Parent PLus loan

Paying for College
1

<p>Hi </p>

<p>I am going to start next year at Oregon State University, I was offered this</p>

<p>"Federal Direct ParentPLUS Loan System Offered $6,246.00" </p>

<p>I do not want my parent carrying the burden of my debt. I contacted the school and they said they had given me the max amount of financial awards including loans available and the only way to get a different Loan is if my parent fails the eligibility for this loan. My mother her self said she can't afford this but technically she can. I don't want her to worry about my financial payments.</p>

<p>If i don't accept this offer my balance is going to be 6,246.00 sense my mother's EFC is 0 due to her low income. </p>

<p>Are there any good websites that still offer scholarships?
or where could I possibly get a student loan other then the school? </p>

<p>thank you, I'm sure this has been answer millions of times but everytime i searched i didn't really come up with anything new, sorry. </p>

<p>Brandon</p>

2

<p>Brandon, you have to come up with $6,000+ to meet the COA; it doesn't have to be from loans.</p>

<p>First of all-- look at how the COA is calculated -- you can probably shave a thousand off by economizing. That includes money for books, incidentals, food. Is there a cheaper meal plan? Can you cut down the cost of housing, perhaps by opting for a triple or a less desirable dorm? What can you do to maximize your earnings over the summer? (You should be able to earn $3000 if you work full time). </p>

<p>Does your financial aid package include work study? If not, plan on getting a part-time job when you get to college -- you can pick up more money by working 12-15 hours a week.</p>

3

<p>well I am for sure going to work full time over the summer. I just quit my last job due to the lack of hours and it was just horrible. anyway this is all my awards for 2008-2009 year </p>

<p>Federal College Work-study Accepted Manually $1,500.00</p>

<p>Federal Ford Direct Loan-Sub Accepted Manually $3,500.00</p>

<p>Oregon Opportunity Grant System Accepted $2,332.00</p>

<p>Federal Pell Grant System Accepted $4,731.00</p>

<p>Federal Direct ParentPLUS Loan System Offered $6,246.00</p>

<p>Total $18,309.00</p>

<p>I've been looking at schoalrships and I am sure I can come with at least 3000 dollars that way by doing a lot of the essays and such. I am under a lot of pressure and my mother is all worried that if don't take care of this today I am going fail life. haha </p>

<p>so you think coming up with 6,246.00 should be easy in a time of 4-5 months I have? I was also led to believe that i need to pay the 18,309 dollars before term starts right? which is october 1st </p>

<p>ok thanks for the reply</p>

4

<p>You'll have to ask OSU what you have to pay, but usually the fees are divided by semester, and the total COA includes costs that do not have to be paid directly out. Also, most colleges offer some sort of extended payment plan.</p>

<p>Assuming you are an in-state resident, I found this from the OSU web site:
Tuition: $ 6,123
Room and Board $8,208***</p>

<p>The asterisks mean that you will be billed for your actual rates - that's just an estimate -- so the first thing to check would be to go with the cheapest available meal plan. If you have access to cooking facilities - just a microwave -- you can eat a lot of ramen along the way. Most jobs at restaurants or food services provide free meals as a perk -- truthfully, college students can develop quite a talent at finding free food. (Keep an eye out for clubs hosting picnics & barbecues, various receptions, etc.). Also, I found on the OSU web site that they have some co-op houses where you work off some of the costs -- the room & board there is $6,920, about $1300 saved right there, if you can get in at this point.</p>

<p>The other costs listed at the OSU site that are part of COA are:</p>

<p>Books & Supplies $1,527
Miscellaneous and Personal $2,403
Loan Fee Allowance $48 </p>

<p>These are not costs that you pay up front, but estimates of costs that you will pay out of pocket over time. You can save money on text books by buying books used online, and going without some books -- check the course syllabus for each class before spending money for books -- no sense spending money on a book that only has one or two chapters assigned. My d. got by an entire semester sharing her Russian text with her roommate. </p>

<p>So basically, if you could get into a coop, you would be billed about $13,000 - since OSU is on the quarter system, you would have to come up with a third of that each quarter, or about $4350. You've got about $12,300 coming from grants and loans, or about $4100 per quarter -- which would leave you needing to come up with $250. Which you ought to be able to earn in a week, even at a low wage job. </p>

<p>Hey, ever hear of ebay? Look around at all the stuff in your bedroom and figure out what sort of stuff doesn't need to come to college with you. Old video games, etc. My daughter sold most of her DVD's at college and even got other kids to pay her for cleaning their rooms, so there are plenty of ways to pick up extra change along the way.</p>

5

<p>Hi B., IF your Mom is rejected for the PLUS loan , I believe the school will have to have to offer you more STAFFORD ( Direct Loans ) in your name so you would not have to burden your Mom .</p>

<p>You can also call the financial aid officer and ASK for Perkins or more Stafford instead of burdening your Mom .It can't hurt to ask . </p>

<p>I am glad you are doing work -study ( my D. was able to do more work-study which helped with books , ect ) . Good luck !</p>