Is is possible to pay for a car with student loan (private) money?

Paying for College
21

<p>Just exactly where is it that you live that the closest bus is so far away? Past Poolesville? Could you catch a MARC to Rockville or Germantown and then switch to a bus? Which campus of MC are you commuting to? Do you have classes at more than one? Is that why you don’t have a job?</p>

<p>Happykid graduated from MC-Rockville in May, and the only friend who did not have at least a part-time job was the one who had to go straight home after class to care for her very sick grandmother. Just yesterday I was at the Ross at Federal Plaza, and they were hiring. If you are studying at MC-Rockville, you wouldn’t even need to drive there, you could take the Ride-On #46 from campus. </p>

<p>The Ride-On bus system is free for students at MC, seven days a week, all semester long. If the closest bus you can get to is a Ride-On, you would only have to pay gas from your home to that closest bus stop. If your closest bus is a Metrobus, that is only $1.60 each way, and still would work out less expensive for you than driving clear to your campus if you are only getting 15 miles to the gallon.</p>

<p>Where does you mom work? Can you ride with her part-way and pick up a bus there? Or what about other people who live near(ish) to you who are headed in the same direction at more or less the same time? That would be another option. Maybe not the schedule you want, but you wouldn’t be behind the wheel of a car that you are so doubtful about.</p>

<p>What does your mechanic say about this car of yours? Is it safe, or is it a death-trap? If it is safe to drive, or the repairs needed are minimal, then keep driving it. You might consider asking the folks in the Automotive Technology department at MC-Rockville if they can do any of the work for you, and what they would charge. There may be a student who could work on it as a class project for free/cheap.</p>

<p>If the car is beyond salvation, then you need to get a job, save your money, and buy yourself a car that is in better shape. Once you are pals with the Auto Tech folks, they ought to be able to advise you on this.</p>

<p>Lastly, the Cost of Attendance for a Montgomery County resident student living at home for 2012-2013 is estimated to be $16084 [Tuition</a> 2011-2012](<a href=“http://cms.montgomerycollege.edu/edu/tuition.aspx?urlid=10#budgets]Tuition”>http://cms.montgomerycollege.edu/edu/tuition.aspx?urlid=10#budgets) This means that once you get your financial aid paperwork straightened out, you would be eligible to take out a Federal/Stafford Loan to help cover your costs for the fall. If you are a first year student, that loan would be about $2700, and ought to cover at least some of the car repairs that you appear to need right now.</p>

<p>Montgomery College has an excellent track record for getting its graduates into good 4-year programs. Pay a visit to the Transfer Counselor at the campus where you have the most classes, and find out what you need to be doing to get into the 4-year institution that is best for you, and whether there are any scholarships at that place that will help cover your costs.</p>

<p>Wishing you all the best!</p>

22

<p>I would like to add that you don’t need a new car to have reliable transportation. Look into Toyota with a good maintenance record. My husband, who owns auto shop, always jokes, that if everyone owned Toyota he would be out of business.</p>

<p>Also, if you get a job, then together with your grandmother you can get small car loan, that you can afford to pay for right away.</p>

<p>Also, please listen to everyone’s advice regarding what to do after you graduate from community college. At least figure out your student loan payments after you graduate and see if you will be comfortable paying them. I predict you will not like how high those payments are going to be.</p>

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<p>Mom2CollegeKids: Yeah, well he never actually reported that he lost his job and he’s never even really tried to do anything about child support since before my mom met him in 2009. To him it’s seemed pointless because he has no money and his kid’s mom’s family does. That’s how she got full custody but is a crappy mother. They’ve NEVER been to the dentist, he had to take them both to the doctor to get immunizations for school and he had to sign them up for school. </p>

<p>Since I’m 19, my mom doesn’t get child support for me. She pays (technically he pays for it but when he makes no money, it’s money coming out of her paycheck) for the child support going to his two kids and my biological brother now lives with my dad, though in 2011 he did live with my mom, me and my step-father. </p>

<p>Everything I’ve seen with the COA has the borrower input their estimate for travel expenses. With talks of inflation going around, it could be a good $5,600 calculating flights being $500 a pop. That’s going to Jackson airport. It’s another 131 mile cab ride to the school which is another $200 per trip. </p>

<p>I can’t stay in Maryland and commute. I can’t. I’ll probably kill myself if I do. </p>

<p>But thank you for your advice. I appreciate it. </p>

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<p>HappyMomof1: I live in Sandy Spring, east of Olney on the Montgomery County/Howard County line. The nearest bus stop is a mile and a half from my house on a curvy two-lane country road with no sidewalks. From there it would take me 2 hours to get to school from my house by public transport. That is at least a 2 hour trip each way…. And I don’t have a Smartrip card (haven’t had the need for one, and don’t like having money stored somewhere other than a bank or under my pillow), so it would cost close to $5 per trip. </p>

<p>I don’t have a job because I’ve never had one and none of the places I’ve applied to (anything other than food service. I’m fat, and while being on my feet all day waitressing would be good money, I tend to be extremely clumsy. Hell, I’ve fractured my ankle by just walking) will hire me because I don’t have experience. I had been hoping that once Financial Aid went through, that I might have a chance at getting work study and be able to apply for jobs on campus that would at least give me some kind of experience. </p>

<p>My mom works in Rockville, and I could potentially ride with her, but I’ve made up a schedule that has me going all around Rockville so I can go to the gym and try to lose weight. I don’t know any other people in my area… I moved schools Junior year and with a horrible past history with friendships, I decided it wasn’t worth it to try at Sherwood. </p>

<p>My mechanic is my father (the one who bought it for me) who says it’ll last me forever… even though the brake line just blew from rusting out and the frame down bottom is rusting away as well. And the compressor died. He said he doesn’t know how to fix the turn signals and so I’m just going to have to live with them broken. </p>

<p>I’m a second year student, and I’ll talk to her, but I’ve found that even experienced counselors know nothing about the school I’m going to. </p>

<p>Thank you for the advice!</p>

24

<p>Lerkin- I’ve actually decided that if I get a car it’ll be Honda. The only car Toyota makes that I’ve every really been interested in is the RAV-4 and the Yaris. RAV-4 doesn’t get the gas mileage I want/need and the Yaris is a little tiny for me to feel safe in it. I’ve heard a lot of negative things about the Corolla in terms of safety as well. </p>

<p>I test drove the 2012 Civic in January when my friend and I decided to look around at cars for fun and I loved it. The only thing I don’t like is how it looks, so if I got a car it would be an older Civic hopefully a Hybrid model. My mom even has family who works at a Honda dealership, so if I did go certified pre-owned or new I could get some good discounts. </p>

<p>The problem with getting a car loan is that if I do go away to school, there is no guarantee that I will have a job while there and be able to pay for the car while there. I’m going away to school to get a real college atmosphere… not to have no time because I’m studying and working and 24/7.</p>

25

<p>My heart aches reading about the challenges you have faced. I truly wish there was a way to allow all your dreams to come true without any more suffering. However, your problems will not go away when you leave for school.</p>

<p>So many kids want “a real college atmosphere”, but reality is that few can afford it. Debt will be a huge burden that you will carry for years or even decades if you make rash decisions now. You have options available to you and happymom described a number of great ideas to consider. Unfortunately they are not fun or easy options.</p>

<p>Life is not fair. I applaud your efforts to make your circumstances better. Stick with it! Keep working! But please try not to make your future more difficult with present impatience.</p>

26

<p>Well, life may not be fair . . . but it tends to work out better if you follow one simple rule: live within your means!!!</p>

<p>Here’s some reality:</p>

<p>(1) You could attend attend a local school with the program you need, but you “live too close to UMD to pay an extra $10,000/year to live on campus.” So, here’s a thought: don’t pay the extra $10,000! I know it’s not what you want, but it is at least closer to what you can afford.</p>

<p>(2) Your old car is falling apart, so you want to get a new one. But if you’re not even willing to get a part-time job so you can pay to get the old one fixed (by someone who actually knows how to fix it!), how are you going to pay the expenses for a new car? Even if it’s under warranty, you’re still going to have to pay for registration and insurance, both of which will be significantly more expensive than what you’re paying (or should be paying) for your old car. And, to top it off, you don’t want just any new car - you want one that you like the looks of!</p>

<p>(3) You can’t get a job because they expect you to stand up and walk around . . . well, that’s probably about right for someone your age with no work experience. So start out part-time, even a few hours per week if that’s all you can manage . . . but you’re never going to work up the stamina to work longer hours if you don’t start somewhere. I can’t believe that you can’t find a job at Walmart or a local fast food place.</p>

<p>(4) My favorite part of all of this, though, is your plan to fund your extravagant lifestyle by getting your grandmother to cosign your loan! Do you have any idea what will happen to her when you get in over your head and end up not being able to pay it back??? Does she have any income at all? She’ll be expected to use it to pay back YOUR loan! What will she live on when that happens??? Does she have a home? She’ll end up losing it to pay back YOUR loan! Where will she live???</p>

<p>Your grandmother will be expected to pay back your entire debt when you can’t. It will ruin her life.</p>

<p>And your explanations for why you would do this to her?</p>

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<p>Lots of drama here . . . but none of it comes close to the very real drama that your grandmother will be facing if you go forward with your plan.</p>

<p>“Fair” is working for what you get . . . not making someone else pay for you to be happy.</p>

27

<p>My grandmother is willing to do it… she (along with the rest of my family) believes that going away to school would be better than staying instate because I will have to learn how to live on my own. </p>

<p>I refuse to go into fast food because I don’t want to even be tempted to eat the food. Wal-mart would probably hire me, however, the closest Wal-Mart is a good hour from my school, 1/2 hour from home with no public transport.</p>

<p>It’s not that I don’t want a job, jobs won’t hire me because of my in-experience. </p>

<p>I’m choosing to go used for an older model car that i do like (which will be cheaper to buy) over a brand new car that I don’t like. </p>

<p>I’m not going to argue with anyone about this any more. I KNOW that it’s not a good idea and I KNOW that there are better options. I’m not even sure what will happen in a years time. All I wanted to know, the REASON I posted, is if it would be possible to pay for a car using student loan money.</p>

28

<p>I don’t understand how you are anywhere near Pell eligible with a family income of app. 70K.</p>

<p>Is the school in MS anywhere near the caliber of UMD?</p>

29

<p>YOU do not get to decide your travel costs…your college determines the amount they use for travel cost as part of their cost of attendance. The borrower (student) does NOT set the travel costs.</p>

<p>My humble opinion is that you cannot afford to own a new car. You also cannot afford to attend college out of state where you will either need to fly or drive a substantial distance.</p>

<p>If you can commute to UMD, then look into that. It will take the travel costs for you OUT of consideration.</p>

<p>I believe you WANT another car. Using college loans for this purpose will likely not be a possibility unless you go the private loan route with grandma as a cosigner. For the life of me, I can’t imagine why you would want to burden your grandma with a loan.</p>

<p>Find a college where you can use public transportation. Get a job. Save some money. </p>

<p>Just an FYI …my own kids never had cars in college. They found housing where they could use public transportation or walk. </p>

<p>They got cars when they GRADUATED from college.</p>

30

<p>*I can’t stay in Maryland and commute. I can’t. I’ll probably kill myself if I do. *</p>

<p>Set the drama aside so that you can make intelligent, not impulsive, decisions.</p>

<p>You say that you have 3 younger siblings. Is your mom getting child support for the YOUNGER siblings from your dad? Are you saying that your mom has 4 children and now 3 live at home (you and 2 younger siblings), while one brother now lives with dad?</p>

<p>Again, you will NOT be able to pay for a car with student loan money. The loan money goes to the school to pay for school expenses. The banks won’t give you extra money to buy a car.</p>

31

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<p>If you cannot come up with a plan to make things work while you are living at home with a safety net, how are things going to be any different living “on your own” across country. It sounds like your family or your grandmother don’t know the devastating effect her cosigning a loan will have on her. You have no job experience, so you first job is going to be at walmart (who are in the process of hiring 50,000 employees) or a fast food restaurant (if you are a nutrition major, you have to start with yourself as far as making healthy choices).</p>

<p>You seem to have a lot of excuses as to why you cannot do something and your family is not helping you by being enablers to this behavior. If the best predictor of future behavior is relative past behavior, nothing is going to change, except you will be in a different location with a car that has been repossessed for non payment.</p>

<p>like others have mentioned, it does not matter that she is a senior citizen on a fixed income, when the payments on this loan are due, she will have to pay them. You have no means to start making these payments, which means that she will be responsible for making the payments. To put your grandmother in that position is totally selfish and morally reprehensible. If you want a car, get off your butt, go to work, and save for it like every one else.</p>

<p>If you are hell bent on carrying out this plan, finish your associates, go to work for 2 years and save some money. when you turn 24 you will be an independent student and you will be free to make a financial train wreck of your life, without taking other people with you.</p>

32

<p>You’re following your parents down the wrong path, financially.</p>

<p>Learn to live within your means. Avoid the debt trap. Don’t buy stuff you can’t afford (even when you really want it).</p>

<p>No new car. Probably not even a used car, until you can save for it, or have some income to pay for it. Re-think your options, particularly re: public transportation.</p>

33

<p>Cap- I don’t get it either. All I know is that my FAFSA said that I could potentially get $2100 in Pell grant money. It may not even been true. </p>

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<p>Thumper1: I do want another car, but mainly because the one I have has a lot of problems that I really can’t see it lasting for more than another year without something happening to make buying a car the better decision any way. </p>

<p>Thank you for an answer to the question I was asking. </p>

<hr>

<p>Mom2CollegeKids: I have three younger siblings. One biological sibling who lives with my dad at the moment and two step-siblings who live with their mother. </p>

<p>Thank you for giving me the answer to my question.</p>

34

<p>Believe me, I do know how ugly the rural roads can be around here. Happydad can’t walk to work because he’d get killed trying to stroll down the road he’d need to take. But ugly rural roads don’t create a “need” for a car if you have someone who can give you a lift to and from somewhere between your home and where your classes meet five days a week.</p>

<p>Use the trip planner at [Metro</a> - Home page](<a href=“http://www.wmata.com%5DMetro”>http://www.wmata.com) and the Ride-On schedules at [MCDOT</a> Ride On Routes and Schedules](<a href=“http://www6.montgomerycountymd.gov/tsvtmpl.asp?url=/content/dot/transit/routesandschedules/rideonroutes.asp]MCDOT”>http://www6.montgomerycountymd.gov/tsvtmpl.asp?url=/content/dot/transit/routesandschedules/rideonroutes.asp) to find out how to get from wherever it is that your mom could drop you off to wherever it is that you need to be at the times that you need to be there. If your classes are at MC-Germantown or MC-Takoma Park, it will take a bit longer to get there by bus, but it is indeed do-able. We lived in Rockville for three full years without a car, and Happykid and her pals got all over the area on Ride-On with their MC IDs long after we did have a car. There is a gym right on campus that you can use for free, just like Happykid and her pals did. You don’t need to be going anywhere else and spending any money for a gym membership. If you do get the membership for free because of your mom’s job, well find out how to get there by bus. You don’t need a SmartTrip for Ride-On if you are an MC student, just your MC ID.</p>

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<p>The gym at Rockville is only for people taking certain classes. It’s a fairly new rule… they just didn’t have enough money in the budget to keep someone there 24/7.</p>

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<p>the campus rec center is open from 9am to 8 pm monday thru friday and 9-2 on saturday</p>

<p>[Campus</a> Recreation Center | The Universities at Shady Grove](<a href=“http://www.shadygrove.umd.edu/campus-services/recreation-center]Campus”>Campus Recreation Center (CRC) | The Universities at Shady Grove)</p>

<p>call them to find out when you can use the gym. You pay student fees, so you should be able to use the gym free of charge during their operating hours</p>

37

<p>I pay fees and take classes at Montgomery College. The Universities at Shady Grove are not the same thing… UatSG is a central location for people enrolled in UMD, Bowie State, Towson, UBalt, UMUC, UMES and UMBC, which are 4 year universities. MC is a separate community college.</p>

38

<p>so are you saying that your school has sports teams, gives PE classes but they don’t have a gym? wouldn’t it be less expensive to enroll in a gym class and then use the facilities, than to enroll in an outside gym?</p>

39

<p>MusicIsLifeMD -</p>

<p>Well that really is unfortunate about the gym! Happykid used to go swimming at least twice a week. As long as the weather holds, you could just walk laps around the track, or better yet through the neighborhood behind the campus. Since you are watching your diet, stay away from the Pike and all those great Chinese take-outs!</p>

<p>Even if you don’t qualify right now for work-study, check on campus for information about jobs. There may be a non-work-study position that would work for you, or there may be information about businesses nearby that are hiring.</p>

40

<p>Yes that is exactly what I am saying.</p>

<p>I joined the gym so that I would have access to the gym when normal semester classes were out of session, like during summer and winter. I pay $30 a month for the gym membership.</p>