<p>Hi! I'm an incoming freshman at Wellesley College. After all the grant and outside scholarship money I received, I still have a parent contribution I need to pay each year ($12,519). Not including the transportation and personal expenses that are not included in the bill, Wellesley will cost me about $4335 per semester. However, I must pay for this bill myself. My father and step mother are unable/unwilling (not sure) to contribute money and I am not willing to accept money from my mother (I'll have to owe her my entire life...). Anyway, I was wondering which loan to take.</p>
<p>Unsubsidized Stafford Loan is at 6.8% interest rate... would I be able to get a lower interest rate private loan if my dad cosigns for it?</p>
<p>Any advice on what avenue to take?</p>
<p>I plan on working 12-20 hours a week during the school year and full time during the summer to start paying off my loans asap.</p>
<p>The stafford loan limit for your freshman year is $5500, and it will be disbursed 1/2 each semester. Where is the rest of your money coming from?</p>
<p>Did your parents apply for a Parent Plus loan? I don’t know the interest rate. </p>
<p>Another thought, take the Stafford loan, and pay the interest each year while you are in college. That will keep your balance to repay lower in the end.</p>
<p>You are only entitled to $5500 in loans as a freshman. That won’t quite meet the gap. If you can work and come up with some of the difference, that is the way to go unless your father or mother or other credit worthy adult will cosign a loan. That does put them on the hook for the loan as well, however, and the amount borrowed will go on their credit profile. If they have good credit, however, the interest rate could possibly be lower. Something to investigate.</p>
<p>Will your dad co-sign? And, will he do so for EACH school year? </p>
<p>I’m guessing that you and your dad have mended fences? In an earlier thread you said that your dad was kicking you out of the house in July. </p>
<p>As mentioned above, you can only borrow $5500 as a Stafford Direct loan…assuming that you don’t already have any in your current FA pkg.</p>
<p>We have mended fences and although he won’t be contributing, he is willing to cosign for a loan to cover my first year. I was hoping that I could find a private loan with a lower interest rate since my dad has good credit. He recently submitted an application with Sallie Mae and we are waiting to hear back. No, the $5500 stafford loan is not already included in my FA package.</p>
<p>First year… What about the following three?</p>
<p>I think he’ll cosign for me for the following three years if I need him to.</p>
<p>^^^</p>
<p>Will he qualify in future years? Each time he co-signs, his credit will take a hit. And is he still planning on quitting his job or going to part time?</p>
<p>So you live close to the college? If not you’ll need to figure out the transportation costs - at least once at Christmas and for the summer unless you plan to move off campus after freshman year and stay in the town working for the summer. Also check the college policy on dorms for Thanksgiving and Spring break. Some colleges let international kids and kids from far away stay in the dorm (no food usually) or you’ll have to find someone to go home with. Also don’t forget your books. This can be all over the place but my kids’ books generally run around $400 + or minus. You might be able to trim down from the COA alittle but you still need a transportation budget and a book budget.</p>
<p>Definitely accept the Stafford, you really have no other choice. Hopefully you are working and socking away money now, my kids can generally put away $3000 from memorial day to heading back to school so if you’ve been saving you might be able to hit this. A small PLUS loan $3-4,000 runs around $50 a month that needs to be paid. So at the end of four years the PLUS might run around $200 a month.</p>
<p>^^^</p>
<p>No, she lives in Washington…not at all close to W.</p>
<p>Oh, then she definitely needs to factor transportation and books as a cost…and one that will happen before she finds a job and any work/study dollars kick in. Sounds like she’ll need the full federal direct loan each year and some more money by August. It would be nice if she can at least pay the $50 or so for the PLUS loan (if only $3-4,000 is needed) and still have cash from working to save toward the next semester and any walking around money since the PLUS payments begin right away but she’s got bigger fish to fry than worrying about paying back federal direct immediately. If it happens that is good and if she can use a tuition payment program for whatever is owed that will help smooth over bumps hopefully.</p>
<p>Find out the interest rates and terms that you can get privately. If they are better than the unsubsidized Stafford, go right on ahead and have Pops sign.</p>
<p>What do you mean I shouldn’t be attending Wellesley? I’m attending a $58,000 school for $12,000 and that’s including transportation, book, and personal expenses. I already have enough money in my bank account to cover transportation, book, and personal expenses so I just need $4335 a semester to cover the rest… I appealed my FA and won over $16,000 in outside scholarships… I’m trying my best and I don’t appreciate you saying that I shouldn’t be attending Wellesley and I won’t listen.</p>
<p>Are the $16k in outside scholarships for $16k per year or for frosh year only at W? And, what did those scholarships get applied to?</p>
<p>I’m glad that you and your dad are reconciled. If he is ok about cosigning, then look into the loans. You have $5500 you can take out in your own name. To get more, your mom or dad would have to apply though PLUS and get rejected, which might not happen. IF they are approved, and don’t want to do a private agreement with you, and would rather co sign, so be it. When families are not working all in synch, sometimes you have to go the less beneficial routes for all concerned, and get what you can. </p>
<p>The interest rates of the private loans tend to be about the same as PLUS and Staffords, It depends on how good your co signer’s credit is and what their financial situation is. Be aware that you can be turned down for these loans if your dad’s credit is not up to snuff.</p>
<p>Well, it is just that in so many other threads they told you to consider other schools and it looked like you would be going to Washington… The last I saw you had this:</p>
<p>Wellesley:
Cost: $56,500
FA: $31,137 grant, $4,725 work study and loans
Cost after FA: $25,363</p>
<p>So even if you got 16,ooo that would still leave over 13,000 dollars a year for you to pay (the 4700 work study loans, plus the 9,000 left from the 25,000 figure). How much of your new package is loans? Was this 16,000 just a one time or will it continue over all 4 years. Can you really rely on your dad to pay year after year after year? Your relationship is fragile… I wouldn’t depend on him for anything… You are working so incredibly hard to go to this “dream” school. I don’t want you to be so underwater in debts or be like so many people and getting to your junior year and realizing you can’t borrow any more money and your dad has flaked out again. But this has been rehashed in other threads. You are determined. I hope it all works out.</p>
<p>The scholarship money was applied to cover my loans that the school gave me, work study, and some of my grant (federal policy unfortunately). Therefore I have no loans (from the school) and no workstudy. About $8000 of that money is renewable for four years. Therefore if my financial package stays the same, I can expect to not have loans or work study from Wellesley.</p>
<p>Final cost is $12,519 including personal expenses and transportation. I don’t expect to spend that much on personal expenses and transportation so it may not be that much. </p>
<p>Thank you all for your concern and advice. I understand that I had other options such as going to my state univeristy (although it would have been the same if not only a few thousand dollars cheaper) or community college (which I wouldn’t do), but going to Wellesley is for the experience as much as for the education. </p>
<p>I’m hoping that I can take out a Stafford and/or private loan, working during the school year and during the summer and pay off each year’s loan. Is that realistic?</p>
<p>I wouldn’t pay off any of the federal direct loan until you know you’re set for the next year and then if you were my kiddo I’d tell you to pay the interest, keep saving and pay down as much as you can when you graduate. Stuff happens and you want to keep your nose above water until you graduate. A private loan may not defer until you graduate depending on where you get the loan so that’s a different story. But that’s just my opinion.</p>
<p>*The scholarship money was applied to cover my loans that the school gave me, work study, and some of my grant (federal policy unfortunately). Therefore I have no loans (from the school) and no workstudy. About $8000 of that money is renewable for four years. Therefore if my financial package stays the same, I can expect to not have loans or work study from Wellesley.</p>
<p>Final cost is $12,519 including personal expenses and transportation. I don’t expect to spend that much on personal expenses and transportation so it may not be that much. *</p>
<p>Is the final cost $12,513 for THIS YEAR, but years 2, 3, and 4 will be at least $8k more each year because half your merit isn’t renewable? If so, then your shortfall those years will be $20k per year. So, you’ll end up with over $70k in debt???</p>
<p>I really don’t think your dad is going to co-sign (or qualify for) that much debt. you need to read the recent thread from the student who is half-way thru his education and his co-signer then refused to co-sign another loan. He’s stuck.</p>