<p>I'm taking out 20k a yr/ for a private institution. They gave me $10,000 in aid, but the rest is covered by 20K of private loan.</p>
<p>So by the time I graduate, I will incur about 80K of loans (excluding the interest, which Im paying during school).</p>
<p>Am I assuming alot of debt as an undergraduate? What can I do to maximize my chances for more aid? My EFC on the FAFSA was around ~17000, but my parents paid for my 4 older siblings' education. However, two of them have moved out now, and they are still recovering from such a financial blow.</p>
<p>Is there anyway I could persuade my institution's financial aid to give me more money? Thanks, any help is appreciated</p>
<p>i doubt you can persuade them. most you can do is try to get some scholarships and school grants. </p>
<p>but that is way too much for undergrad. what school is this and what degree did you have in mind?</p>
<p>i dont mean to be harsh but at that amount, it will take you forever to recover unless you will make alot of money off your occupation afterwards.</p>
<p>The amount seems about average for a person attending a private institution. I see high private loans all the time. My suggestion is to consider only taking what you TRULY need to cover expenses while you look for alternate means of funding. Scholarships can ease the necessity of private loans, but will typically require a lot of work (such as writing lengthy essays). If your FA package doesn't include Federal Work Study, you may want to discuss this option with your FA Counselor. While it isn't much, it can reduce your need for some of those loans.</p>
<p>That is way above the average for virtually any undergrad college. The averages are around $20K or less total for 4 years. (Subscribe to US News and look at the real figures.) </p>
<p>It is a huge amount of debt. </p>
<p>To give you some idea here is what the finaid.com calculator shows you paying back for 10 years:</p>
<p>Now try to guess what your salary might be coming out of college. Then take out rent, food, health insurance, taxes, clothes, car and car insurance, etc. Can you make those payments?</p>
<p>Really - do you have a financial safety in your mix? Maybe it deserves a second look.</p>
<p>Actually, the private university where I work is much closer to 20-28K per year, depending on whether you plan to live on campus. Private colleges and universities are much more expense than public schools, as they do not receive the state funding publics do. </p>
<p>Now, depending on when a student applies for aid, their GPA, test scores, etc...many private schools award about half of the total cost as School-based scholarships. However, some students who are late in applying, for various reasons, are shelling out more in private loans than they are receiving in school-based scholarships.</p>
<p>As a financial aid counselor, I see many coming into Graduate programs who have reached their undergraduate limits. I also see many still completing thier undergrad degrees who have to rely solely on private loans to cover thier out of pocket expenses because they have already reached their Federal limits. That's $46,000.00 for those who are not familiar with Stafford Loan Limitations. Many of the students I see that have exhausted their federal limits and have incurred almost as much in private loans. Sometimes, these are "career students"....students who make a careeer out of going to school so they "never" have to repay their loans. Others have chosen expensive four-year private institutions. Going private (schools and loans) can land oneself into a mountain of never-ending debt.</p>
<p>Nikkil, Thanks for the great info. I am seeing this too, and it is a problem. Those who are taking out large loans as an undergraduate really need to look at this picture carefully as Weenie's analysis is about what it entails if you do not go on to professional or grad school. You are caught in a pretty tight financial web. My son who has NO loans is barely making it at his job right out of college and he is living with us, something that makes him rankle, but even without his car expenses, it would be tough for him to squeeze out rent in this area at his pay, and his pay is a bit more than many get. An undergraduate loan would have been a disaster.</p>
<p>Nikkil: Are you saying that you work for a college whose undergrad students graduate, on average, with over $80K in debt? If so, I'd like to know what school that is and compare that figure with what they report publicly. Thanks.</p>
<p>I am saying that I see many students where I work who have exhausted their Aggregate Loan Limits before they graduate with their Bachelor's degree. I also see many of those who have already taken 10-30K in private loans. Like I said, the cost of education at our institution, when one calculates all necessary tuition, fees, housing, etc, can come near the $28K mark EACH year. At the end of just four years, that can total a whopping $112,000.00. At private 4-years, it isn't uncommon for the average student to have amassed $50,000+ in loan debt. Now, in regards to students taking private loans, one is allowed to request more than is actually necessary to cover real expenses....so while some of these students are amassing an enormous amount of debt, it may not all be directly related to their true cost of their education.</p>
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At private 4-years, it isn't uncommon for the average student to have amassed $50,000+ in loan debt.
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<p>See, I just don't see that figure supported by data anywhere. I'm not saying that there isn't huge borrowing going on (especially when you include parent loans, which often are not reported in data), but I would not want to give a student such as this OP the idea that MOST kids are taking on that sort of debt, because I do not believe that to be the case. The majority of kids at private 4 year schools have able and willing parents who are paying a LOT towards their expenses, they are not simply borrowing their way through those schools.</p>
<p>If you want to attend certain private schools bad enough, you are willing to take out any amount in loans that become necessary. That being said, I do not advocate students taking on such large amounts of debt. I actually think students who cannot afford 4-year privates should attend 4-year publics where the tuition is cheaper and more funding is available.</p>
<p>Weenie, the evidence is out there to support those choosing to attend 4-year privates needing to become so immersed in debt. I posted two links which estimate the cost of attending a 4-year Private Institution, here is another. </p>
<p>My friend's step daughter took on $15K of debt her freshman year because she stubbornly refused to go to any of the state schools from two states. She wanted to go to a private school where some of her friends are going. She is now a junior and the debt has gone up to $25K . She is likely to be $80k in debt from going there. Doubt if the average graduate from there will be making $20k a year in the first few years out, and grad school is going to be out of the questions with those numbers. How the heck is she going to pay all of this back? </p>
<p>I looked up the school, Weenie, and it does not report this level of debt for ugs; not a whiff of it. But the numbers reported are averages, and there are full pay kids there since only about half are on financial aid which means if the average debt from kids who started in 2001 is about $20k, well......you do the math. That does not count loans that kids take outside of what is offered by the school and not reported to the school, or what the parents have taken in terms of PLUS, home equity or outside loans either. </p>
<p>I would not place an arbitrary number for loan limits, though I like the subsidized Stafford maximums as a guideline, and would be leery of maxing the unsubsidized Stafford amounts. Basically, you need to look at what you can expect to earn upon leaving the school and how you will repay that loan on that income. Especially if you know your family is not going to be able to help you out much financially, and you may need things like car, insurance, clothes, etc. You also need to understand that you are limiting your future options for taking courses by owing that kind of money. Many kids find an interest or angle in a job where some additional courses come in handy for salary increases and advancement. If you are so overburdened with UG loans, how are you going to come up with more money? And sometimes these certificate programs from community,night or local colleges or one year condensed programs can add many $$ and possibilities when paired with a degree. I am not even talking about full professional and grad programs which would be a problem if you are maxed out loan wise. </p>
<p>For a law or med, MBA student to take out heavy loans, can be a good deal, since the income earned after getting such degrees often can shoulder the repayment of considerable debt. Not so with many undergraduate degrees.</p>
<p>Lil_killer, (what kind of name??), I don't know what program you are borrowing $30K a year to enter at PSU, but you should compare it to what you can get at the SUNYs at half that price. If you do the math on expected earnings, it may not be such a good deal to borrow that kind of money.</p>
<p>cpt, I agree with your line of reasoning. I utterly get sick to my stomach when I see my students so heavily in debt knowing that they will never be able to earn enough to repay all of those loans. Unfortunately, all we can do is advise them of their unwise decisions...we cannot make them borrow responsibly. I just recently processed several students who flat out refused the Stafford Loans and instead too the maximum's out in private loans...one of them has already borrowed over $60,000 in private loans in addition to the Stafford Loans. And this wasn't even for a traditional program, but our adult program which is considerably cheaper! All this debt for a 4-year degree which only cost about $40,000, including books, transportation, tuition, fees, and school supplies!</p>
<p>It varies by company, but students are not always required to obtain a co-signer for private loans, especially if their parents placed them on their credit cards when they were teens.</p>
<p>My friend's stepdaughter got her grandmother to cosign the loans since, her mother and stepdad were not credit worthy and my friend and her husband refused to do so. They were willing to pay up to COA of any state school in the two state where she could claim residency, and that is the amount they are paying for her. The scary part is that the school loans are probably not the whole picture either. Credit cards, car loan, etc are there too, as she is living pretty high for what money is available to her. Many of those kids who are spending freely do not necessarily come from rich famiies, they are just living too high for themselves and their families.</p>