<p>My family and i have been discussing how we think we will be paying for college. I was wondering if any of you have done this or think this is a bad/good idea. We thought that for the money that we would have to pay (after financial aid and scholarships, grants, etc) we would take out loans for, and while i was in school, my parents would pay into the loan while i was in school (then when i graduate, i would just pay whatever was left, myself). This might be a wierd plan, but my parents think this might be better because they don't want to have a set amount that they have to pay every semester (or whenever the university bills you) and that way they can pay into the loan however much they want whenever they want. So what do you think, does this sound like a good plan?</p>
<p>What I did was similar to you. Our bill was about 20K. In aid, I got a 6K scholarship, about 4K in Perkins and Stafford Loans, and 1500 in Work/Study. Our gap ended up being around 10K, so we took out that 10K in private loans. With whatever money we can get, we will try and put towards those private loans, because they are accumulating interest (8.5%). However, the Perkins only being about 5% and the Stafford accumulating interest, we aren't trying to pay off quickly. I think it's a good plan because it offers you flexibility, you pay what you can to pay, not what you have to pay at the time. When you graduate, your family can pay it easier, as you have increased your income significantly.</p>