<p>One of my sons is 3 hours away and the other will be in Southern California, which as we all know is an entirely different state from Northern Callifornia. Does that count as out of state? It’s a 7-hour drive; I’m pretty sure it’s far enough away for him to be independent.</p>
<p>Oh for heaven’s sake…I know kids who went to school across the country from their parents who called daily…multiple times…about every little decision. I hardly call that independent. Distance isn’t the hallmark of independence. It’s what you DO on your own. You can be 5 miles away and be quite independent…and 3000 miles away and unable to make a decision on your own.</p>
<p>I’m comparatively new here, but is it common for loan pimps to be this blatant?</p>
<p>^^</p>
<p>Ha ha…</p>
<p>I know it appears that a loan shark is swimming in the CC Seas, but I really think the person is just naive and “shoots from the hip.”</p>
<p>Bedouin just likes to stir the pot. He provides misinformation for the purpose of getting a rise out of the moms.</p>
<p>That may be so, but that strategy is dangerous because students wouldn’t know that.</p>
<p>I agree mom2collegekids. It really bothers me because he could hurt someone and I don’t find that acceptable.</p>
<p>How does the song go, “you can’t always get what you want” Unless the op hits the jackpot on the SAT, it’s time to visit some of those instate schools.</p>
<p>To the OP,</p>
<p>Please make sure your FAFSA is done correctly. Also, try using the College Board’s calculator to see what your Institutional Methodology contribution is likely to be. </p>
<p>A lot will depend on your SAT/ACT scores and whether or not your family can afford to pay your estimated IM contribution or not. If you score very high, you may be a candidate for some meet-full-needs schools but that’s only helpful if your parents can pay the IM contribution. If that is too much for them, you will want to aim for schools with good merit-- but, either way, you need to find some instate options (probably local schools) where you could go if those other options don’t work out. Remember that getting good merit or getting into a school with top financial aid is a bit of a gamble. You can’t count on that unless you’re a Natl Merit Scholar and applying to one of the schools that offers guaranteed scholarship $. You need to find instate local options as back-up. </p>
<p>And OOS is usually not affordable. I made that mistake years ago with one of my children who only got into OOS publics. Ouch! Plus, realize that if you do have a low EFC (which I don’t think you will have unless there are a TON of people in your family), some states have grants but students usually have to stay instate. So an OOS option will likely cost more, have less school aid and have no state aid. The only exception is the consortiums and they work differently. Go back to the main page for the financial aid forum and click on the top thread. The first link is about Common Markets. See if that applies to you.</p>
<p>*If you score very high, you may be a candidate for some meet-full-needs schools but that’s only helpful if your parents can pay the IM contribution. *</p>
<p>That’s a very good point. We’ve seen a few upset families this season who couldn’t afford their Family Contribution at their IM school. If a family has a $30k IM Family Contribution that it can’t pay, then getting $25k in aid for the “need” part isn’t going to do any good.</p>
<p>Schools that use Institutional Methodology are sometimes hard to predict. </p>
<p>*Remember that getting good merit or getting into a school with top financial aid is a bit of a gamble. You can’t count on that unless you’re a Natl Merit Scholar and applying to one of the schools that offers guaranteed scholarship $. *</p>
<p>There are schools that give assured scholarships to students who aren’t National Merit. You have to check websites or…</p>
<p>AUTO $$$ CC Important links to Auto Scholarships…
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/848226-important-links-automatic-guaranteed-merit-scholarships.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/848226-important-links-automatic-guaranteed-merit-scholarships.html</a></p>
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<p>Huh? Bedouin, are you suggesting that spending about anywhere from $160,000 to $212,000 that one doesn’t have is somehow necessary to learning to live independently? How independent do you think a kid is with even half that debt, and how many years of living in the basement will it take to pay it off???</p>
<p>And do you REALLY think Sallie Mae is a great option? Have you read any of the horror stories about students who over-borrowed and had it affect their lives for decades (not to mention their creditworthiness) or about some of the less-than-ideal things Sallie Mae does to lure students into private indebtedness? Are you a student yourself? </p>
<p>What many young posters don’t seem to realize is that the MAXIMUM a low EFC will get you is about $5500 in federal grant and $5500 in LOANS – never enough to even COVER out of state tuition, let alone living expenses. If you’re lucky enough to get Out of State merit money, rarely does it meet full need, and frequently are students gaped at amounts of $20k or more – meaning in excess of $25k debt a year.</p>
<p>The exception is a 100% meets-need school such as the ivies, Chicago, Northwestern, etc. But with an income of $ 100,000, there is still the expected family contribution.</p>
<p>So while I agree it is important to attend the best institution one can for the money, part of learning to be self-sufficient is realistically assessing your fiscal capacity and determining the best method to operate within your capacity. To do otherwise for a negligible return-on-investment is irresponsible.</p>
<p>Because of the bank failures in recent years, Sallie Mae loans have changed. Now, a student has to make “interest-only” payments while still in school. That can be VERY DIFFICULT for most students who barely have enough money to just pay for their day to day expenses. </p>
<p>Someone borrowing $20k+ per year, would have growing interest payments each year as their debt load grew. By the time they were juniors, they would be making interest payments on a debt of $60k. If the interest rate is 9.8%, then the student would be paying $490 per month just in interest WHILE IN SCHOOL. Where would a student get the money to pay that???</p>
<p>Also, and if the parents don’t have great credit to be co-signers, the interest rate is even higher.</p>
<p>Honestly, if you’re not wealthy (ie not poor, not middle class), I would NOT recommend making Sallie Mae loans a major component of your financial aid plan. For people in most circumstances, trying to do college with private loans is like trying to attend college while you’re on fire. Yes, it’s technically possible, for a little while, but it won’t be easy and it won’t be pleasant.</p>
<p>Now that Sallie Mae requires that interest get paid monthly while the student is in college essentially eliminates this option (thankfully).</p>
<p>When I see how much interest accrues with such debt, I can imagine that many students were shocked to see how much their balances had grown while they were in college under the old system.</p>