission aren’t guaranteed to anyone, but certainly those with high gpa’s are more attractive candidates. </p>
<p>The $35K per year part is still going to be difficult in two years though. Juniors and seniors have a $7500/year Stafford loan limit. Transfer scholarships are rarely that high, even those offered to PTK members, and your EFC is too high for a $35K/year to offer you need based aid. Will your parents take Plus loans or cosign for you when you’re a junior?</p>
<p>*And im sure if im in the PTK i can transfer to a top 50 no problem right? *</p>
<p>WHY would you think THAT? There are thousands, maybe millions of PTK members graduating every year.</p>
<p>Also, some top 50s don’t accept transfers.</p>
<p>*im making part time which is only like 4K a year anyway *</p>
<p>there’s your first problem. You need a job that pays more. My son earns more than that over the summer working at a restaurant. He also earns a few thou over the school year. </p>
<p>If this is your dream, then take a job that will earn you more money…especially over the summer!</p>
<p>sure they can cosign i guess. my CC does have a PTK chapter. How much can a parent plus loan give out? woudlnt sallie mae be better? what about perkins loans? and even if they cosigned and everything how much would payments be and how ofter? </p>
<p>thanks for the help BTW</p>
<p>and depending on what school i go to for instance PITT my backup plan i can double major in finance/global management but in order to complete global management you need abroad study or abroad internship which only cost like 5K each and tuition at PITT would only be 15K a year but again not the prestigious and unfortunalty wall street is a networking game…</p>
<p>Parent Plus loans can be certified up to COA (less any other aid, such as Stafford loans). With an EFC of $35K it’s unlikely that you’ll be offered any Perkins loans. They’re campus based and schools have limited amounts of Perkins loans to give, usually to those with low EFC’s. </p>
<p>Rates on Parent Plus loans are fixed at 7.9%. They are federal loans, obtained directly through the school like Staffords (but parents apply), and I believe there are several repayment options available. You can find more info and loan payment calculators at finaid.org.</p>
<p>do you have to pay the parent plus loans while in school or can you defer them? cuz i want to defer all loans except whatever community college loans i take out and ill pay the rest of my CC tuition using a unsubsidized stafford loan but it looks like the parent plus loan can pay for all my tuition at the expensive universities right? and i heard those private expensive universities can give you more grant money?</p>
<p>but personally im more focused on getting high GPA and transferring to a top 50 business school that way i can get an entry level position even if prop trading dosent work out. I also plan on going back for my MBA given i get a good GMAT score, recommendations, and internships i can get into a top 20 MBA program right? even from PITT or Temple university? or would it be best to just go to a top 50 like Miami U, Depaul, Syracuse etc…? Thats my main goal in education to get into a top 20 for my MBA.</p>
<p>and given i have ahigh GPA an internship shouldnt be hard to get right?</p>
<p>i just feel like im shooting for the stars because i mean i have a GED i dropped out of high school my senior year for stupid reasons. Im also learning French at school and relearning Russian at home (dunno if i said that already) and working part time and on top of all that im trying to maintain as close to a 4.0 as i can. I was born in Russia and my dream job would be a Russian hedge fund trader thats why im double majoring also in international business. i feel like im climbing a laddar that is not attached to anything and once i lose my balance ill fall hard LOL</p>
<p>*sure they can cosign i guess. my CC does have a PTK chapter. How much can a parent plus loan give out? woudlnt sallie mae be better? *</p>
<p>Your income doesn’t qualify for Perkins loans. Those are awarded by schools to low income students to help with need.</p>
<p>you need to ask if they WILL co-sign for Sallie Mae. Parent Plus doesn’t use co-signers because those are THEIR loans…not yours.</p>
<p>Either way, they have to be willing and they have to qualify each year.</p>
<p>I don’t have any direct experience with Plus loans. From finaid.org:</p>
<p>“The federal Parent Loan for Undergraduate Students (PLUS) lets parents borrow money to cover any costs not already covered by the student’s financial aid package, up to the full cost of attendance. There is no cumulative limit.”</p>
<p>and, this:</p>
<p>“Parents have the option of defering repayment on Parent PLUS loans while the undergraduate student on whose behalf they borrowed the PLUS loan is in-school and for a six-month grace period after the student graduates or drops below full-time enrollment.” (Note: interest will accrue from the date of disbursement.)</p>
<p>I can tell you that most “grants” from private uni’s are for need-based aid. If your EFC is near or over their COA, you will not have any unmet need and probably won’t receive need-based aid (although some of the schools you mention have COA’s around $50K). You might do better looking for paid internships, merit awards, etc.</p>