Hi. I was accepted to university recently. My tuition is out of state and 50k. I know it’s a lot but I have no other options; I was denied from the other school I applied to and none of the schools in my state have what I want to study (and I know for sure what I want to study and do as a career, so this is inflexible). My financial aid covered less than half of this. I have a whopping 29k to deal with if I have any hope of going to university.
I asked 2 of my teachers and my counselor what to do, and they said to ask my financial aid office for assistance. They sent me a very rude and patronizing response that sums to “Google it.” I feel very hopeless and frustrated. I am a first generation college student so I’m on my own as far as help goes. I keep asking for help and receiving very rude and harsh treatment and I’m fatigued with it.
I would sincerely appreciate assistance… I don’t know where to get a reliable loan. I don’t even know if I can get one that is almost 30k. I don’t really care about interest and how i’ll be in debt forever and how I’ll be miserable. I’m already miserable. I’ve lived WELL below the poverty line my entire life and don’t ever expect anything more than that. I just want an education. I will do whatever it takes. I just want to pursue my passions and university is my only option.
You as a student can only take out a total of $27,000 for 4 years. Any other loans beyond that would have to taken out by your parents. What is your EFC? (Estimate Family Contribution) if any?? Where did you apply to college?
It will not be one big loan for $30k. The school you are going to should have the Stafford loans set up for your acceptance, which will be $5500 and possibly, if you are really low income, a Perkins loan. If your parents apply for a Plus loan but are denied, you will get an additional $4000 in Stafford loans. However, make sure these loans weren’t part of your initial package already. You can’t take them out twice, and if you are already borrowing $5500 and still need $30k, you’ll never find a lender.
You will then have to take private loans. It is really unlikely you’ll qualify for them, but you can google them. Discovery, Sallie Mae, a bank in your town? Google “Private Student Loans” and ads will pop up on your computer. Constantly. For the rest of your life.
I fear you are not going to accomplish this by August and then your other options will be gone. Yes, yes, I understand there is only ONE school in the universe that offers exactly what you want, but if you can’t have that, do you not want to go to college? Would you consider going to a community college or state college and then transferring to the perfect school after 2 years? Is there a major close to what you want, like mechanical engineering rather than aeronautical engineering that could work? EVERY school we looked at told us we could design our own major if we didn’t like what was offered. I can’t think of one major that can’t be created from what is available in almost any state. Better, easier to complete, more specific at another school? Sure, but not absolutely required that you do film studies at NYU or marine biology at UCSB.
Only you can decide if you want to put all your eggs in one basket, as I think your basket is going to break and you’ll have nothing.
I filled out the FAFSA. My financial aid consists of the max pell grant, an opportunity grant from the state, max perkins loan, and work study. the bulk of my package was the fed parent plus loan that neither of my parents are willing to take out/even qualify for. My EFC is 0. Do you mind my asking why I can only take out 27k?
my family is a very unique situation. and it is not a good one. I know for a fact that if I tried to go to community college for 2 years, I would never get to a university, because this was older sister’s plan and it didn’t work out for her. in fact it went up in flames. I will spare the details. But this is not an option. I am not being an entitled brat by striving to go straight to university. I am not exaggerating when I say it is my only opportunity for conventional success. I am not even choosing to go to a competitive school. It is an average school, for an average student like myself. And in Texas, state schools are not much cheaper than the one I have chosen out of state, and state schools do not have my majors. twoinanddone, I never had a basket to begin with.
Look, we are just telling you that you are limited by the loans the school offers, $5500 in Stafford loans, $5500 in Perkins (you said you got the max) plus $5800 in Pell. You now have $16,000. Did you get any merit scholarships or grants? It is unclear from your original post how you got from $50k COA to the $29k you still need to borrow. If that $21k that you’ve calculated as covered by the school includes these loans and Pell, you have way way way to much ground to make up. This school is too expensive.
OOS schools are rarely just a little bit more than your instate school unless you go to the hot hot hot south (Miss, Alabama, Florida) or the cold frozen north (SD, Mont, Utah, Idaho, Wyo). Instate in Texas does not cost $50k
Why are you limited to taking $27k over 4 years in Stafford loans? Because that’s the limit by regulation. Why can’t you just borrow $30k per year in private loans? Because you won’t qualify. You have no job, no assets, no possibility of paying the lender back. It’s the same reason they won’t lend you money to buy a house or car - you have no credit history. If they loaned you $30k per year, plus the $10k+ in federal loans, you’d graduate owing $$160k in student loans. That’s why.
You can’t afford this school. You may not like your other options, but you have a few.
Can you live at home while you go to school? If not (or it’s somehow unsafe), your top priority is finding housing and a job. You can work your way through community college and a 4-year TX school using the Pell grant, state aid, the (~$5500/year) federal student loan, and work earnings.
If you can live at home, you can take a gap year and try to increase your 1200+ CR+M SAT to try for a full tuition grant. With the Pell, student loan, and work earnings you may be able to find a low cost college that you can afford.
You can change your major to something that will allow you to support yourself without debt while you work toward your first choice major. I know you don’t want to hear that, but I’ve been low income and sometimes the route from point A to point B isn’t as direct as we would like. What’s standing in the way of attending the community college? I don’t think you can get the loans you want, but if you tell us a little about your situation we can try to help you come up with a new plan.
OP sounds like you do have to think of other options.
Are there other relatives that you can live with for a commuter college? There are a lot of colleges in TX, but you have some lofty language goals. There are language interpreter training programs for Army enlisted. Are you healthy and able/willing to do a program that will get you to your educational goals?
You may need to take a gap year and develop a plan B. Figure out a way by working and saving up some money so you can piece that together with the grants you qualify for.
There are many general ed requirements in the first few years of college that you can obtain at other schools.
I don’t disagree that you may need to move away from your current home situation to be successful at college, but it does sound like you will have the struggle with money because room/board along with what college will cost above your aid is going to be there for you.
You need to look at the way to go. You cannot borrow enough as stated by others for the school you believe is ‘not much more money than in-state’. Have you applied/been accepted to other in-state schools?