At the moment, I’m petitioning for my financial aid because I’ve reached my maximum attempted credits. When I talked to a financial aid counselor, she believed that my petition is likely to be approved. However, there is also a chance that my financial aid may not be approved. Do you think I should take out a small private student loan for only a quarter, or would it be safe just to wait and see if my petition would get approved? My financial aid counselor said that I won’t be dropped from my courses for non-payment, but there is a late fee that I would need to pay early in the quarter if I haven’t paid yet.
No. But that’s my standard answer because I know someone in her late 60’s who is still paying her student loans. If it were me I’d stick to fewer classes, do well in them and use extra time to find a co-op or internship if money was getting tight to delay graduation and increase employment prospects at graduation. If this is your last quarter, you’ve already got plenty of work experience, and some great job prospects lined up to help you repay it within a year, then maybe.
I think that we need more information. Are you very close to graduating? Will you have a degree which makes it likely that you will get a job soon? How much new debt would you be looking at and how much total debt would you have? What is the interest rate on the private loan?
In the end you will have to pay everything that you owe the school in order to graduate, and to get a copy of your transcript.
How much in loans do you already have?
How much would the small loan for the quarter be and would it be for that one quarter only?
Are you looking for a job post graduation through the career center?