<p>That’s one wonderful head you seem to have firmly planted on your shoulders there, icanplaybass! You totally get it.</p>
<p>To the OP, $105,000??? No way, no how. Don’t do it.</p>
<p>Good advice here, so I won’t add to that … but I do want to address the question about PLUS denial in dad’s name & then applying for one under mom’s name. Yes, you can do that. I assume that your parents are divorced? I would be surprised if mom is approved if dad was denied & they are married. As for the co-signer, you can try to use grandma. All they can say is no.</p>
<p>another factor to think about is social, i.e., being an extremely poor kid when all your friends go out on the town bcos they have the money to do so. You just won’t be able to go. They’ll be heading out to clubs and bars on Friday and Saturday nights and you’ll be eating dorm food. Even with the many student discounts, NYC is one of the most expensive places on the planet. Think about it – it ain’t fun being home alone, and it can be miserable.</p>
<p>To paraphrase the prez, attending NYU would be “acting stupidly”.</p>
<p>Thanks for the advice. I will definitely keep it in mind while making my decision. It’s definitely a tough one; biggest one I’ve ever had to make thus far. </p>
<p>Anyways, kelsmom, my parents aren’t divorced. I believe they filed a joint bankruptcy or something a little over 4 years ago. I will send in the application under my mom’s name tomorrow. Should know in about a week.</p>
<p>One follow up question about loans: </p>
<p>My dad was obviously denied the plus loan. Does think make his chance for getting a private loan impossible? (it would be solely his name since I am not 18 yet).</p>
<p>The credit check for the PLUS loan is not a very stringent one compared to that for private loans. If your Dad was turned down for the PLUS it is likely he will be unable to get a private loan. And if he does get one the interest rate is likely to be high.</p>
<p>It seems unlikely you will fare any better with your Mom as she has a bankruptcy 4 years ago. Although the credit check for PLUS loans is fairly modest it does take into account whether the applicant has any adverse credit history. From [FinAid</a> | Loans | Parent Loans](<a href=“Your Guide for College Financial Aid - Finaid”>Parent Loans - Finaid) </p>
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<p>As your Dad was turned down for a PLUS loan you should be eligible for an additional $4000 per year in unsubsidized loans.</p>
<p>To the OP – I am a former journalist and can tell you first hand that the industry is presently very competitive with a downward trend in salaries (due to crunch at conglomerates, they’re all getting rid of old “expensive” wood and when hiring at all, hiring at discounted rates) and that you will have to work long and hard to earn a great salary, and that you could not, EVEN at the top tier, even at AP, make enough to support payback of a $1200/mo loan and have any kind of life. If you plan to use your degree to work in PR or an Agency, that is a different matter, but it would still be tough.</p>
<p>This is not to discourage you from what is an awesome vocation that’s very life enriching. If you can, take a peek at the Syracuse program for example, and try some other schools that meet need (not sure if Northwestern meets all need but have an awesome program). Take a year off, travel the world, freelance, practice writing FAST at a local community college, volunteer to understand how NGOs work…do anything to gather world experience and give yourself time to sort out your financial aid. Then try really really hard to find a school that’s first class AND generous for full ride. Polish tearsheets, etc. NYU is not the only game in the news biz by any means, and they just don’t meet need.
Hope this helps. You are about to embark on an awesome adventure. Do not weigh yourself down to do it!</p>
<p>To OWAIS – Re Plus Loan – the fact that g-ma doesn’t use credit won’t hurt her at all from what I can tell. I was approved and I DO NOT use credit. They are looking for instances of ADVERSE credit, and don’t seem to mind that you don’t usually USE credit (whereas banks base everything on a score, which you get by being in debt for EVERYTHING : ) Hi ho.</p>
<p>^^ I don’t think the Grandma *can *get a PLUS loan - those are for parents only (or independent students). Grandma is being looked at as a cosigner for a private loan - for which I think she would need a good credit rating.</p>
<p>Cosigning is a very big burden to take on. Not something I would ever ask someone to do or do for anyone else other than (some) very close family and only then if it was an amount of money I could afford to possibly lose (meaning not much). The cosigner is as responsible for the debt as you are and it will affect their credit rating. If Grandma is willing to cosign make sure she completely understands that she will be responsible for the debt - including being made to sell her possessions to pay the debt (I do know of a Grandma who had to sell her home because of trying to help her granddaughter this way). In all honesty I would be absolutely furious with either of my kids if they ever asked any of their grandparents to cosign a large loan and would heavily counsel the grandparents against doing so. (I should add that none of the grandparents could afford to lose a large sum of money).</p>
<p>If I were in the financial position to be able to lend someone money I would do that over cosigning a loan. It would be an amount of money that I could afford to lose (and would not resent losing) so would be lent with the attitude of it being, to a certain extent, a gift. Having it repaid would be a bonus. But cosigning a loan where I would have no control and my credit rating could be ruined before I was even aware of a problem - no.</p>
<p>$35,000 on the extended pay program is $267.00 per month. Of course the total interest paid on the loan is outrageous, but the program does work for some people. No matter what the $105,000 should be out of the question.</p>
<p>Sc is correct…I was confused…I thought OW meant that g-ma would cosign. Ignore my comment. If G-ma were to cosign for your mom on the Plus, for example, she would be good. If she were to cosign on a private, not so much. Banks like to see that you’ve borrowed (and paid back : ) money. Hi ho.</p>
<p>Thanks for all your answers.</p>
<p>Grandma will be co-signing for the PLUS loan. Not the private, since I am assuming that is a very comprehensive credit check and takes into account income, etc.</p>
<p>Mom will apply for the PLUS loan. If it is denied, I’ll see if grandma gets approved as a co-signer for the PLUS. </p>
<p>But I am still deciding between DePaul and Indiana, so I should probably get that decided first.</p>
<p>Is this for 2009-2010 school year? If so, isn’t this kind of late? Didn’t you give your response already by 5/1?</p>