<p>All right I'm freaking out a little now. I know I will have at least 48k in loans not counting federal loans. However, I am just curious how much is unreasonable, not worth it, or just too much? I will be a first generation college student. My older sis went and has about 10k in loans but that was about 5 years ago, so I don't know if things has changed. Worse yet, my mom was not involved at all with that, so neither of us really knows anything about anything in this case. </p>
<p>So yeah, how much is an unreasonable amount to borrow for college? Or how much is too much? And why? I mean, I know interest rates and the high payment, but if its only like 600 a month, that is like a car payment, right? Except this payment should actually pay you more than a car ever will in the end. Can anyone share personal experiences with a high loan amount and how it is negatively affected you or someone you know?</p>
<p>Sorry, I am just nervous and confused and web articles can only tell me so much. Thank you so much for any help.</p>
<p>REALLY think your options through, including going to local, in-state public so you can keep your costs down. If you do great & want to go to grad school, you have more options if you have no or very low debt. </p>
<p>Student debt does NOT get discharged in bankruptcy and will follow you & limit your options. Over $50K is HUGE debt, especially to incur as an undergrad. READ THE THREAD & take it to heart. </p>
<p>Talk with someone you trust who understands money (not someone that makes loans) and understand how much it will cost to live when you you graduate, how much you’re likely to make, and how much your loan payments will take from your paycheck & for how long.</p>
<p>OK…You are wondering if it’s ok to borrow $48k in private loans plus about $12k in Stafford loans. Your sister went to school 5 years ago and has $10k in debt and you want to know if things have changed. NO, things have not changed in 5 years in a way that means borrowing 6 times more is ok. As a matter of fact, things have gotten worse. Do you think people are earning even twice as much as they were 5 years ago? NO! Many are earning less! So, why would 6 times more debt be ok?</p>
<p>No, $600 a month is not like a car payment. It’s like 2 car payments for TEN LONG YEARS. Plus, you’ll likely have a REAL car payment during some of that time.</p>
<p>What is your major and future career? How much will you likely be earning during your first year?</p>
<p>If you think that you’ll be earning - say - $40k your first year, do NOT borrow more than half that salary ($20k total - including federal loans).</p>
<p>You’ve applied to two schools that give bad FA packages - NYU and Arcadia. </p>
<p>You’ve said that UN-L will also leave you with a gap (I think about $9k a year). Are your parents contributing anything? Did you apply to any schools that will require less debt?</p>
<p>BTW…your Stafford loans are not at the max at $3k per year. You should borrow on those FIRST - $5500, $6500, $7500, $7500 before going to private loans. </p>
<p>If your parent(s) can’t contribute to your college fund are you sure they will qualify as a cosigner for $12K a year in private loans? I would quickly make another plan…perhaps a gap year that will allow you to save some and apply to schools that are more affordable next year. There are some schools that are still accepting apps, although they are lower tier. Based on your career goals, having high debt through private loans is a very bad idea. I believe only federal loans are eligible for income based repayment options. Please don’t sell out your long term dreams just to go to a dream school now!</p>
<p>A few websites that will give you more insight are finaid.org and Project on Student Debt.</p>
<p>Starting salaries in publishing are probably not going to be $40,000…more like low to mid thirties…at a “leading” publishing house. OP, hopefully you have other choices. There are many threads about journalism/communications, etc. It’s getting really late in the game, but $48,000 is much debt for a career that has a lower starting salary level, not to mention if your dream was to stay in NYC your living costs are going to be sky-high so you won’t be able to knock that debt off very quickly.</p>
<p>Okay my sister only went to college for 2 years, which is why hers is so low. And mom2collegekids I have no college I can go to. I only applied to four colleges. No my parents refuse to contribute anything and they don’t want to cut their budgets to give me any money. They have made that loud and clear. At this point I don’t even think I can get them to look at loans for me, so I can get the best one. At this point I don’t think they’ll even cosign on a loan for me. Everything must come from me, myself, and I. And I will maximize the stafford loans, but I am still curious.</p>
<p>I would like to go into publishing someday, yes. And yes those salaries are lower. But I also thought about going into advertising, marketing, public relations, things along those lines as well. I don’t want to limit myself to one career path if that isn’t A) alot of money or B) harder to get into. I also don’t plan on owning a car and I know that there is almost no possible way I can move out to the east coast after college (specifically NYC), because of the debt from just going to a cheap in state. Which is where most of the jobs for my career choices are. </p>
<p>The only other schools in my area that have lower costs than UNL are community colleges. But I wouldn’t qualify for any financial aid there. So I would still be in debt, and they are not even close to acadmically challenging. I have tried saving money for college, but I don’t get paid enough and don’t work enough hours to even try. At 27 hours a week, and minimium wage, about 1/6 of that goes to gas, the rest goes towards insurance, car payment, computer payment, ect. So yeah, a gap year could work, but I wouldn’t make nearly enough money to even begin to pay for any sort of college.</p>
<p>Thank you all for your input, though. I appreciate it, and it really does help me put things into perspective. At this point, I am thinking I might just give up on college because there is no way I can afford anything.</p>
<p>The only other schools in my area that have lower costs than UNL are community colleges. But I wouldn’t qualify for any financial aid there. So I would still be in debt, and they are not even close to acadmically challenging.</p>
<p>Community colleges have great opportunities to those who can get over themselves and take advantage of them, both academically and socially.
Anyone can get Stafford loans- true you may not qualify for subsidized loans but you can take out enough to cover tuition and books.
I know plenty of people who have transferred to a 4 yr school after two years of a community college- your degree will also be from the 4-yr school, there isn’t an asterick saying * they went to a CC first*
;)</p>
<p>I understand that too. My point with the community colleges is that they are not academically challenging. I already have 9 credits at one, yet I always did the work in like an hour, for the entire week. I want to go someplace that will challenge me and teach me new things, not some place were it is “eh…I already know this, this is so easy. why am I even here?”. If I can write an essay in an hour and a half, not proof read or anything, and still get a 100% on it, then I don’t want to go there.</p>
<p>There is also the fact that even if I went to a CC, UNL and other schools like it won’t accept all of the credits. That is a controversy my school went through this year. So many students were told “Take college classes, get credit.” yet they get to college and the colleges aren’t accepting the hours. They might accept the credit, so you’ll graduate with more credit, but they won’t accept the hours, so you still have to make up those hours. If that makes sense. The colleges still have to make up their money, so they will give you credit for the class but may require you take the same amount of hours.</p>
<p>Oh boy. Do know this, advertising, marketing, broadcasting, journalism, publishing really any communications related career path has starting salaries that are low. Have been. Always will be. And they are very much start at the bottom work your way up type career paths. Many start in the non-profits (which have even lower starting salaries) to resume build then jump into higher paying settings. So you need to go into this trying to put together the best financial plan you can. Are there any satellite campuses that you can afford? Your first year is going to be primary core and required courses for the most part and every college/uni has English classes which will be core for you regardless of your ultimate job path (advertising, marketing, communications, journalism, etc.) It’s getting late in the game though…Creighton is a good school and doesn’t require finaid info until April 1, but you’ve missed most colleges scholarship deadlines…yikes. Is there any college/uni that you can live at home and commute other than community colleges?</p>
<p>Work with UN-L to find out which CC classes they will accept so you won’t have that problem. Get that info from the registrars office. </p>
<p>Yes, some classes at a CC may not be that challenging, but there will be some, so take those. </p>
<p>What are your stats? SAT and GPA?</p>
<p>Even if your sister only went to school for 2 years, the point is the same. How much does she earn now? How much more will you likely be earning? (it sounds like any of your choices of majors will pay more than $30-40k starting out). </p>
<p>You can borrow for your CC costs, but also try to work part-time to sock away some money for the last two years of college. At least then you’ll be able to borrow $7500 each year. </p>
<p>Since your parents aren’t going to co-sign loans, you won’t get loans beyond the Stafford loans. Banks are not going to give you private loans by yourself.</p>
<p>* already have 9 credits at one, yet I always did the work in like an hour, for the entire week*</p>
<p>which class was that?
A lot depends on the subject and instructor, not just the school.
What I usually did before registering was to see which texts were being used and to see if I liked and understood them.
Now you can do that online, but you used to have to actually physically go to the school bookstore.</p>
<p>There is also the fact that even if I went to a CC, UNL and other schools like it won’t accept all of the credits.</p>
<p>Many states have articulation agreements with CCs and state universities- more are currently undergoing the process to be standardized for college transfer classes.
What state are you in?</p>
<p>I didn’t take the SAT but my ACT is a 30 and I have a 4.0 GPA. Everyone that has come from my school and taken college credits has had that problem with the credits but not the hours transferring. She is not using her certificate, which was in something medical, and she now works at TD Ameritrade. I have been working part time for the past 2 years and will continue working. In fact, I am trying to get full-time, but my work has issues getting me 30+ hours.</p>
<p>I have to think that some banks or credit unions will, because on my co-worker’s daughter got private loans and didn’t need a co-signer, but she is going to a college in Iowa and not Nebraska.</p>
<p>But no, the only college within commuting distance is a CC. Any college is about 2 hours away for me, which I don’t think would be any help with the cost of gas. But Creighton is private too. I never looked at Creighton much because I had no interest to go there and it is still too far to commute. Thank you all for the info, this is all extremely helpful, and I really appreciate it.</p>
<p>EDIT: It was art history, but I was talking about the writing assignments I had to do in it. I am in Nebraska, and I am only repeating what we have found out from previous graduates from my school going to UNL, and how they treated their college credits.</p>
<p>Can you enlist the aid of your guidance office? They will know the local region well and if you tell them you are at-risk of not being able to go to college in the fall because of finances they might be able to help direct you to more local/regional options that will serve you well.</p>
<p>She tries to find us scholarships, if that is what you are talking about. Umm…she really doesn’t know much. I asked for help on my CommonApp and ended up explaining it to her. She just wanted to make sure I applied somewhere and took college credit courses at school, and that has been it.</p>
<p>I am in Nebraska, and I am only repeating what we have found out from previous graduates from my school going to UNL, and how they treated their college credits.</p>
<p>Then you should know about the Midwest undergraduate exchange
[url=<a href=“http://www.mhec.org/MHECHomePage]MHEC[/url”>http://www.mhec.org/MHECHomePage]MHEC[/url</a>]
where you can attend school in neighboring states for close to instate tuition.
You also should take the time to find out up to date accurate information about transferrable credit ( not to mention learn from the horse’s mouth how sucky NYU aid is and how expensive it is to live there), that is if you are actually interested in how you can afford college.</p>
<p>BTW I know journalists for big city papers, columnists etc and you have a better chance of working in NYC if that is your goal, by working in a small house far away from NYC where you will have a much better chance of actually learning how a publishing house works and using relevant skills, than peddling coffee and distributing mail for 5 years along with all the other college grads.</p>
<p>I know NYU’s aid is horrible, but I haven’t received anything from them, so I can still hope. (That is free. ^_^) I am just saying that if I went to a CC I don’t think a lot of the credits would transfer like other people have experienced with theirs going to UNL (from taking CC classes). I did not know that about working in a smaller houses, I suppose I can do some research on if there is anything related to what I want to do in the area.</p>
<p>My main problem is wanting to do something different and not be in Nebraska where it all feels the same.</p>
<p>Yes ^^ you should be looking at this pronto. Also as an aside Ball State (which is an exchange school) has a very strong communications program with high awareness because David Letterman which you can laugh all you want, but if it’s on your resume in the communications field, people do “recognize” the school! March 1 is their priority app deadline so you can make that, March 10 if the FAFSA deadline.</p>
<p>I am just saying that if I went to a CC I don’t think a lot of the credits would transfer like other people have experienced with theirs going to UNL</p>
<p>That can’t possibly be true unless these kids didn’t take true college credit classes. </p>
<p>Don’t listen to students…get the FACTS…contact UN-L and find out which CC classes they will accept from the CC near you for the major that you’re interested in. If you get that info, then you’ll know.</p>
<p>You may want to get out of Nebraska, but you may have to wait 2 more years. We don’t always get what we want.</p>
<p>Really Minnesota? I had considered going to UofMinn the Twin Cities campus, but NE wasn’t listed on the site for that consideration when I looked so I didn’t look at it.</p>
<p>Also, UNL accepted the credits but not the hours…so they had extra credits but with the same hours. I suppose in some cases it wouldn’t work out that way, but in the cases from kids from my school that is what they were told.</p>