<p>Let me put this out there: I do not qualify for ANY need-based FA. None. Nada. Zip. Honestly, I shouldn't--my family has a very healthy income. Unfortunately, little of that is to spare on my education. My mother almost exclusively supports me, but she only makes 1/6 of my family's total income; the rest belongs to my step-father. My mother has pledged what she can, but that is very little, and my step-father (whenever we have gotten him to pledge anything) has only gone as high as $10,000 a year. My college savings only add up to a total of $20,000 (so, only $5,000 a year). The colleges at which I'm looking to enroll have pricetags more in the $50-60,000 range. With the amount pledged by my parents, I still wouldn't have enough to attend my local private college. With all of the work and effort I've put into high school, I would hate to have to go from that to a community college or one of my state's sub-par state-schools.</p>
<p>I am willing to take out as large of a private loan as is needed, but I don't know where I can find one of sufficient size that i can actually obtain. Honestly, it needs to be something cosigner-free (my mother has insufficient credit, and my step-father simply refuses to cosign). Let me state this again: I am perfectly willing to take out a loan I will be paying until I die. I'm probably going to need something in the realm of $30-50,000 per year in private loans if I am to make this happen.</p>
<p>Does anybody know if it is possible for me to do this? Which specific loans are available for someone in my situation? Or is it completely impossible for someone in my circumstances to make this work?</p>
<p>It is not possible for a teenager right out of high school to get a loan of that amount without a cosigner. You will be able to get $5,500 in federal loans as a freshman; that amount goes up slightly for each of your four years.</p>
<p>It sounds to me like you have a budget of around $20K/year: $10K (parents) + $5K (college fund) + $5K (loans). </p>
<p>Per the EFC formulas, everyone expects your step-father to contribute. Given that he won’t, please, please, go the CC or in-state public school route.</p>
<p>Who tells you the state schools are sub-par? Your friends going to private schools? Their parents? The private schools you were accepted to? Who really benefits from your taking on all that debt? Do you know what it means to have $200k debt just starting out? Don’t be a tool.</p>
<p>If you have good grades and exam scores, you may qualify for some sizable scholarships. Take the time to read through more of the threads in this forum, and you should find links to all kinds of useful information. I’d post the links myself, but they are in the other computer and it is being hogged by another family member right now.</p>
<p>milkandsugar, anyone eligible for federal student aid can borrow $5,500 in Stafford loans, regardless of EFC. The subsidized/unsubsidized split only comes into play for those who are eligible for the subsidies.</p>
<p>Looking at the OP’s other posts, it appears he’s from Oklahoma. The University of Oklahoma is a fine state flagship with extensive research programs. I’d guess you might even get significant merit aid/scholarships with those stats.</p>
<p>The simple fact is, absurdly expensive private colleges are a luxury and your parents have decided not to pay for that luxury. Borrowing $150,000+ for such a school is not only totally impossible, but patently stupid.</p>
<p>No one is going to lend you that much without a co-signer even if you are 18… You have no income/assets to demonstrate the ability to pay back that much money. Also, you may think that you wouldn’t mind paying all that debt back UNTIL the payments are preventing you from paying your rent and other life necessities.</p>
<p>Are you a senior? What schools did you apply to? Did you apply to any of your state schools? What are your stats?</p>
<p>Did you apply to Univ of Oklahoma or OSU? Those are good schools. </p>
<p>And, yes, private univs are a luxury…and not necessary.</p>
<p>What about your bio dad? Will he contribute?</p>
<p>ACT (highest composite w/breakdown): 30 (comp), 32 (math), 33 (reading), 33 (writing), 26 (science)
SAT II: 670 (US History), 740 (Lit)
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.94
Weighted GPA: 4.40
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 8th%</p>
<p>It looks like your stats were high enough to get some good merit scholarships at various schools. If you didn’t apply to any of those schools, then you weren’t well advised considering your financial situation. Didn’t you ask your parents BEFORE applying? If you knew that your parents wouldn’t pay for a pricey private, then why didn’t you protect yourself by applying to some schools that would have given you merit for your stats?</p>
<p>^m2C: it is regretabley my experience that most parents don’t divulge their true financial limitations until AFTER their child has already applied and been accepted into schools the family cannot under any circumstances afford. It is, I think, a question of self-imposed shame, or a blind hope that the child will not get into the pricey schools anyway. And what child would understand this dynamic enough to insist on parenting their parent?</p>
<p>Dunnin, It sounds like this family HAS had conversations about the financial aspects of college. The student says the stepfather has promised up to $10K/year “whenever we have gotten him to pledge anything” which makes me think they’ve had this conversation several times. The student knows exactly how much is available from parents and savings and is asking if it’s possible to take the rest out in private loans without cosigners.</p>
<p>Your mom should apply for a parent plus loan, and because you say she has limited credit, she’ll most likely be declined for that loan. You should be able to take out additional unsubsidized loans.</p>
<p>Also, your parents, if they still do, should probably stop declaring you a dependent on their taxes, as independent students can take out more federal student loans. Perhaps you would even qualify for need-based financial aid, but that would be for your sophomore or junior year of college. But if you become an independent, you’ll probably have to demonstrate that you are financially independent (get a job.)</p>
<p>I understand what you’re going through. I’ll need about $53,000-$60,000 to go to my first choice. I wouldn’t mind taking out thousands of dollars in loans, but the only problem is getting them.</p>
<p>I’m considering community colleges that offer guaranteed admission to a UC. I look at it this way, if I go to a community college for two years, even as an out-of-state student, I’ll still pay less money than if I went to a university for one year. I can also become independent and become an instate resident. It isn’t all bad.</p>
<p>Azurra, if you “wouldn’t mind taking out (hundreds of) thousands of dollars in loans,” you haven’t fully and rationally considered the consequences of such an action.</p>
<p>Also, the amount of additional unsubsidized loans offered to a student whose parent has PLUS loans declined is only a few thousand dollars - nowhere near the dollar figure being contemplated here.</p>
<p>Furthermore, it takes much more than not being claimed as a dependent on taxes for the federal aid process to consider someone an independent student.</p>
<p>Azurra, that’s not a foolproof plan. My mother has terrible credit - I mean her credit score is below a 500. We had the same logic for my younger sister (who is attending a public university and needed the money to cover transportation costs) because we thought there was no possible way my mother could be approved for a loan. She was. (And she once again proved that there is a reason they don’t give some people credit, as she borrowed more than she needed and spent all of my sister’s summer tuition and transportation money - $6,000 - in 2 months. On frivolous things.)</p>
<p>Azurra, you are also mistaken that you can become either independent or an in-state resident. It doesn’t matter if you support yourself; you are a dependent student until you are 24 unless your parents die or you have a child, get married, or join the military. Declaring dependency on tax status has NOTHING to do with the FAFSA. Your parents can stop claiming you on their taxes all they want; you’ll still be a dependent student until you are 24 years old, even if you live by yourself and work by yourself. (My brother is 22 years old, owns his own house and works full-time making about $40K per year. He hasn’t lived at home since he was 18 years old. He’s STILL considered a dependent student, which is why he’s waiting until he’s 24 to go back to school.)</p>
<p>You also cannot earn residency in CA just by living there (and doing school there) a year; you would have to prove you were independent of your parents (which is extremely difficult) and you would have to not attend any kind of school there for the 12 months that you were trying to establish residency. Generally, a dependent student is considered a resident of the state her parents live in. </p>
<p>Bluntly put, both of you are being foolish. I know that when you are on the front end, attending your “dream college” looks more important than anything else, even more important than financial security in your future. But when you are on the back end, you realize how little it actually matters. The income differential for those expensive private schools usually isn’t worth the massive amounts of money they would require (ex: $150K at 8% over 25 years is $1152 a month, or roughly $14,000 a year. I don’t think that your salary coming out is going to be enough over $14K per year to justify borrowing the money. That’s assuming that there even IS a salary difference, which many studies have concluded that there isn’t when you compare students of equal ability). And those college memories that you valued so much just become warm fuzzy feelings that are greatly overpowered by the stress of trying to make a $1000+ loan payment every month. You can make equally good memories at a school you can afford.</p>
<p>Even if you COULD get these huge private loans, don’t mortgage your future for 4 years of fuzzy memories and a fancy diploma. 25 years is a loooooooong time to fork over $1000+ a month, and especially early on, that’s like to to be 1/4 to 1/3 of your salary. Gross. If you’re lucky.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Student was not claimed as an income tax dependent by any individual for the two tax years immediately preceding the term for which resident classification is requested, and</p></li>
<li><p>Student is self-sufficient. (employment, loans, financial aid, savings, etc)</p></li>
<li><p>Verification and documentation</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Any unsubsidized loans that the OP may receive, of course, would not alone be enough to cover his college COA, but attempting to receive PLUS loans as well as additional unsubsidized loans is much safer than private loans, especially is the OP is looking to take out as much as his entire cost of education.</p>
<p>Also, the OP is claiming that his COA is anywhere from $ 50,000 to $60,000. He said he is willing to take out the maximum amount that he needs to fund his education. He did not mention scholarships, institutional grants, or any other non-federal assistance/aid besides loans. So don’t assume that he is going to take out $50,000 every year.</p>
<p>Azurra:
Becoming financially independent so one can earn residency for tuition purposes is not the same as gaining independent status on the FAFSA. Nor do loans or grants count as “supporting oneself.” You have to earn your income. Borrowing it or being given it will not qualify you. No one can be helping you (this includes giving you housing free of charge).</p>
<p>One of the biggest qualifications you did not even touch on is the intent to make the state your permanent home for the foreseeable future. You can be denied purely on these grounds if the person dealing with your case believes you came only for academic reasons. We’re hurting for money. I doubt in state residency for tuition purposes is going to be handed out as easily as you seem to think it will. It’s always been difficult to get and I imagine it is only going to get more difficult.</p>
<p>Also remember that earning enough to support oneself would more than likely disqualify one for federal grant money and the state grant money is reserved for those who graduated high school as California residents.</p>
<p>Please do your research better in the future. Posting such incorrect information confuses others about the process. You are in for a very rude surprise if you truly believe what you are posting and attempt to pursue it.</p>
<p>NOTE: All the above residency for tuition purpose qualifications are for the California UCs specifically. CSUs and CCCs have slightly different, though still very similar, requirements.</p>
<p>juillet:
I’ve found nothing that says one can’t attend school for 12 months prior to earn residency for tuition purposes. It probably hurts one’s case that one is there because one wants to make California your permanent home for the foreseeable future, but it is not an automatic disqualification.</p>
<p>Attending school while trying to gain residency for tuition purposes is an issue in some other states, though.</p>