<p>Ok I will be a freshmen attending to Uconn this fall and so far this is what I did.
I took out a 3500 Loan subsidized and a 2000 unsubsidized loan at 6.8 interest rate. I also had my parents take a parent plus loan out for 12,360 at 7.8 interest rate where I will hopefully send them a pay check when i start working after 4 years to pay that. it costs me around 17,000 in uconn for all the tuition room and board, textbooks and meal plan expenses. I had them take out a parent plus because they didn't go to college and I'm inexperienced to take the risk to go out and find a alternative loan. Im really stressed right now because if i keep borrowing for the next 4 years with interest build up, i believe i will be 100,000 in debt.. Should I continue? Any advice? What should I do? Give up college? Transfer back to COmmunity and transfer back later on?</p>
<p>That’s a lot of debt to take on. If you’d be willing to do two years of community college first, and then do two years at UConn, it would save you a lot of money . . . and it would certainly be the wiser thing to do.</p>
<p>Keep in mind, also, that those parent plus loans are in your parents’ name, not yours, and they’re expected to start making payments immediately. If they’re not able to do that, it could put them in a very difficult situation.</p>
<p>And there is no guarantee your parents will continue to be approved for the Plus loan. </p>
<p>This is WAY too much debt for any undergrad degree.</p>
<p>$17,000 x 4 = $68,000 debt for what major?</p>
<p>Yes but hopefully parent plus can be deferred and pay it when i graduate. For computer science major.</p>
<p>what would you recommend then? I can’t turn back for this first year</p>
<p>Parent Plus accrues interest, even when deferred. The first year payments will be low, under 200, I think, and start roughly February, ime. Can they afford that? You need to look at the lender info about what monthly payments are and how interest adds to the totals. </p>
<p>Sounds like you got some aid and work study?</p>
<p>No work study, and it originally costs 22,000 but i got 6000 grants, i dont know if i can have them start paying 200 a month for the next year since i need them to borrow more from parent plus… and I want to pay all that back… i dont want them to be involved with my tuition. i just want to defer it when i graduate and so i can send them a pay check every month to cover that cost… Would you guys recommend alternative loans then? I know nothing about loans really, and thats the issue, Im afraid of high interest rates and private loan scams…</p>
<p>Why are you saying you cannot do anything different this year? You can still forgo going to the school you clearly cannot afford and go to community college instead.</p>
<p>No, don’t waste your time looking for “alternative” loans. First, you won’t qualify for private loans and, second, the amount of debt you’d be taking on would still be excessive.</p>
<p>Really, your suggestion to start at community college and then transfer over to UConn was really your best idea. It may not be quite as exciting as starting at UConn immediately, but it’s really the right thing to do.</p>
<p>The amount of debt you’re talking about will impact your quality of life for a very long time!</p>
<p>But the parent plus loan was applied 2 days ago already… and Isnt it too late to apply for community college?</p>
<p>I am not sure how it works in your state, but in my state students do not apply to community college, they simply register for classes.</p>
<p>My advice is to make an appointment with an adviser at the CC and devise a plan which will allow you to graduate in two years with all classes necessary to transfer to UConn.</p>
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<p>No, it can probably still be reversed. But you must:</p>
<p>(1) Officially withdraw from all classes at UConn. Do not “assume” that this will be taken care of for you. Go to the registrar’s office, withdraw from all classes, and get written confirmation of your withdrawal.</p>
<p>(2) Go to the financial aid office with proof of your withdrawal, and request that all loans for the semester be reversed. Again, get documentation, in writing, that this has been done.</p>
<p>Do not take ANYTHING for granted. Get proof every step of the way that you are officially withdrawn from classes and that all loans & grants are being reversed.</p>
<p>Once this is done, you won’t have any difficulty getting federal aid (if you need it) to help pay for community college.</p>
<p>P.S. If you’ve signed up for housing, you need to cancel that also, as well as any meal plan you’ve signed up for. You may forfeit a deposit or two, but most of your money should be refunded.</p>
<p>My parents are telling me to give it a year and figure out all the rest… I’ve calculated and it turns out by the end of the 4 years … Subsidized and Unsubsidized with the accrued interest combined will turn out to be 19000 while parent plus is 51959.77. So in total 80,000. My issue now, is school starts in just about a month… and im not sure if CC will accept and go in my best interest of Computer Science. IS there any other Option besides going to CC? or is that the only “best option” If i work here and there i might be able to get 4800 per year, maybe 2000/3000 from some scholarships… I fear that if i withdraw now and if its too late to join CC… I will be staying at home and not in school.</p>
<p>From the CT community college website:</p>
<p>" The Connecticut Community Colleges’ open door admissions policy offers the opportunity for admission to the state’s community colleges to every high school graduate or anyone holding a high school equivalency diploma (GED) without requiring Scholastic Aptitude Tests. Some programs such as Nursing require specific preparation for admission, and therefore have special requirements. Students enrolling in a major for an associate degree are required to take a college placement test to ensure proper class placement.</p>
<p>Applications are accepted for credit programs on a year-round basis for Fall (late August/September), Spring (January) or optional Summer (June) Sessions. "</p>
<p>So no, it’s not too late, and you will get in. Your parents advice to “give it a year and figure out the rest” is the definition of short sightedness. And when you finish two years of community college, you may want to consider one of the CT directional universities like Southern or Westconn to finish your degree–they are a lot cheaper than UConn, and you may be able to avoid Parent Plus loans altogether. </p>
<p>Best of luck.</p>
<p>Okay, let’s take a breath, slow down, and go back a step. </p>
<p>Take a look at this [student</a> loan debt repayment calculator](<a href=“Mapping Your Future: Page not found”>Mapping Your Future: Page not found). Are you sure you want to take on the amount of debt you’re considering?</p>
<p>Your other option would be to take a year off, and apply to a different range of schools where you might qualify for enough merit aid to make things affordable. Take a look at the [automatic</a> scholarship](<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/1348012-automatic-full-tuition-full-ride-scholarships-8.html#post16145676]automatic”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/1348012-automatic-full-tuition-full-ride-scholarships-8.html#post16145676) schools and see if you’d qualify for either free tuition or a free ride at any of them.</p>
<p>And you don’t have to just “stay home” if you opt not to go to school this coming year. You can get a job, volunteer with a service organization . . . there are lots of options that would allow you to make good use of a year off. The only thing you can’t do, if you want to qualify for merit scholarships, is take college classes. You need to maintain your incoming freshman status in order to qualify for most of them.</p>
<p>You have options here, and you don’t have to decide overnight. Take a few days to think about all of this and figure out what you want to do.</p>
<p>And if you’re still undecided, you can also ask UConn simply to let you defer your enrollment for a year, so that door would still be open if you decide to go that route.</p>
<p>If you go the CC route, you may find that classes at the prime part of the day are full. If they are, get registered for other times and ask whether students are dropped if their tuition is not paid by a certain date. If they do drop students’ classes, you can change your classes when the spots open. You just have to ask the date.</p>
<p>You should be able to get your classes at the CC that you need. Even if you just go one year, it will save quite a lot of money.</p>
<p>What are you all talking about! </p>
<p>His plan is totally reasonable to me. </p>
<p>He’s going to major in computer science at his Flasgship school, he’s going to make about $60K/yr to start. He’s going to study hard and become proficient at it, and watch his salary rapidly rise. The economy is turning around and he’s in the very best major in my opinion. </p>
<p>Why are you all killing this bright young person’s dreams. </p>
<p>If his parents are too poor then they won’t qualify for the loans. In that case he’ll have to work and finish part-time. Yet he will already have some of the skills of a computer scientist. My D is earning well over $20/hr on her internship. That’s already more than some of her high school teachers. </p>
<p>I believe that given the alternatives, going to UCONN for next year is a great idea. </p>
<p>Life has risks. Some are worth taking. Your parents are willing to take some for you too. Let them. You are a blessing to them. Do your best.</p>
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<p>Even if his starting salary is that generous, a standard rule of thumb is not to incur more debt than that first year’s salary. An $80k debt is 33% higher than it should be.</p>
<p>And if he has to drop out and work because his parents don’t qualify for any more PLUS loans, graduation (and that generous salary) could be postponed indefinitely. That’s quite a risk you’re asking the OP to take . . .</p>
<p>You should not waste that loan money on freshman year. Save the loans for Jr and Sr year when you will be doing your upperclass work, which is more important to do at UConn than freshman intro classes. It is unlikely that your parents can get approved to borrow that full amount you calculate you will need for the 4 years. when you run out of funds, you won’t have the option to continue at a CC for your upper division coursework. You will be stuck not attending until you work and come up with the funds. Although you will expect a good salary, those loans will still be a huge burden to payoff and you will need to pay for your living expenses. </p>
<p>At the CC you will do some math and other intro and gen ed classes. Just perform well and know the transfer agreement requirements. You will attain your goal in the end. But with much less loan burden and not having to stop school due to lack of funds.</p>