My daughter just graduated from USC in May with no debt, due to a combination of generous scholarships and our early, aggressive savings plan. She will return this Fall to finish her Master’s Degree in Computer Science after working this summer. As a graduate student, she hasn’t been offered any scholarships so will need to take out student loans to cover her tuition and fees, which I estimate to be $18,441.
We have about $3,000 left in her 529 account, which will offset her tuition and fees. Then she is responsible for the balance.
She has been offered a Stafford Grad loan for $10,250 (half of annual $20,500 eligibility). A moderator in this community believes that she should be able to access all of it since she will finish her degree in December. We will follow up on that.
She will use her summer savings plus a TA-type Fall job to pay for her living expenses (she’s sub-letting another student’s apartment while on study abroad). If she passes her three classes, she will be done.
She has also applied to USC Credit Union membership and I found the following loan information on their website:
https://www.usccreditunion.org/microsites/Private_Student_Loan/faq.html
Essentially, their interest rate is lower, if we co-sign. The Stafford Loan is currently 5.31% (which adjusts annually?) plus 1.068% origination fee. USC CU has no origination fees, but their rate is variable.
Does anyone have any experience with the USC credit union loans that we should consider or be aware of to help make the decision on where to go for funding? Any advice, is always much appreciated.