Hey there. I am a 20 year old 2nd semester junior. I am transferring to VCU from UMass Dartmouth. I am completley economically dependent from my father and he lives in MA. According to the FAFSA, I am still “dependent” on him. I have an address in VA, I work here and I have a car registered in the state. I moved down here April 2016. I am considered to be an out of state student. My boyfriend and I plan on getting an off campus apartment together and would like our student loans to cover the cost. Below is my Award Overview for the year… I was awarded 9,500 for the year from the school/fafsa.
Cost of Attendance
$50,062.00
Estimated Family Contribution
$5,602.00
Initial Need
$44,460.00
Outside Resource
$.00
Need
$36,960.00
My dad (single parent) wont be able to contribute 5,602… I am a triplet with a younger sister attending college as well.
I am afraid I won’t be able to get a student loan to cover the cost of my attendance AND an off campus apartment. What do I do moving forward? I feel completely lost and would really appreciate some insight.
The “initial need” ($44,460) is decreased by $7,500 to get the remaining “need” ($36,960). I’m assuming that $7,500 is the max federal Stafford loan that you are entitled to as a junior. If you are asking about getting a student loan to cover the remaining need of $36,960, plus the EFC of $5,602, you are right to be worried that won’t happen. Because it won’t, unless you can find someone who is credit-worthy enough to co-sign $42k in student loans for you, just for this year, which would be crazy.
How much of your own money (not loans) do you have to cover these costs?
Why don’t you finish your senior year at VCU, then get a job near where your boyfriend is going to school?
I used to live in Massachusetts. I moved to Virginia to be with my boyfriend. He lives in this state. I already withdrew from UMass Dartmouth, VCU is also a MUCH better school. I refuse to separated from my partner… @austinmshauri
My father will cosign my loan @BelknapPoint but I also need to figure out my off campus apartment too within that loan …or do I get 2 separate ones? >___< I dont have any money… all of my money goes towards my 168$ car insurance payment, my gas and my groceries.
It doesn’t matter how much better it is if you can’t afford it. And unless you have a lot of money available (not the borrowed kind), it looks like you can’t afford it.
So your plan is to borrow the full cost of attendance to finish your degree at VCU? Have you done some initial research to see if there is a lender who will make this loan, based on the credit history and income of all co-signers?
@BelknapPoint so am I screwed or can I get student loan(s) to cover the cost. My plan was to finish my school at VCU and continue to get a PHD at the same school. I believe they pay for a huge amount if not all of it, if you stay with them for graduate school. I am psychology student and I would like to have a private practice one day.
@BelknapPoint well I dont know if I should take one or multiple loans out… the whole process is confusing to me. When I was an in state student in MA, I just got a citizen bank private student loan, and it obviously wasnt near the cost of VCU out of state…
Again:
How much of your own money (not loans) do you have to cover these costs?
@BelknapPoint like i said before, basically none, because I am supporting myself off of a $7.25/hr paycheck
Can you graduate from VCU with only a year at VCU? It’s not wise for your father to cosign any loan of $36,960
If you add $50k debt to the money that you have already borrowed for school, then add in the interest that has been and will be accruing, how much do you think your monthly loan repayments will be, and for how many years? Do you have any idea? That’s a serious question.
@4kidsdad well I have 1.5 years left. and my father said he would cosign the loan…and its going to be more because I need it to cover my off campus housing as well.
Your boyfriend needs to get a job to help support the two of you.
@TomSrOfBoston My boyfriend has a job. He plans to be a waiter when we moved to Richmond, as do I. He is going to school to be a nurse.
@BelknapPoint Probably a ton… I have no idea the exact number. It will probably be pretty steep for a long time…
Well here’s the thing about being an OOS student, you have to pay nonresident tuition. Yes, that bites, but since you haven’t been paying state taxes for the past 18 years, the states are required to fund their residents first.
You’ve only been there since April, so I assume you haven’t had a chance to file taxes for that state?
The states with good schools (Virginia is one) tend to have strict policies on residency requirements, especially if you are under the age of 24. Some states require up to two years of full time work, with evidence of W2 forms that show how your expenses match income, before they even consider instate residency.
Most loans, that you seem to need, require parent participation because the banks are not going to loan money to someone with no collateral and who earns only $7.25 per hour. That would be a Parent Plus loan. Most parents will not cosign on that amount because repaying that amount is not easy. A number of a Parent Plus loans require repayment as soon as the money is disbursed.
It sounds like you may want to either, wait on your education, or go to an inexpensive community college. I don’t know of any bank or federal loan program that will give out $40K to a student without good credit/collateral.
"He plans to be a waiter when we moved to Richmond, as do I. " You should put VCU on hold and try to earn enough money so that you can attend VCU later without more debt!
@“aunt bea” I cannot go to a community college — seeing as I am at the 2nd half of my college experience, really focusing in on the core psychology classes. I dont recall getting a parent plus loan in the past… I got a loan with citizen bank and my dad cosigned for it. I really really do not wish to wait on my education. My dad said he has no problem cosigning a loan. My dad has told me in the past he has good credit. I can’t be the only person in this kind of situation… People go to school out of state ALL the time. My biggest concern is student housing as well. I am trying to figure out the exact number I need to take out to accommodate for school AND an off campus apartment.