Huge Dilemma... Debt

My parents make $180k combined, but have a lot of debt. I’m talking a lot a lot. Would it still be possible to obtain loans to cover for about 25ish-k for every year in college? I was looking at private loans, such as front Wells Fargo, but I was wondering if there were other options that were better.

It may be better for you to have a merit seeking application list.

EDIT: I thought you said you have a lot of debt.

I second the idea of merit.

What do you mean by a “merit seeking application list?” Do you mean that in terms of scholarships? If so, do you think it’s possible to receive 25k for every year of undergrad?

How much can your parents PAY? That is THE question.

Your parent consumer debt is not going to help,youmgwt need based aid…at all.

If you have strong stats, you could garner a merit award…but the question is…could,your parents pay the difference?

So…how much can they pay.

Also…hoping you are NOT a HS senior.

How much can your Parents afford to pay without borrowing. You may have to see opportunities where your stats put you in a isition for Merit scholarships

You may have to attend college locally

What are your GPA and test scores?
What are you interested in studying
What is your home state

My GPA is a 4.3 on a 4 scale. 34 ACT. I’m interested in doing with premed, so a bio-related major. I live in NJ.

My parents are willing to pay anywhere from 5-10k per year out of pocket.

Will I be able to make up the difference if I get into an Ivy or ivy-esque? NPC’s generally have my net price at around 40-45k per year, without work-study. Can I make up the difference with merit scholarships? If not, approximately how much do you think I can realistically get and how much do I need to take out in loans?

Also I am a junior.

The Ivies don’t give merit aid. They give need based aid only. Your parents will,be expected to,pay their $30,000 plus family contribution at those schools.

There are other competitive schools that give merit aid…but getting that merit aid is HIGHLY competitive.

With your GPA, and ACT, I believe you would get full tuition at University of Alabama. Could your parents pay the cost of room/board?

You are NOT going to get federal work study in all likelihood. This will most likely be awarded to lower income students.

You can take out a $5500 loan yourself for freshman year.

Please…learn a lesson from your parents…don’t take out huge loans. As you can see, debt can really restrict your options later on. Don’t be like them. Keep your debt to a minimum…especially if you plan to trend medical school where you will likely have $200,000 in costs…or more.

My parents could pay 5-10k per year. Also, after running the NPC’s most schools give me the price of 40-45k. Subtracting my parents contribution, the price would be around 30-35k per year for me. Is it possible to earn that much in scholarship money? And if not, how much is a realistic amount to earn for private scholarships? If it ends up coming down to 20k/yr I would be more willing to take out a loan for that amount.

Stop the debt lifestyle or it will never end! You can get good scholarship/possible free ride somewhere. Look around and go there… A quick google: http://thecollegematchmaker.com/111-ridiculously-awesome-full-tuition-schoarships/

List of large merit scholarships:

http://automaticfulltuition.yolasite.com/
http://competitivefulltuition.yolasite.com/

However, check college web sites to verify, since some have changed.

Remember also that loans beyond the federal direct loan limit ($5,500 frosh year) need to be either parent loans or parent cosigned student loans. Neither is a good idea, especially if they are already heavily indebted (and they may not qualify for them).

Why do you NEED to go to a $60,000 or more year college?

Have you looked at your instate public universities…where you actually might get some merit aid…and they might actually be affordable?

Merit aid comes by under-matching: going to a school that is lesser in the rankings or in its location than what you would otherwise settle for. It’s not going to be available from Ivy-eque schools.

Here is an example of a merit aid search (dated article, using 2013 numbers)
http://diycollegerankings.com/35-best-bets-college-merit-aid/8921/

You might try the bargain-hunters guide put together by CC readers:
http://automaticfulltuition.yolasite.com/
These are some of the best low-costs for high-stats deals out there.

Kiplinger’s Best Value schools, US News schools for merit aid, and other college ranking websites also offer lists of merit aid schools.

Large private loans require cosigners. If your parents are in a lot of debt, they may not be acceptable cosigners and you would not get the loan. The only loans you can get without cosigners are the federal direct student loans, which as others have noted, are limited to 5500.

The only kind of debt that will reduce your family’s EFC is involuntary debt. This would be debt that happened because of something like: medical treatment, debt because your parents fell behind on bills while unemployed, that sort of thing. If the expense was at all avoidable, then it won’t reduce your EFC. Student loans, mortgages, credit card debt, etc never reduce your EFC.

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My parents could pay 5-10k per year. Also, after running the NPC’s most schools give me the price of 40-45k. Subtracting my parents contribution, the price would be around 30-35k per year for me. Is it possible to earn that much in scholarship money? And if not, how much is a realistic amount to earn for private scholarships? If it ends up coming down to 20k/yr I would be more willing to take out a loan for that amount.


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No. You don’t understand

Any merit that you might get would get SUBTRACTED from the aid from the college.

Ivies don’t give merit, but if you got a $20k merit award from an outside source, the school would then SUBTRACT that merit from THEIR aid…and you’d still have the $30k bill.

You can’t borrow because your parents won’t qualify as co-signers with all their debt.

You need to focus on schools that will give you HUGE merit for your stats. HUGE.

BTW…if your parents have a lot of debt, I can almost assure that they will NOT be able to contribute more than a few hundred per month. …maybe $3k-5k per year. People with a lot of debt do NOT have an extra $500-1000 a month to put towards a NEW expense (college). People with a lot of debt have no extra money at the end of each month…that’s why they have a lot of debt (unless the debt is from a mega medical expense)

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I’m a junior. I’m targeting the likes of Cornell, UPenn, Vanderbilt etc. Although 33 is about average if not above average there, that 29 is really bothering me. I’m just worried that the second time I may do worse than 35 in English and math


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Apply to maybe one or two of those schools just as a lark, but you need to accept that those schools will NOT be affordable. Your parents can’t pay and they can’t qualify to borrow/cosign…and frankly, you should never borrow that much anyway. And, as mentioned any merit would just reduce the school’s aid because they expect your parents to pay “their share”.

@mom2collegekids wrote:

Their debt may be being managed. He never said they were delinquent or that they had filed bankruptcy. They may very well qualify for Plus loans, and may have a relationship with a bank that would approve them.

I don’t think taking out more debt is a good idea, but it may be possible.

It’s an assumption that they have no money left at the end of the month because they are in debt. For all we know they pay the minimum amts on their credit cards and have disposable cash each month.

OP. I would focus on schools that would be thrilled to have someone with your stats. I would also focus on full-ride schools. Good luck.

This confuses me. I copied this from your earlier thread in which you wrote…:

12-14-2016 at 5:33 pm
Sorry for all the confusion with the finances part. What I meant is that finances are not a problem for me, so that isn’t a concern. About the type of school etc, the only thing that really matters to me is the academic prestige and how good their premed track is (options etc). Thanks for all the comments so far.

What’s changed in a week?

  1. It makes no sense to go deeply in debt before even starting med school
  2. You can major in ANYTHING to go to med school. It doesn’t have to be bio-related.

You also have the net price thing backwards. If you ran the net price and it did 40 45k, that is what you and your parents will be expected to pay