<p>I need to come up with about $11,000 for college. We're pretty sure we can come up with enough money for this year, but it's pretty hard to be sure that we'll be able to come up with the money for the next three years. </p>
<p>Are there really not any options for private loans if I can't get a cosigner? I'm not even 18 yet, so I don't have any credit. My dad is homeless and my mom has about $40k in student loan debt and a truly terrible credit score. I had always assumed that I would just be charged a higher interest rate, but apparently it will be nearly impossible to get anything.</p>
<p>I've already sent in my deposit saying I'd go to this college because my mom is determined to make it work, but I'm still worried. If I end up going to this college and was unable to pay for the second year, what would my options be? If I went to community college for a year (or possibly took a gap year to earn the money...), how likely would I be to get re-admitted the next year?</p>
<p>Your instincts are good. It looks like this school is not affordable for you now. Your mom loves you, and wants this to work, but she is thinking with her heart and not her brain. You might have to be the “grown up” on this issue. Look at your aid package. Does it include any loans for you? Are you asking where you can possibly get $11,000 more in loans?</p>
<p>If you don’t have the money for your second/third/fourth year, you will have to drop out of school. If you take on the kind of loans your mom has, you will have a lot of trouble paying them off, just like she does right now. Your best options are to either spend your first two years at a community college so that you can save up for college, or to take a gap year, make some money, and reapply to a list of colleges and universities that are more likely to give you better financial aid.</p>
<p>If you want to, you could contact this college, and ask to defer enrollment for one year so that you can allow your family finances to stabilize a bit. That will keep your space, but you will have to reapply for aid next year, and if your situation hasn’t changed, you still won’t be able to pay what they ask you to.</p>
<p>Your parents are up to the whazooie with problems, a lot of them to do with financial issues and debts. It is definitely not a good idea for you to start borrowing. You don’t want to start making this a family tradition. </p>
<p>You cannot get more than the federal loans without a responsible adult co signing. That adult has to be willing to take that loan on their credit loan and be responsible for it too, so it is asking a lot to do this for you. You say your mom is determined to make this work. Well, one way she could have made this work is if she had her own student loan in shape and her credit score decent. In such a case, she would be given loan options for you, 1-2-3. Given her situation, you can’t blame the system for not giving her such options. I think Happymom’s suggestion is the best for right now. A local state school commute would be the best way to keep the debt down. Perhaps by then, your mother will be in better shape to help you out.</p>
<p>I agree with the others…</p>
<p>However, if you’re determined to go thru this first year of college no matter what, which it sounds like you are…</p>
<p>1) Have your mom apply for a Plus loan, she’ll get denied, and then you’ll be able to borrow $4k more.</p>
<p>2) Get 2 jobs this summer to maximize your work hours…One job might be enough if you get enough hours at the one job. Save, save, save.</p>
<p>3) Do not rely on “having enough” for this year. Assume that you won’t and do the above 2 things.</p>
<p>4) Once you have registered for classes, find out what books you’ll need and start looking for cheap options for obtaining them…renting books or buying used online. </p>
<p>5) Go over your COA of this school. There may be places to economize. Buy the cheapest meal plan you can, don’t waste money day to day on sodas and junk. Arrive on campus with all the toiletries that you’ll need so that you won’t have to buy them while on campus. If you already have a stock of toiletries at home (soap, shampoo, etc), bring those. </p>
<p>6) Don’t go crazy buying stuff for your dorm. It’s so not necessary. Use bedding and linens that you already have.</p>
<p>I know that your mom is “determined” to make this work, but if she was able to bring in more money or economize more, she probably would have done so a long time ago.</p>
<p>Which school is this and how far is it from home?</p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>Honestly, Cristline, if the school you have in mind is Beloit, they aren’t doing so hot financially either. They may not even be around next year. They have had financial crises. It’s a fine school–a favorite of mine, in fact, but the money isn’t there. </p>
<p>And you are better off commuting to a state school and taking out as few loans as possible. Take a lesson from your parents’ predicaments so that you won’t still have school loans when your kids are applying to college. I was still paying college loans for years after I had kids between my husbands and mine, and I can tell you, that it really cuts into your standard of living and what you can get for your kids. Thankfully, ours were paid off by the time our oldest hit college. But I’ve been paying for schools for 40 years now without much of a break either through loans or actual payment. Doesn’t leave much for other amenities when you have such obligations. </p>
<p>How much in loans are you taking to get you to the $11K gap? Probably the Stafford max. That’s really the max you should be borrowing and if you can get out of borrowing that, by going to something cheaper, you should. You’ll be that much ahead when you finish college.</p>
<p>I am not adverse to loans in many situations, but you are definitely not one who should be taking them. Nor your poor mom with her own loan and credit issues.</p>
<p>Well if Beloit is having such $ problems that it may be shut down in the future, that is a serious concern. There is NO point to racking up debt just to have to leave the school either because the school’s aid packages will be worse in coming years or the school will close (or you just can’t make ends meet in the future).</p>
<p>Cristiline…</p>
<p>What state are you in and where else have you been accepted? Did you get accepted to any state schools that you can commute to?</p>
<p>What are the FA packages from your other schools?</p>
<p>What is your future major?</p>
<p>how much does your mom say that she can contribute each year?</p>