<p>Based on my financial aid summary, I'll have to pay $25,000 this year. I'll need some form of a private loan for it because my parents do not want a plus loan and they want me to have the loan in my name. Ironically, they do not mind cosigning.</p>
<p>Does anyone have experience with USC Credit Union with Collegiate Choice Student Loan?</p>
<p>How about other loan companies, like Discover?</p>
<p>Anyone know?</p>
<p>I would like more info on loans too… are all lenders basically the same? Same rates and everything?</p>
<p>That will take a lot of research to give you a comprehensive survey of lenders, current rates and terms. How soon do you need it?</p>
<p>I will need loans once the tuition payment is due around August. I’m waiting for my appeal results with financial aid right now, but I don’t think my offer will change too much.</p>
<p>Does anyone have experience with the USC Credit Union’s loan?</p>
<p>Did you ask USC financial aid office to refer you to the places with the lowest interest rates for student loans? Did you check bankrate.com and see if they have anything on student loans? Did you look at places like fastweb.com to see if you can find any last minute scholarships? Did you ask your parents to see if their employer(s) have access to student loans/scholarships via their work and or possible credit union? Also check the financial aid forum on cc.</p>
<p>I did some research and it sounds like Discover and the USC Credit Union seem fine. I don’t have much experience with anything in terms of finance. That’s why I am asking here.</p>
<p>I do have a $1,000 renewable scholarship from my parent’s company, but I need more to fund the $25,000 for this year’s tuition. I have already applied to some scholarships over the month of June and I am in the process of turning in some more scholarship applications this month. </p>
<p>Again, does anyone have experience with the USC Credit Union or another bank’s student loans?</p>
<p>Are you an incoming freshman? If you are, then you might be setting yourself up for $25,000 X 4 or $100,000. in loans over 4 years if your parents are not going to finance your education. Please think beyond this year and how much the over all experience will cost you. Also, my sense from Discover bank is they charge high interest rates. Compare the interest rates if you decide to go ahead with taking large loans. I admire your determination and courage.</p>
<p>I am waiting for the results of my appeal because my mother quit her second job. Actually, I’m a freshman-transfer b/c I went to Berkeley for the fall semester last year, then I left to transfer. I have enough units to be a sophomore, now, though. I might try graduating 2012 and going into the progressive MA degree in math. Thus, I’d get a masters in 2013. </p>
<p>I might try convincing my parents to get a plus loan because the federal government usually offers lower interest rates. I tried convincing them before, but they refused to do so when I asked them before.</p>
<p>You may wish to look into the payment plan which allows you to stretch the amount you owe to USC over 10 months instead of paying it all at one time. That might make things easier for you & your family. Borrowing $25,000/year is a lot of money, especially for an undergraduate degree, especially if you’re planning to borrow that amount (or more) for all 4 years. Please discuss this matter carefully with your family and consider whether it might make sense to go to CC and transfer so you don’t have to take on quite so much debt.</p>
<p>Why did you leave Berkeley?</p>
<p>I left Berkeley because the university did not fit me. I want a fresh start at USC and I want to make sure I do earn a degree. I don’t want to be the guy who keeps transferring. </p>
<p>Also, with the units I already have I don’t think it would make sense to go to a CC for a little bit less than a year instead of going directly to USC. By the end of the summer, I’ll have 39 units. Also, I’ll already have 3 GE classes finished and I already have some major prerequisites fulfilled, anyway.</p>
<p>I’ll need to get a loan b/c my parents still do not want to get a PLUS Loan. Also, my parents reassured me that they’ll help me pay for the loans once the grace period ends because they know I won’t be earning much as a grad student. I might be able to get some of my relatives to help me once I have to pay for the loans, but I’ll double check.</p>
<p>Once I find out the results of my appeal, I’ll make sure to consider which private loan company to borrow from for this year’s tuition. I might go with USC’s credit union because it sounds convenient, has a low interest rate, and does not seem to get as many bad reviews as Sallie Mae and what I’ve recently found out, Discover.</p>
<p>Which other loan companies would work?</p>
<p>My guess is that your parents want you to go to a Calif. state school given the bad economy. Although you did not like Berkeley, have you considered another Calif. state school? You are thinking of borrowing $25,000 X 3 more years, plus another $25,000-53,000 for grad school (depends upon financial aid for grad school which is another headache). I suggest you delay going to USC for at least one more year and go to a cc or a calif. state school this year. Also, I suggest that you carefully research the Math dept. to be sure it has exactly what you want. The Math dept. at USC is fast paced.</p>
<p>I don’t blame you for wanting to leave Berkeley. Did you sit in Math classes at USC to be sure it is a fit for you? I understand your hesitation about a CC, but CC is very popular now given the terrible economy. Did you ask your parents if they would compromise if you go to a CC this year and you borrow for one year and they borrow for one year so that you only owe 25k at the end of 4 years? Is there a Math related minor that you could add that might make your parents more interested in giving you more money? USC is great with minors.</p>
<p>I do not want to attend a community college as I have said above. Yes, this is a bad economy, but I think a great undergrad education from USC could help me prepare for either an MA or PhD. Also, by going to USC, a research university, I’ll have the opportunity to conduct undergrad research. If I delay going to USC by a year, I won’t have the opportunity to contact professors that teach my math courses and possibly, even gain experience in math research in areas, such as numerical analysis and topology.</p>
<p>Actually, my parents told me that they did not want me to go to a state university, including community colleges, after I told them about Berkeley. They know that they are good universities, but they think I would be able to get smaller classes in USC (of course, the classes aren’t too small, but they aren’t humongous as Berkeley’s Econ, Math, Chem, and breadth courses).</p>
<p>I might be doing work study this year and I won’t do anything about loans yet because I’m waiting for my appeal results.</p>
<p>I have talked to the vice chair of the math department and it sounds like their instructional methods sound fine. When I went to Berkeley, it seemed like they crammed in so much material for their math courses. USC’s courses are not easier, but they are taught differently. At least, that’s the impression I got from the professor. I wasn’t able to sit in a class, but I am sure USC is one of many universities filled with a variety of professors.</p>
<p>USC math classes have the advantage of smaller classes plus discussion sections taught by a TA. Since you want to go far in math (MA, PhD), did you check the USC rankings in Math (I don’t know the answer)? I also suggest that you look into Math related minors/double major at USC (ex. accounting/finance at Marshall) to get the most benefit from your undergrad experience. Only other suggestion is to find out which classes you can still take at a cc over the summer (USC is particular about which classes count for equivalent course transfer credit) so that you can save some significant tuition money, particularly for lower division classes which don’t count towards your major. I hope your FA appeal goes through.</p>
<p>mdcissp, thank you so much for your advice. I actually haven’t thought too much about the rankings for math, but I can only find grad school rankings for math, though. USC is ranked 55th overall by US News on the overall grad school math program. However, the rankings show also Dartmouth at 48, so I’m not sure how they rank the universities. I take the ranking with a grain of salt because I am going to pursue my undergrad education at USC right now, not grad school at the moment. Though, planning for grad school and the future is ok. </p>
<p>I was planning on taking Calculus III or Linear Algebra next summer at a community college. I’ll have to talk to my math major advisor next spring about it. If I can fit it in, I might try do research part time assisting a math professor next summer.</p>
<p>Hopefully, my appeal goes through. USC says mid-July at the latest, so I should know within a couple days or a week. For now, I’m saving some money and finding ways to cut costs for college related expenses (like getting used books online) with a few exceptions, such as my dorm on campus and my meal plan (b/c the difference between the unlimited meal plan and the lowest costing meal plan isn’t too much).</p>
<p>Look at the web site ratemyprofessors.com. Penner got a great review for Calculus III. He teaches it this fall. Calculus III is very hard. USC teaches Linear Algebra as a combo class with Differential Equations. If you take Linear Algebra over the summer outside of USC, it might be one or two classes depending upon where you take it. You might be able to get Linear Algebra or Differential Equations done this summer and take the other one next summer at a cc, but this has to be pre-approved by the Math dept.
Since you plan to be a math major, you have to check with the math dept. for all approval for any classes taken outside of USC. The quick click on the USC transfer credit thing is not enough–still make sure you get dept. approval. Also, if you do summer research at USC, you will add extra cost of living expenses unless you can get USC to provide you with free living expenses over the summer. If USC doesn’t give you the money you need, and you still want to go there, give it a try for a semester but keep in mind to transfer to one of the smaller UCs where you can get smaller classes.
Berkeley and UCLA has classes which are way too big.</p>
<p>Of course, if I take GE courses during this summer, I don’t have to ask the math department for approval, correct? Next summer, I think I might take Linear Algebra. However, would you think that Writ 140, Category 6 Class, Calculus III, and French 220 are manageable during the Spring semester? Of course, I’ll be taking Fren 220 P/NP and maybe, the Category 6 class P/NP.</p>
<p>If USC doesn’t give the money I need, I’ll continue to keep saving money and maybe, even do work study. My parents said they will help me pay off the loans (of course, they will only co-sign) after graduation b/c they know that the loans cost quite a lot.</p>