<p>So pretty much I have no clue how I am going to be attending college come fall. My parents have horrid credit, my other family refuses to cosign for a loan. I don't have a car so commuting is not an option. I'm gonna have my mom try and get the plus loan but she probably won't qualify so that leads to another 4,000 addition to Stafford loan, totaling to 9,500 for both of the loans. So I would only need another 11 grand and i have no clue how to accumulate this. Whether I go to state school or lasell college I am stuck with this dilemma. I am also seventeen so getting a loan without a cosigner is impossible. Please help me out! I'm going through terrible stress just thinking about this.</p>
<p>Are you a senior? How about giving us a little bit more information, like what your choices are in terms of colleges, and their costs. Don’t have to name them but just give us an idea where you are. </p>
<p>A lot of kids do not have cars when they finish high school. In fact, few do. For commuting purposed, it’s a matter of getting a ride to the college in the morning and get picked up in the evening. As you get to know people there, you might find options that way. But that is how my cousins went to college. They commuted with a parent, a friend or a neighbor dropping them off at the college in the morning on days they had classes, and getting picked up in the evening. Get all the public transportation options and stops that get you to those commuter schools so that if a ride to the college itself is difficult, drop off at a bus stop could do the trick. Once at school, look for some jobs there and on the bus line and you might be able to save up for a car.</p>
<p>1) You don’t have to go to college at all this fall. You can take a year off, work and save some money, and make a better list of places to apply to.</p>
<p>2) If you feel that you MUST be in college this fall, you need to contact the financial aid offices at the places that you have applied to, and find out more about your options. Did you not apply for financial aid, or is it that your parents make too much money and you don’t qualify for financial aid other than student loans?</p>
<p>3) Most college students in this country work full or part time and commute to a community college or local public university where they can study part time. Think about that too.</p>
<p>my other family refuses to cosign for a loan</p>
<p>Don’t be upset with your relatives. Most parents won’t cosign because new grads usually can’t make the high loan payments, so certainly most relatives won’t take that risk on either.</p>
<p>You may need to take a gap year. Ask your local state school for a year delay in enrollment. Get a job and save for a car. Then use the car to commute to college. </p>
<p>Try to get a job near where a parent works, so you can commute with them. Or, if your area has public transportation, then use that. </p>
<p>Many kids can’t go right to college from high school for similar reasons. Taking out a bunch of loans is NOT the answer. Newish grads just don’t earn enough to pay them back.</p>
<p>I did get a really good financial package which is why going to a private school is the same as a public school. I don’t want to lose a year of education towards my degree and i can’t commute because I do not have a car as I mentioned above</p>
<p>Sent from my PH44100 using CC</p>
<p>Yes I am a senior and i intend on attending lasell which I currently need 15 grand to attend compared to the 42 grand it initially costs</p>
<p>Sent from my PH44100 using CC</p>
<p>You need to face reality. It doesn’t matter that this private will cost the same as a public. You don’t have the money for a public. </p>
<p>You don’t have the means to get that $15k. According to you, you can’t even work to earn a few thousand to put towards that because you don’t have a car. So, where do you think the money is going to come from? the end of a rainbow?</p>
<p>I have a part time job right now and I make a decent pay for being a high school student in retail, but the majority of my money goes towards my parents. I have no clue how to obtain the money hense this post.</p>
<p>You mention that you cannot commute, because you do not have a car. Is there a college closer to you? Is there public transportation? If you went to a college closer to you could you live at home? </p>
<p>The challenge is that it is VERY unlikely you will be able to close the gap between the scholarships and loans and what LaSalle is asking you to pay. Is this Cost of Attendance (including money for books, transportation, fees, incidentals), or is it direct billed costs (tuition, room, board)?</p>
<p>I would contact the financial aid office at the private university you want to attend, they may be willing to work with you and you can ask them about the appeal process on your financial aid. Start applying to outside scholarships, use fastweb.com, ■■■■■■■■■■, ect.
Apply to your local community college! Also do a search to see if there are any community colleges with dorms in your area/state. Attending a community college for a year or two will save you so much money and allow you to still work on your education. Schools do not dismiss you for attending community college when you apply as a transfer, especially if you attended for financial reasons. You can do a lot at community college that will help you get more money when you apply as a transfer: join the honors program, become a member of Phi Theta Kappa or Golden Key if your school participates, some have intarmurals, and clubs to get involved in. I got a $15,000 scholarship based on my grades and PTK membership alone to the number 2 art school in the country.
Also look into using public transportation in your city, you can also use craigslist.com to find ride shares with other students, etc. If you really want an education, you will find a way to accomplish it.</p>
<p>Since we don’t know where you live and where your state schools are in relation to you - it’s difficult for us to help. However, in CT where we live - the local state school is about $6500 year tuition and $8000 for room and board. So a student who couldn’t swing the $8000 for room and board could spend maybe $2000 on a car and commute for the $6500 a year. The savings of not living on campus leaves more than enough to purchase a used car and insurance and gas with a part time job.</p>
<p>I will be writing an appeal to Lasell not LaSalle. And yea that’s pretty much what I have been doing searching for scholarships. I will look into community colleges with dorms though Thanks. I just really wanted to be the first one in my family to go and graduate from a four year schools. Being a first generation ain’t so easy</p>
<p>Sent from my PH44100 using CC</p>
<p>You can still be the first to graduate from a four year school! You could go to community college for a year, make great grades, be involved and be given enough aid next year to attend Lasell if you want, and you work hard.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Loans are not your solution. Be thankful you cannot get the loans. The Federal loans you can get without a cosigner (although maybe you have to be 18 when you enter college). That is the max you should consider leaving school with. And, if you get the max, it will take a lot of your pay when you graduate.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>$20,000/yr in loans??? that is $80,000 when you graduate (assuming you graduate in 4 years). Do you have any idea what the payments on that amount will be when you graduate (don’t forget to add the deferred interest to the loan amounts)? If you don’t, and you don’t have any idea how much you will make when you graduate, and you have no idea how much it will cost to support yourself after graduation, then you should not be taking out the loans.</p>
<p>You should seriously consider the 8 year plan. Work part-time, go to school part-time.</p>
<p>Yes twenty grand in loans, I understand this and I want to take that risk. My major has a lot of risk and potential success to it. The eight year plan won’t work so kindly with my major. </p>
<p>Sent from my PH44100 using CC</p>
<p>You can’t get 20 grand in loans a year without a co-signer. So you need to come up with another plan.</p>
<p>I know this. Being under 18 i can’t get any loan this is why my issue is so sticky!</p>
<p>When do you turn 18?</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>This is not a business you are starting where you can walk away from the loan if it doesn’t work out. This is your life. Only borrow what you know you can pay back. Not what you hope you can pay back if the stars align. If there is a lot of risk and a lot of potential, then that means there is a huge risk of failure. Are you willing to pay the loans if you do not succeed?</p>
<p>Federal loans have income based repayment, and you are their slave for 25 years (think the age of your parents before the loans are gone). Private loans are not so generous. You have to pay, regardless. Also, student loans are bankruptcy protected - you can wipe them out by declaring bankruptcy.</p>
<p>I turn 18 in mid September, but i am not sure how likely it would be for me to take out a loan for the second semester</p>
<p>No matter the risk and if you are willing to take it. Unless you can find someone else who is willing to take that risk along with you, there really isn’t anything you can do. Even when you turn 18 you won’t be able to get those kind of loans without a cosigner. And anyone who would cosign those loans isn’t very bright (unless they are rich) because they will be stuck with them when you default. The kind of debt you are talking is going to cost you close to $1000 a month starting right after graduation. How would you possibly pay this, and still keep a roof over your head and eat? It’s not realistic for you - or anyone who would even consider cosigning.</p>