If the remaining yearly tuition would be about 20,000 dollars, would I have to look into private loans such as those from a bank like Wells Fargo? My parents are willing to co-sign, but I recently looked into the rates and they seem rather high. Is there another option for students in my situation?
If your remaining tuition would be $20k, then that means $80k+ in loans by the time of graduation (likely higher because costs rise each year).
$80k of debt is insane. Don’t do it.
What is your career goal and how much do you think you’ll be earning upon graduation?
When you say that the remaining cost would be $80k, is that also after fed loans were included? If so, that means you’d end up with $110k+ in loans. Are your parents naive? or are they willing to pay this debt when you’re not able to???
And what would happen if after your parents co-signed for a couple of years, but then the banks refused to let them borrow again because they’ve already co-signed $40k+ in debt??? Then what would you do??
Please choose an affordable school. This isn’t.
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SCHOOLS:
NYU, BU, NEU, CMU, TCNJ,
GPA: 93.74/100 UW; 102.3/100 W
Rank: 17/700
AP: Psych 5; APUSH 4, taking 5 APs this year
SAT: CR:590 M:710 W: 760 (2060)
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You mention pharmacy as your career goal. Is that still true?
You’ll have plenty of loans for pharm school, so borrowing a lot for undergrad is simply unwise…actually very foolish.
If your parents are assuming that you can live at home while working as a pharmacist to pay off your HUGE debt, that’s a naive thought. Who knows where your job may be. Who knows what your personal life will be then. You may be getting married or want to live with a SO.
@TheDidactic, do you have any suggestions for this prepharm student in NJ?
You need to find a school that will give you a merit scholarship for your stats so that you can take the pharmacy prerequisites with the least amount of debt. Your own state schools are fine for that.
If pharmacy is I your future it is significantly cheaper to go to a 2+ 4 program. Of course this is not helpful if you haven’t already applied and you are a senior. But you can apply after your freshman year to a different school - just make sure you have the prerequisites taken. Could save you $40k in loans on undergrad.
Your advice to apply after freshman year will only work for this student if he does NOT need merit aid money. The very vast majority of schools do not give much, if any, merit aid to transfer students.
And for need based aid…pharm students need to check their programs VERY carefully…because some consider students as grad students for the last couple of years…so the types of need based aid available to undergrads only is not available (e.g. Pell Grat).
To the OP…are you instate for NJ? Is that $20,000 balance you are talking about your family contribution per the colleges? Regardless, any balance after aid will need to be funded by you and your family, either out of current earnings, savings, or loans.
ETA…congratulations to the OP on the Rutgers acceptance.
Yes, I actually got into Rutgers for Pharm. My parents make about 60k a year. When doing the FA calculators they say something like 22k a year. The thing is, Rutgers is my state school. I thought these were supposed to be affordable and I don’t see how I can get together about 20k a year without private loans. What would others in my situation do?
You need to determine the total amount of loans for the Pharm program. You will become graduate student in last few years of Pharm prog, any undergraduate grants or scholarships will disappear and you may be borrow a lot more for those years,
Because Rutgers only gives merit to tippy top students and then not that much.
There are other schools in NJ that might give you merit, did you research them?
I think Stockton has some kind of agreement with Rutgers.
Did you get a scholarship from TCNJ?
Do you have any schools you can commute to where you only have to pay tuition?
You might qualify for NJ Tag and with summer job earnings that may be doable.
http://catalog.raritanval.edu/preview_program.php?catoid=4&poid=402&returnto=165
Is this close to you? There might be other programs like that near you.
What does the net price calculator say for Rowan, Stockton, similar schools?
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My parents make about 60k
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Your parents will not qualify to cosign multiple years. They may qualify for the FIRST year for $20k, but then when they go to qualify the second year, they likely will be declined.
THEN WHAT??? You’ll be stuck with loans and NO DEGREE!
So basically there’s absolutely no way for me to fund a school that will run me about 20k a year? I have about 15k saved up so I might be able to fund about one year… How do other middle class people afford schools like BU and NEU?
Their parents start saving since the child’s birth, they drive old cars, they don’t take vacations, no smart phones, hand-me-down clothes, smaller house or apartment - or any combination thereof to live below their means.
I disagree that your parents will be denied after the first year. For parent Plus loans, the requirements for qualification don’t require much, just that bills are current and they haven’t defaulted on a government loan and haven’t filed bankruptcy. Even some private lenders don’t require much for the co-signers. Have the schools offered Plus loans?
That being said, I don’t think anyone should borrow $28000 in Stafford loans and then have their parents borrow $20k/yr in Plus or Private loans, but that doesn’t mean they won’t be offered. If you can go to a cheaper school and transfer for the last two years, that might be a wiser move. Yes, there is a way for you to finance BU and NEU, but it may not be a smart financial move.
Rutgers is a straight 6-year program, no?
Any chance you can live at home and commute? Then you can see how much of the FA will still apply. And, I’d still check your Fafsa to be sure you didn’t make any errors. Check, then speak with FA.
The problem with Parent Plus loans is two-fold. First, they have to be able to make the payments on that 60k income, which likely will be crushing. And, the payments start coming due each spring after they’re disbursed (ie, Fall loan amounts start payback the following spring. No breathing room.) Then, they go up annually, as more loan amounts are added.
NEU guarantees to meet full need. Is that $60,000 a year income before or after taxes?
Plus loans start accruing interest immediately, but payments do not have to be made until the student is no longer in school. It’s a good idea to start repaying as soon as you can, but not required.
On the 1040 form it’s about 62,500 in the space where it asks for wages, salaries, and tips, etc. Rutgers is about an hour and a half away so it’s not really a possibility. However, I found that when I change my 15k in savings to 0, I qualify for grants and the total comes out to around 13.5k, which is very reasonable. Wouldn’t it just be more beneficial to give my money to my parents? Anyone have experience with this?