Thank you brantly, that really means a lot. I don’t know you personally, but you seem like a really nice person. I also appreciate all the help you’ve given. I’ll try not to be pessimistic, but sometimes it just upsets me that my student debt will be nearly doubling in just 1 semester, given that $20,000 is my loan amount over my ENTIRE school career.
I exhausted my ability for Pell Grants because my associates degree is a 2 yr/ degree, which I also received the Pell Grant for. Then, because my 55 credits transferred into being nothing for my degree afterwards, I had to start over on a 4 yr degree at U-M.
Can you please share where you expect to get a $10K private loan from? This might be helpful information for others in similar situations. Do you have family with good credit that will co-sign for you?
@stsherma you should meet with a loan officer at PNC and discuss your situation, from what you’ve posted I don’t think you qualify for an eduacational undergrad loan from them. From their web page:
In general the lower credit rating you and your co-signer have the less likely it is to be approved and the high the interest rates. If this is the road you might take make sure you fully understand it and that it will work for you. When they factor in your debit to income ratio they will take into account all current and past student loans.
I am not a loan officer so maybe you have a chance at a private loan but it’s certainly nothing that is assured at this point.
I guess my question is…You have out of state tuition and zero transferable credits. Why enroll there? I’ll tell you, though. Based on some of the debt I’ve seen college graduates come out with at OOS universities, $40k isn’t bad. It could be a lot worse. I would just stick it out and watch the budget. The one last hurdle is the private loan. Banks check your credit, and your parents won’t have the income to co-sign.
I want to point out there is a more general issue here of what happens when transfer students come in and then do a year abroad. At places I have taught, even if more of the community college credits count toward the degree than with the OP there are enough u- or department specific course requirements that students who transfer in their junior year and then do a year abroad often cannot graduate in four years.
Your situation as I understand it is this: you’re at the end of your federal aid for a major that, according to things I’ve read on this board, isn’t very marketable on it’s own. You’re extremely low income and need a private loan for next year that’s almost as much as your parents earn per year, and you have an additional semester after that. Have you applied for the $10k private loan for this year yet? I don’t see how a family with a $14k income can be approved to borrow that much.
I’m sorry you’re going through this. I agree your problems are financial. You don’t need a bio degree to apply to med school, and if it’s going to be difficult to repay your loans with that degree then you’re probably better off switching to something more marketable in case you don’t get into med school. First you need to find a way to fund your degree. If you don’t have costs covered for this year, don’t start. Take a leave of absence until you get it figured out. If you start and your financing doesn’t come through you’ll have to drop out mid-semester. You don’t want a bill for classes you couldn’t finish.
It’s important that you understand that this isn’t something the university is doing to you. They have to follow federal guidelines. Did they tell you why your credits didn’t transfer? Which community college does UM not accept any credits from? Unless it was some sort of for-profit school that sounds odd. Did they accept any of your credits from the year you studied abroad?
Please don’t take my comments as a negative. Yes, you should be able to do study abroad if the credits transferred. Otherwise, it’s wasting more time that you do not have. I grew up poor on food stamps and public aid and a single mother that worked like 17 hours /day all week with 4 kids so I get it. I also put myself through school with working and state help. I truly appreciate what you are doing. Just keep doing it. Have a meeting with the school not just financial aid but see if there is an osbudsman that can help you. Talk to your guidance counselor…
Maybe you can become a T/A or something else to help payoff school. Maybe you can work for free as an exchange for classes. I really have no clue to help but more loans is not good. Is there a Co-op situation that you can get so you can make money to pay off school. I know Michigan does have CO - Ops… Check that out!
I have not applied for the private loan yet. I did talk to financial aid today, and they said my only option is just one scholarship that I qualify for. Only around 500 students get it, so when I apply, I’m going to tell them practically what I told you people. I’m on my last leg, my parents don’t have good credit, and I probably won’t be approved for a loan.
It’s just the way it is.
Austin, a couple of months back I met with a biology advisor. She was near dumb-founded with what was happening to me. She specifically told me that my case was rare and that she was working directly with other members of the biology department to make sure this sort of thing didn’t happen again, meaning the whole dilemma with the credits.
My college was North Central Michigan College, I graduated with a 3.8/4.0 GPA. I transferred in around 55 credits, and U-M paid for 2 years.
No one could tell me specifically WHY my credits didn’t transfer. All I know is that the biology department, when I transferred in, didn’t even attempt to look at my credits. They told me that they wouldn’t even look at my biology/science related classes because they didn’t contain a calendar in the syllabus, a step-by-step calendar detailing everything taught week-by-week.
Thankfully, I eventually got around to financial aid, and they saw the problem. All they could do for me was get me back in for this year only. I’m still left with 1 semester with no funding. Because tuition is around, or approximately, $17,000, my college debt of my entire career is going to double unless they approve me for a very competitive scholarship.
Go meet with someone who’s in charge of transcripts: it’s not possible NOTHING transferred.
(For instance, the study abroad should have covered your Foreign language requirement).
What credits do you need for your major? For Gen Ed?
To find a good summer internship you need to apply between now and October. Go to the career center asap.
My study abroad transferred, but for the most part the credits from North Central Michigan College didn’t transfer. I’m actually currently looking for a good research position.
However, I might put that off in order to focus more heavily on my grades. Right now I’m just very determined to graduate. I already have 2 years of research experience/working in a lab.
For other typical lower level biology major courses, non-online courses are supposed to transfer as follows:
NCMC CEM 121+122 = UM CHEM 125+126+130 (general chemistry)
NCMC CEM 231 = UM CHEM 210 + 211 (organic chemistry 1)
NCMC CEM 232 = UM CHEM 215 + 216 (organic chemistry 2)
NCMC MATH 210 = UM MATH 116 (calculus 2)
NCMC PHY 210 = UM PHYSICS 125 + 127 (general physics 1)
NCMC PHY 211 = UM PHYSICS 126 + 128 (general physics 2)
Did you have trouble getting transfer subject credit for these courses? It does not make sense that you needed two years to retake all of your lower level courses if you had taken the above courses at NCMC before transfer.
I didn’t take those courses. The courses I took were more closer to home than at the main campus. Also, if I remember correctly I had trouble taking many of those courses listed above because I didn’t meet the prerequisites ← This was for my last 2 semesters, where I lived on NCMC’s main campus.
Why was this? Well, it’s because I was a D student in high school and hardly tried.
I simply followed what my advisor set for me while at NCMC. It seems, again, that it was just a miscommunication problem with NCMC and U-M.
I didn’t live near the main campus for a long time. People really don’t understand the type of budget my parents have. We can barely, barely afford to drive me down to Ann Arbor.
I did most of my schooling at a place called the M-tec. It’s a subsidiary college institution for housing college classes away from main campuses. It has colleges like Lake Superior State University, Madonna University, North Central Michigan College, and Kirkland College, to name a few but offers comparatively less classes than any of the aforementioned universities/colleges do.
A lot of courses transferred as 101x 201x courses. They didn’t account for anything, at the most I could only use them for electives. Most people really do not have a great idea of the transfer process. You see, there’s equivalent credit given for courses, then there’s departmental credit. Most of my courses were departmental.
Look guys, what this really boils down to is poor decision making on my part. I honestly have no one, but myself, to blame. It’s the sad truth of the matter. You’re all very helpful and nice, but if we’re to be frank, I wasn’t given a lot of support.
I have a documented disability with the college, and it just felt like everything I did I did by myself. With the classes I chose, I followed the advice of others while in NCMC. I told people where I wanted to go, and the people misinformed me.
I took what I could, where I could. My parents were not college graduates. A lot of my immediate family aren’t even college graduates. I was glad for what I took though, and going back, I would have definitely taken even harder courses if I could have. I remember wanting to take the best courses available to me.