<p>I was just accepted for Fall 2014, and since this is my top choice, I will not be applying anywhere else if this gets figured out. My mom has not sent a child to college before, so we don’t really know what we are looking at. My step-father and mother combined make over $200k, so financial aid will not be an option. Also, my parents have blessed me with an amazing car and a wonderful upbringing, so they are not willing to take on the debt themselves, which I do not expect them to. My mom says I can only attend if the student loan covers the price to attend. I’m not really sure what that means. I’m coming out-of-state, and I really have no idea how much student loans can be or how this process works. Does the student loan only cover part of it, or will it pay for the whole tuition? I would really appreciate any help you could give me, because at the moment, I am very confused and overwhelmed. I don’t want to lose my dream because of money issues.</p>
<p>Have you looked at the scholarships provides for qualifying out-of-state students? Start with that. </p>
<p>[Out-of-State</a> Scholarships - Undergraduate Scholarships - The University of Alabama](<a href=“http://scholarships.ua.edu/types/out_of_state.html]Out-of-State”>http://scholarships.ua.edu/types/out_of_state.html)</p>
<p>I’m not sure about the ins and outs of financial need-based aid, especially with the income you’ve listed. I know there is a form to complete called the FAFSA. I’m guessing you are the only dependent in college since you are the first your mom has sent (unless you have step-siblings in college). That matters because the EFC (estimated family contribution) is roughly based on income and number of dependents in college. I don’t believe Bama meets financial need but there are student loans available. Much depends on your EFC. </p>
<p>I’m sure someone else will chime in and help more. I hope you can get one of the automatic scholarships. That will depend on your test scores and GPA.</p>
<p>You should be receiving a financial aid page that is in your school account online. It will explain your bill and what is expected from your family. If you filled out the fafsa, it will show your which loans you may qualify for.</p>
<p>Would you consider selling your car and purchasing a less expensive one or going without a car? That would likely save you money in the long run.</p>
<p>How much will your mom and stepfather pay per year? Subtract that amount and the amount of any scholarships from the total cost of attendance, which includes tuition, fees, books, housing, food, travel, other living expenses, etc. Note that most costs will increase each year, though housing will often cost less after freshman year if you live off campus and have a smaller meal plan. If the resulting amount is above the limits for Federal student loans, UA is not very affordable for you as private student loans will require a cosigner.</p>
<p>What are your stats? You will really need scholarship money to make it affordable without assistance from your parents. Look at the scholarship link above and see if you qualify or are close to qualifying. You can also look for outside scholarships. There should be some available in your local area and you can also look at sources like cappex or fastweb.</p>
<p>With an income of over $200K you won’t qualify for any need based grants. To put it in perspective as a single mother with an income of around $60,000 my income is too high to get any federal grants. </p>
<p>The limit on federal loans for freshman is ONLY $5500 per year - the current estimated cost of attendance for out of state students is just under $12,000 per SEMESTER or about $24000 per year. That means you will need to come up with approximately $19,000 per year (you can reduce those costs by staying in a traditional dorm, buying used books or renting books, not spending much on personal expenses), but there will still be a SIGNIFICANT amount to pay if you don’t qualify for scholarships.</p>
<p>You can make several thousand a year working summers or with a part time job on campus that can pay some of those costs.</p>
<p>There are private loans available, but you will need a co-signer to qualify and are generally NOT a good idea as your payments may not be manageable after you graduate.</p>
<p>You could try discussing with your parents and see if they would consider loaning you the money if they have it available and make an agreement to pay them back after graduation. That would then be interest free and wouldn’t impact your (or their if they must co-sign) credit report.</p>
<p>Without scholarship funds or assistance from your parents, the cost really is not going to be affordable.</p>
<p>My parents have agreed to cosign on private loans. Will these private loans cover all of it?</p>
<p>Private loans are not a great idea. What automatic scholarships do you qualify for?</p>
<p>Looking through your old posts, your GPA was around 3.0 so you aren’t eligible for the automatic scholarships.</p>
<p>You can get as much in private loans as your parents credit qualifies them for, so if they have excellent credit, it is ‘possible’ to borrow the money.</p>
<p>However it is a BAD idea. Use a calculator from a site like: [Student</a> loan repayment calculator](<a href=“Mapping Your Future: Page not found”>Mapping Your Future: Page not found) to see what your payments would be.</p>
<p>If you were to borrow all the money needed (approximately $19,000 per year) your payments would be over $550/month for 20 years and that doesn’t even count the payments you’d have to make on the federal loans. That’s how people get into SERIOUS financial problems. That will stay on your credit report until it’s paid off making getting other credit more difficult, not to mention how economically you’d have to live for the next 20 years while you’re making payments. While your friends are buying new cars, then houses, you’d be putting ALL your money into loan payments.</p>
<p>You really need to look into private scholarships or get your parents to agree to help or sell your car… borrowing more than $80,000 for college is NOT a good idea even if your parents would qualify.</p>
<p>Read this article to put payments into perspective:</p>
<p>[How</a> Much Student Loan Debt Is Too Much? - My Money (usnews.com)](<a href=“http://money.usnews.com/money/blogs/my-money/2013/01/30/how-much-student-loan-debt-is-too-much]How”>http://money.usnews.com/money/blogs/my-money/2013/01/30/how-much-student-loan-debt-is-too-much)</p>
<p>"Your Budget with $75,000 in Student Loans (6 percent of borrowers). The average college graduate would probably need to move back in with mom and dad at this point. It’s either that or find lots of roommates.</p>
<p>You would likely be paying about $750 per month in student loans. The average graduate with a four-year degree earns about $43,000. At this income level, your loan payments would be your second-largest expense next to housing, and would be close to what you are spending in food and transportation combined. You would need to take drastic action to make loan payments, probably by foregoing any retirement savings and cutting back on entertainment. Even so, you might not be able to find ways to make ends meet. Someone earning around $60,000 could probably afford this payment more comfortably."</p>
<p>My parents are going to help some, but not a lot. I also have about $2,000 left in my savings account (which will be gone soon- UA Early College) and about $5,000 in savings bonds. I plan on finishing in three years, because I will enter my freshman year with 30 credit hours or more. I also have paid internships lined up with my step-dad’s company that will pay about 30k a year, most of which will go into savings. I do plan on attending graduate school too, but that will most likely be in-state, since I plan on moving to an apartment by my last year of undergraduate. The starting salary for a job with his company would be 60k for my field, but I could get offered a higher paying job with another company out-of-state because of my mother’s connections. So with that information, do you think private loans would be an okay option? Thank you for all the help by the way.</p>
<p>Senior14RT - I hate to start with this but it’s probably not a good idea to skip applying to other schools, hoping that the $$ works out with UA. The earlier you apply elsewhere the more likely you would be to get any scholarship money.
My D just started UA this month and it was high on her list but, like you, $$ and loan considerations played a big part in the decision.
First - the cost of attendance. I have conflicting numbers from what jrcsmom posted. I’m looking at our bill we just paid and out of state tuition by itself was about $23K per year. The university gave us a COA of about $42K per year. Yes, that estimate did include their opinions on travel and personal costs. But the basics for us were this 23K for tuition + 8800 for Room + 1100 for books + 3300 for required meal plan and dining dollars = $36,200 for the year without counting variable class fees (about 350 for her first semester), travel and personal $$. Yes, there are less expensive dorms but I believe even with cheaper housing those numbers are not going to drop under $30K per year for COA.
How you come up with how to cover that cost something you’ll have to dig into and research - Fed loan, Parent help and or loan, private loan, UA scholarships, private scholarships, etc.
As mentioned above Federal loans for the 1st year limit YOU to $5500. Your parents can do a Parent Plus loan. You MUST do a FAFSA to get any Federal loans, so don’t skip it because you think you can’t get grant\subsidized money because your parents make to much. Then you’d look at private loans. I personally agree with other posters that private loans are, at a minimum, a difficult choice to go with.</p>
<p>My D scored high enough on the SAT where she was granted a full tuition scholarship and is getting $2500 from the engineering dept. That enabled her to make her emotional first choice a realistic choice. Without that she would just not be there.</p>
<p>I saw your GPA but you might want to look closely at the UA automatic merit scholarships and compare your ACT and or SAT. Maybe you’re close to a qualifying score? I have not seen this years offers but there may be at least partial scholarships with a 3.0 GPA and a high enough test score. I’m also wondering if you can show your parents the real costs you are looking they might be more inclined to help.</p>
<p>Good luck on achieving your goal of attending UA and Roll Tide.</p>
<p>Yes, txdad your numbers are more acurate. When I searched for COA on UA’s website the number I pulled seemed to be just for tuition, so that $24,000 per year doesn’t include living expenses which will be substantial, then other expenses like travel, books, course fees, etc.</p>
<p>The information and advice here is really very good. </p>
<p>We are in-state, but we’re not honors. We’re paying “full retail,” so if you can record the scores needed to waive OOS tuition premium, our experience may help.</p>
<p>If you were my kid, here’s what we would do. For what it’s worth, it’s what we did.</p>
<p>Keep taking the tests (and tutoring or prep classes if you can find a good one) to at least make the economics “doable.” Some tough honesty and self-assessment may be required. </p>
<p>Bu-bye amazing car. Depending on how amazing the car is, this can annually save thousands in payments, insurance, and maintenance.</p>
<p>Have an honest discussion on what the parents would be willing to “cash flow.” That is, what level of monthly payments will the folks commit without any borrowing at all. If it’s a car payment + insurance, that’s probably $5 - 10K a year right there.</p>
<p>There are a few homework-friendly jobs on campus. My niece found a job at Bama that had flexible hours, within walking distance of her dorm. It’s difficult to let go of the grades-first philosophy, but many work in college, and somehow the world keeps spinning on its axis.</p>
<p>Finally, it’s not in our family tradition to use debt, except for real emergencies – dad gets layed off, that sort of thing. And even then, it would only be to finish the school year, not a 4 year plan. I recognize that we’re a bit odd in that philosophy, but that’s OK with us. I suggest that you be cautious with the reverse-logic of “how much can I borrow?” It will be a big number, and if you borrow it all, you won’t like the depth of the debt hole you would be digging for yourself. (Student loans are not bankruptable.)</p>
<p>Hope this helps.</p>
<p>Apologies if everyone is already aware of this but I thought it might be useful to point out that books and class fees are probably eligible for the American Opportunity Tax Credit.</p>
<p>[American</a> Opportunity Tax Credit: Questions and Answers](<a href=“http://www.irs.gov/uac/American-Opportunity-Tax-Credit:-Questions-and-Answers]American”>http://www.irs.gov/uac/American-Opportunity-Tax-Credit:-Questions-and-Answers)</p>
<p>Isn’t the parents’ income too high to qualify for the credit? I think it’s means tested. I know that we’ve never qualified for any credits or those stimulus rebates.</p>
<p>Senior14…how much will your parents pay each year? How much czn you earn each summer working for your stepdad? (don’t save that money for grad school, use it for college).</p>
<p>If you didn’t go to Bama, and you went to a Mich school, how much would your parents pay there? </p>
<p>No one should borrow a lot for undergrad.</p>
<p>For the OP tax credit probably won’t apply, but may for others.</p>
<p>"The American Opportunity Tax Credit modifies the existing Hope Credit. The AOTC makes the Hope Credit available to a broader range of taxpayers, including many with higher incomes and those who owe no tax. It also adds required course materials to the list of qualifying expenses and allows the credit to be claimed for four post-secondary education years instead of two. Many of those eligible will qualify for the maximum annual credit of $2,500 per student.</p>
<p>The full credit is available to individuals whose modified adjusted gross income is $80,000 or less, or $160,000 or less for married couples filing a joint return. The credit is phased out for taxpayers with incomes above these levels. These income limits are higher than under the existing Hope and Lifetime Learning Credits.</p>
<p>The AOTC applied to tax years 2009 and 2010 under ARRA. The credit was extended to apply for tax years 2011 and 2012 by the Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2010. The American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 extended the AOTC for five years through December 2017."</p>
<p>Here’s the link:</p>
<p>[American</a> Opportunity Tax Credit](<a href=“http://www.irs.gov/uac/American-Opportunity-Tax-Credit]American”>American Opportunity Tax Credit | Internal Revenue Service)</p>
<p>I understand where everyone is coming from, but my parents will not let me sell my car, and the job I will be taking on will give me 30k a year as an undergraduate student…most of which I would be saving to pay future loans. Not only that, but I have already been promised a job with my step-dad’s company with a starting salary of 60k when I graduate. I was not asking if the debt was a good idea or not, I was asking if private loans would cover all of my tuition. I don’t mean to sound rude, but no one is understanding what I am asking. My parents are not worried about future debt because of what I have already been offered, we just want to know if the private loans will cover all of my tuition.</p>
<p>Since you will be getting paid $30K per year as an undergrad, you should use that money to fund your undergraduate tuition, then you would only have to borrow the rest from your private loans to cover all of your fees. If you’re getting private loans, not from a gov program or FA package, then the terms of those loans will be determined by your bank.</p>
<p>I did answer your question back in post #8 -</p>
<p>you can get as much in private loans as your parents/co-signers credit qualifies them for.<br>
Private student loans are in essence just private loans from the bank. Just like if you/they were going to buy a car or a house the bank would evaluate their credit report - compare their income and assets with their current debt and make a decision on whether or not they qualify for the entire amount needed.</p>
<p>Issues with private loans - the interest rates may be variable unlike a federal loan when rates are set by the government - READ THE SMALL PRINT!, unlike a fedral loan where loans are deferred until after graduation, private loans may require payments beginning immediately - READ THE SMALL PRINT!, like federal loans these loans are not dischargable in bankruptcy, but in some cases federal loans can be forgiven - working as a teacher in certain areas, working for some non-profits, the school you go to closing before you finish your degree program, or the death of the student - private loans will not be forgiven for any of the above reasons, federal loans have many payment plans available including income based and income contingent plans for those that have difficult paying - private loans do not need to make any such repayment plans available.</p>
<p>It does not make ANY economic sense to save money and pay loans later unless you are getting federally subsized loans - the interest on all other loans will accure during that time and you will have the same amount of money in the bank but owe more back on the loans. Use the money to pay whatever expenses you have imeediately and keep borrowing to a minimum. </p>
<p>You mention having internships lined up for $30K/year - just for the summers, so you will really only be making $7500/year or for entire semesters? If you work 3 summer months at $30K/year for $7500 for 2 summers, that’s only $15,000 and then if you graduate in 3 years, the 3rd summer will be full time employment after graduation. Exactly how many weeks will you be working for exactly what rate of pay for how many time periods? That’s necessary to know to know exactly how much you’ll have to contribute to school.</p>
<p>So back to the previous point - if you have $7,500 each year working internships and put that money into expenses, that’s $7,500 less you will need to borrow and repay later, if you borrow that money and interest accures on it, you still only have $7,500 in the bank, but will then owe $7,500 + interest so you ‘lose money’ - it makes NO economic sense.</p>
<p>Based on the numbers from previous posts you will owe $30,000-40,000 per year depending on choice of dorm, if you want to join a sorority, what your travel expenses will be, how much you spend in personal expenses. You say you are going to graduate in 3 years, so a total of $90,000-120,000. You mention having $5,000 in savings bonds, so a total of $85,000-115,000. You say you want to save the money you earn to repay loans later and you haven’t mentioned how much your parents might contribute, so let’s say you have to borrow $100,000 for 3 years of school. Based on a 3-4% interest rate over 20 years of payments, your payments will be approximately $600/month and may be higher the interest rate for private loans will be based on your parents credit.</p>
<p>There’s the adage that you ‘shouldn’t count your chickens…’ and that you shouldn’t rely on the fact that the job for $60,000/year is guaranteed 3 or 4 years from now, you have no way of knowing what will happen between now and then, but saying that you do get the job paying $60,000/year you will bring home just over $3,000/month (trust me, I see my paychecks - of course that is after insurance costs and small 401K contribution are withheld). You will owe AT LEAST $600 of that in loan payments every month. That leaves you with $2400 to live on - what will you have to pay for housing - it can be $1000 or more in high cost of living areas or less than $500 in lower cost regions, utilities, will you have car payments, car insurance, how much will you spend on food, what do you spend on clothing, on entertainment. Do a budget! Figure out what your living expenses will be based on where you will live, be honest with yourself - if you can’t make ends meet, you’re the only one that’s going to be hurt (well, your parents too if they co-sign and you default on the loans)… do you ever want to buy a house? when are you going to save money for a down payment? do you ever want to travel/take vacations? where is that money going to come from? </p>
<p>Is it possible? Yes</p>
<p>Is it still a BAD idea? Yes</p>
<p>Can you clarify? If you’re living in Alabama going to school, when would you be earning that $30k per year as an undergrad??? Are you saying that your step-dad will be paying you $10k per month during the summer?</p>
<p>Anyway, if you do earn $30k per year, then you may not need ANY private loans…or maybe just small ones. With the $30k earnings and $5500 student loan, you’d have your essentials paid for.</p>