<p>Okay, so this if my first time ever going through financial aid and applying for stuff. So. I'm in a sticky situation. I was recently accepted into Tufts University after spending two years saving money in a community college. I'm thrilled! I've always wanted to go to an excellent university, but my parent's poor money management has restricted me to going through "the cheaper route".</p>
<p>Anyway, my parents EFC is 33,500 a year. With the scholarships and grants that I've received, a year at Tufts is going to cost me 38,000.</p>
<p>1.) My parents want to take a loan out for the full 38,000 it's going to cost to go to Tufts. I thought that our EFC meant that we could scrape together 33,500 a year for school? Does it make sense that they want to take out a 38,000ish loan to pay for tuition? They're complaining about living pay check to paycheck if we pay for that 38,000 a month for 10 months.</p>
<p>What have you guys done? I don't want to go to my safety school! I worked my butt off to get accepted into Tufts! After spending two years in a community college I'm dying to attend an excellent school and university! Please! What should we do because taking out a huge student loan is completely foreign to me!</p>
<p>2.) They have terrible, terrible credit. They're walking away from a very expensive home and their credit score is beyond bad. I, on the other hand, have an excellent credit score. If my parents can't be approved for a loan, could I take one out? Has anyone else done this?</p>
<p>They keep telling me to take the "cheaper route" again by going to my safety school (34,500 a year). I'm bummed because I seriously worked my hardest to not be a lazy tard in my CC... I'm a little annoyed with my parents. Though, maybe I shouldn't be.</p>
<p>Neither one of us knows what to do!</p>
<p>SO! Sorry for the long rant! Any advice would be very appreciated.</p>
<p>How, exactly, do your parents propose to pay down that loan assuming of course that they can get it in the first place? Do they know for certain that they would be approved for a new loan next year? If not, how will you pay for your senior year?</p>
<p>You can’t borrow this much on your own. You can borrow $7,500 in federal loans if you filed the FAFSA. That’s it. And before you ask, NO you do not want to try to borrow that kind of money on your own or with a co-signer. It will strangle you.</p>
<p>And, by the way, that “safety” isn’t all that much more affordable. You may need to revisit the rest of your list.</p>
<p>What can your parents pay? Can they pay nothing out-of-pocket, or can they come up with say $15,000 for each year? That might work if they pay half each year, and borrow half (if they can borrow it which they might not be able to).</p>
<p>If the truth is that your parents’ financial situation is such a mess that they aren’t going to be able to pitch in for your education, you need to either take a year or two off to save some money on your own, or you need to find a place that will admit you that you can pay for without your parents’ help. Sorry. I know you don’t want to be told that. But those really are your options.</p>
<p>???</p>
<p>If your parents have bad credit then they’re not going to get approved for these loans. </p>
<p>You can’t afford this school and probably not your “safety” school eitherl. Y’all should have figured this out awhile ago.</p>
<p>How did your parents think that they’d get these loans and pay their share???</p>
<p>The fact of the matter is that your parents cannot or will not pay what the cost is for Tufts. I don’t think the issue is the difference between the cost of Tufts and the other school as the cost differential you are reporting is $4K. I think you know that too. The problem is that you somehow have to come up with that $38K to go to Tufts. As a junior, you can borrow $6500 from the Staffords, if that is not in your financial aid package already. If your parents get declined from the parents’ loans, you can borrow an additional $4K from the Staffords in your own name. </p>
<p>Again, the serious burning question is where will you get the money? No, you cannot borrow it on your own. With a parent cosigning, maybe, but that puts both you and parent on the line. I don’t know anyone who is going to lend to a full time college student who hasn’t even earned in a year the amount s/he wants to borrow. You would have trouble getting a car loan which would be secured by the car for that amount… So you need a co signer which may be either of your parents, but if they are in trouble financially, should they even be doing this?</p>
<p>How much have you borrowed already for community college? How much in loans is in your aid package for Tufts? To get through Tufts, you are talking about borrowing an additional $80K or more since the interest starts cranking the instant you borrow this amount. Honestly, with your parents in financial trouble I don’t think it’s a good idea. I don’t think the other school you have in mind is affordable either even at about $4K less a year; that $4K isn’t the issue; it’s the $30 something K that is.</p>
<p>Do you have an in state options that can cut the cost down lower? Are you a Mass resident? Here in NY, a state school would cost a total of about $20K a year and with just the Stafford loans, some work, and some money from the parents, it could be doable. </p>
<p>Really, look at some threads about loans. It really is too much for a young person to take on that much, even if you could, and to push your parents to cosign which is what would be needed for you to do so, is putting them in more trouble than they already are.</p>
<p>It’s not that bad… it’s confusing and complicated. They don’t seem to know how much they can pay a year out of pocket. We can pay like 28,000 a year, but we can’t scrape together 3800 a month for 10 months (which is the payment plan that both of my schools are offering).</p>
<p>My safety school is 34,500 a year without scholarships. It’ll be 31,000 a year with my scholarships. That’s still more than what other schools have offered me. I’ll still be applying for scholarships this summer.</p>
<p>And unfortunately… all the other schools couldn’t offer me anything because of how much my parents make T_T . So Tufts and my safety have been incredibly generous with grants and the like. Actually my safety didn’t even give me any grants (and I’m an in-state student too).</p>
<p>I guess the question I’m asking is how do I cover that 3,000-10,000 gap? A loan?</p>
<p>I’ll just go and continue to ask my school more questions tomorrow. Their financial aid office is closed for the day.</p>
<p>Oi. Please stop being rude! I’m a first generation college student and going to college is completely foreign to my parents and I. They both came from incredibly poor backgrounds and they gradually began making a lot of money 
. Managing money is something that they’re learned along the way. No one ever offered any help .</p>
<p>They’re good people and they’re (thankfully) going to save a crap ton of money for my younger sister’s education. They’re learning everything with me and they want to help me in anyway.</p>
<p>We didn’t take out any loans for my community college. That was paid for out of pocket.</p>
<p>Again… my safety school which is In-state is going to cost me 34,500 w/o the scholarships that I’ve scrapped together. In fact, all of my in state schools cost that much or a little more.</p>
<p>* My parents want to take a loan out for the full 38,000 it’s going to cost to go to Tufts. I*</p>
<p>How are they going to borrow ANY MONEY if their credit is bad? No one is going to lend you the money unless you have an established good income.</p>
<p>You can only borrow the fed student loan amount which is $7500 for jr and sr years.</p>
<p>If there is no loan in the aid package at either school,</p>
<p>AND</p>
<p>If your parents can pay $28,000 over the course of the year,</p>
<p>AND</p>
<p>If you do borrow $7,500 in federal loans,</p>
<p>AND</p>
<p>If you choose the cheapest housing and meal plan, and only buy used books so those costs are as low as possible,</p>
<p>AND</p>
<p>If you work two or three jobs this summer and save every cent you earn,</p>
<p>AND</p>
<p>If you can repeat all of this your senior year,</p>
<p>THEN</p>
<p>Yes, you and your parents can make this work and Tufts might be possible.</p>
<p>Sit down with them, work through the math. Find out what can be cut from the family budget (for example, how mugh will they saveon their grocery bill when you are gone? That savings can apply directly toward your food bill at college,)</p>
<p>Maybe you can make this work.</p>
<p>Is there such a thing as an in-state public school that costs $34,500/year?</p>
<p>Do you mean an in-state private school? For private schools, it makes little or no difference whether they are in state. When you say in-state, everyone will assume you are talking about a public school.</p>
<p>Well, I live in Illinois and the public flagship costs $30,814 for direct costs (Tuition, R&B, Fees). So…with indirect costs for COA it would be in that range.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>If that’s all you need, that’s manageable. You get a summer job, you get a part-time job during the school year, and you borrow the rest. So, work = $5k, and federal student loan = $5k.</p>
<p>If they’re really prepared to cover the remaining $28k/year, you’ll be fine. Take a breath, relax, and sit down and talk to them (as suggested above) to make SURE they’ll be able to handle their share.</p>
<p>Wow, the in-state prices at Illinois are a disgrace:</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.osfa.illinois.edu/cost/undergrad/res_1314.html[/url]”>http://www.osfa.illinois.edu/cost/undergrad/res_1314.html</a></p>
<p>And in the priciest majors (engineering/science) it does indeed list $34,500 as COA. Dang.</p>
<p>^^ So true. My D is a business major and COA for a business major at UIUC is $34,514. Needless to say, she does not go to UIUC. There are some directional schools in Illinois that are less than that, but they’re still quite pricey, especially for what they are.</p>
<p>There are in state publics that can cost over $30K these days. I don’t know what the OP’s state school would cost, but even if it were, say, $30K even, with with the Staffords and some summer and part time work, that would bring the out of pocket cost down to $20K to the parents which is seems to be doable for them.</p>
<p>OP, there is a big chasm between borrowing the entire amount and borrowing enough to bridge the gap between what you are saying your parents can pay and what the monthly amount of Tuft’s payment plan. If your family can pay $28K out of the $38K that Tufts is going to cost, that leaves a $10K gap. IF you don’t have loans in your package from Tufts already, you can borrow up to $6500 on your own. Then have your parents apply for PLUS for the additonal $4K. If they are turned down, you can borrow that $4K on top of the $6500K and you will then have provided the gap. Or you can work as I mentioned before, this summer and find part time work during the school year and come up with that $4K. If you already have that $6500 in your aid package, my suggestion would be to take out the Stafford loan as payment for this past year’s cost of going to CC, you have to do this very quickly, and you can get a loan for last year’s expenses, that you can then put towards next school years’ costs. Since you have not taken out any loans at all, I think this is very doable and reasonable.</p>
<p>But all of this hinges on whether your parents can commit to and pay that $28K as you say they can. That is where the killer is; that $28K that they will have to come up with. You can find a loan and work for the difference between $38K and $28K. Borrowing the entire $38K is a whole different story, and I would not recommend that. Not worth it. Look for a public in state school to finish up.</p>
<p>Do remember that you will have to come up with about the same amount again next year, You need to sit with your parents and discuss if they truly can afford to pay what they need to , in order for you to go to Tufts.</p>
<p>Indeed, BobWallce, they are, and look at PA while you are at it. That is why I am sick about what is happening in higher education and would like to see the privates stripped of government money and for the CCs and state systems to be expanded and improved, and the costs reduced so that they are viable options for more people.</p>
<p>I am lucky in that there are a number of state schools in my area that are within commutable distance. There are those who live too far away from any to get a 4 year degree and the cost is too high. Some of these states, and IL and PA are two of them, do not meet much of a student’s need either, so that coming up with the money to go away to school is nigh impossible, and if there are no local options, you just can’t go to college. Throw in an area with few decent jobs, and an 18 year old who had no idea how to get out of this rut and you are breeding a under class.</p>
<p>Even with a nice 4-year renewable scholarship and loans UIUC came out at around the same price of 3 privates - and significantly MORE than 2 privates D was accepted to. Needless to say - D does not attend state flagship.</p>
<p>Chimikins…can you clarify…how much can your parents pay each year for two straight years OUT OF POCKET (without borrowing)? I’m confused by your posts. </p>
<p>On one hand it sounds like they want to borrow the full $38000 per year ($78,000 for two years). But, then on the other hand, it sounds like they can pay about $28k per year out of pocket and will need to borrow the other $10k per year.</p>
<p>Can you clarify?</p>
<p>Wow, the in-state prices at Illinois are a disgrace:</p>
<p>Yep! That’s why Bama has found Illinois to be happy hunting grounds for students with strong stats. Dangle $15k - $25k per year scholarships and you’ll find a number of students who’ll happily enroll and end up paying half the price (or less) of an IL public</p>
<p>The sick thing about all of this is that about 15 years ago, when I was first looking at colleges, UI-UC was a big $10K for the whole thing, COA. I remember it very well, as I lived in IL. A close friend of mine was pretty much forcing her DD to go there, over some private that was three times the price. No more. Like me, she has an old age baby, and he’s now in college and the cost for him to go to one of the mid west Catholic schools, Marquette or DePauw, can’t remember exactly which, is within $10K of what the public is. It’s really crazy.</p>
<p>I believe U of IL has the highest instate costs for a public flagship in the country. In nearby MN, out-of-state costs are less than the Illinois flagship.</p>
<p>Southern Illinois, I noticed, in the auto OOS waivers thread, offers in state for those OOS students with certain stats. I guess they are going for the OOS crowd to pay those prices. They certainly are not likely to pay more than that for a school without the reputation, recognition and ratings.</p>