Hey guys, I’ve been spending these past couple months getting everything in order to go to a private college; paying housing fees, getting orientation in order, etc. I went to check up on my scholarships the other day and only now have I realized that I am lacking a grand total of $26,000 to meet the tuition for the year. Now I’m contemplating just not going to the college at all. In the end, 100k in student loan debt doesn’t sound anywhere near fun. My mom keeps telling me to just take out the 26k for this year with Sallie Mae, but I don’t know anything about those people or things like their interest.
I emailed a school that I had previously been accepted to and asked how much financial aid I got with them because the process was a mess and the amount they were giving me changed over a series of months. I told one of the workers there that called me that I couldn’t afford the starting fees, ($750 for housing & registration) and I think they declined my acceptance for me at that point. So I’m not sure if I have a different college to fall back on at this point or not. Should I take out these loans and just deal with the burden, and if so, who should I take them out with? And can you start paying off student loans while still in school? I’m a minimalist at heart and plan on saving nearly every penny I earn after I find a job, so if I do end up taking out any sort of loan, I’d love to start hacking away at it early.
That is a CRAZY amount of debt to take out each year!!
What is your mom thinking? Is she lousy with money???
how much is mom giving you to pay for college?
Is your mom going to QUALIFY AND COSIGN all those loans? If not, then Sallie Mae won’t loan you the money.
If Sallie Mae approves your mom for THIS YEAR, but won’t approve her for a future school year, what will you do? Come home and face a lot debt with NO DEGREE???
What is your career goal and how much do you think you’ll be earning upon graduation?
It’s near the end of May. How is it you are just now realizing you have a $26,000 shortfall?
mom, I’m not getting anything from my parents, and yes, she is really bad with money, which is why I didn’t trust the Sallie Mae. I’m planning on going into game art, and starting out, that’s around 40 to 45k. She herself took out loans with Sallie Mae and would probably cosign, but paying it is completely up to me.
thumper, I knew I was short, but I didn’t think it was that short. I guess I was so busy focusing on scraping up enough cash to pay my housing and orientation that loans was the last thing on my list. I made a mistake, yes, but thankfully it isn’t too late to get advice!
Run away. Community college for two years and then transferring is a much, much better option. (I’m saying that here, and I never say that.)
You can take art at CC and go on to specialize elsewhere. A field that pays 40-45K is not worth loans.
Thanks Naval, I should probably specify though, I’m aiming toward the 3D art aspect (I was originally going in for Animation and concentrating in game art). 45k is one of the lower starting numbers. The closest college that offers anything in 3D is 2 hours away. The 2 colleges I was really looking at are both 6 hours away. I’m not sure if community college would work out in this case?
Thanks for helping me shake off my mom’s bad advice guys! 
My parents refuse to help with my admission/transition into college most of the time. Now I’m just waiting on an email back from the other college. Hopefully I still have access to it.
A long time ago, maybe your mom’s time, tuition was lower and you could get student loans from Sallie Mae. Now tuition has skyrocketed past any reasonable expectation, you can only get your federal loan on your own.
freshman 5,500
sophomore 6,500
jr 7,500
sr 7,500
So really you mom has to take Parent Plus loans in her name, or private loans like Sallie Mae and cosign which means her credit is affected and she is on the line to start repayment in the event that you can’t. And you will not be able to make the payment so she will have to. If she is actually approved to borrow the additional 70k.
So you will have a loan payment of 280 or so and she will have a loan payment of 850 or so once the loan is fully paid out and that is for 10 years. Doesn’t that sound like a foolish thing?
And you should NOT take the loan the first year and just figure it out. It is not worth it to have that debt for just one year of college. You will have to transfer schools and you will not likely get good aid as a transfer/ It is much better to take a gap year and apply again and target colleges you can afford. When you get offers from schools, you don’t care about deposits first. FIRST you look at how much your cost is going to be per year. The COA of the college minus gift money. Sure if you are frugal you can get some of those non-billed expenses down. But you can’t work more than 15 hours a week without it affecting your schoolwork.
Now if you want an analysis of your offers, post the financial aid letter contents here. Usually they will show costs, then show what aid you got. What college is this anyway? Also what was the other college? Did you ever get an aid letter from them?
Thanks BrownParent, but my mom would never help me pay for college. I got aid letters, I’m just not sure if it’s still available to me at the other school since I told them I couldn’t afford their fees in the first place. An analysis won’t be necessary. At this point I’m definitely not going to this first college. Thanks so much guys! I’m asking around right now to see how possible it is to get my required courses out of the way at community college first just in case. Still hoping I can move the 6 hours and go to this second college.
My point wasn’t that she would pay but that she would be on the line as a borrower or cosigner and that the payments for each set of loans would be large combined and since you can’t make those payments, you mother will be forced to or be in default.
Also, just fyi, I find this article very useful in general for comments on the art side and dev side of games
http://codesuppository.blogspot.com/2013/04/so-your-teenager-tells-you-they-want-to.html
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mom, I’m not getting anything from my parents, and yes, she is really bad with money, which is why I didn’t trust the Sallie Mae. I’m planning on going into game art, and starting out, that’s around 40 to 45k. She herself took out loans with Sallie Mae and would probably cosign, but paying it is completely up to me.
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Well, if your mom is “really bad with money”, likely she wouldn’t qualify to co-sign anyway…especially for a later year. Your mom probably doesn’t even know that she would have to cosign and QUALIFY for those loans…in the old days that wasn’t necessary.l
When your mom took out loans, the rules were different (easier). About 10 years ago, things tightened up a LOT in the student loan world.
It’s a good thing that you’re deciding against this crazy idea. I have a feeling that your mom suggested the loans so that she wouldn’t feel bad about not helping you with school.
You may still need to start at a CC. What CC is near you?
(BTW…Even if you started at a higher salary, $100k in debt is NOT affordable).
I don’t think that the person taking calls at the FA office can decline your acceptance without your express consent. You should reach out to that other school and confirm that instead of assuming based on a phone call.