College Loans

jetsfan289 · 08-05-2011, 09:49 PM

Hi i am a senior in high school and i am worried as college decision time approaches. I am worried about my money situation. My parents can only give me $40,000-50,000 for college in total. And i have been looking at colleges for a long time and they are all obviously very expensive. My mom says $25,000 is the max cost she can afford to pay for my first two years of college. I have hit a few bumps in the road i need help on.
- I am almost decided that i will go out of state.( i live in New Jersey)
- I cant find many colleges that cost $25,000 or less per year. (And i mean total cost not just tuition)
So i need help because no matter what i need to take out a loan to pay for college. So say for arguments sake i take out a $50,000-60,000 loan. How long will that take to pay back assuming for scenarios sake that i get a job a year or so after college making around $30,000-40,000 dollars.

Please help me and thanks for taking the time to read. p.s. I live in new jersey.

annasdad · 08-05-2011, 10:21 PM

A $60,000 loan and a $30,000 job? You will be existing at a poverty level. NO school is worth that level of debt.

Options: 1. State school, live at home; 2. Private school where your stats are high enough for a lot of merit aid. 3. Community College, work part time, save money, and transfer.

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goodManThinking · 08-05-2011, 10:29 PM

IMO you should pursue your dream and not let the financial issues rule out opportunities.

swimcatsmom · 08-05-2011, 10:37 PM

If your parents can contribute $50,000 and you can't find many OOS schools that are lesss than $25,000 a year, how will you keep your loans to $50-60,000? An out of state school is likely to run considerable more than $25,000 a year once you factor in room and board.

If you can keep the debt down to $60,000, at 6.8% it would run you around $700 a month every month for 10 years. If your interest rate is higher your payment will be higher. And if you do not pay they the interest while you are in the school it will be added to the debt so your payments will be higher.

You should include financial safeties including your instate options when you are applying to colleges. Going out of state is not worth it if it leaves you in a ton of debt.

annasdad · 08-05-2011, 10:46 PM

And at $30K/year, that's maybe $2K/month take home. Can a single person live on $1,300 a month? Yes, but barely, and not at all in many areas.

OP, you might look at Truman State, in Missouri. Very good school with a total cost of attendance about $22K out of state.

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capenn15 · 08-05-2011, 10:49 PM

GMT -

Quote:

IMO you should pursue your dream and not let the financial issues rule out opportunities.

If you read Ops questions it was for FA/Loan advice...no mention of a "dream"

October47 · 08-06-2011, 12:45 PM

Quote:

My parents can only give me $40,000-50,000 for college in total.[

That's a LOT of money!! A lot more money than most people get from their parents.

If you can't find colleges that are $25K or less per year then you need to be re-thinking your college research strategies. Are you looking at the overall costs of attendance, which usually includes transportation and personal expenses? Is it absolutely necessary to go to an OOS school or private college that will require that many loans?

You have a lot more options than you think, and you're already getting a good head start on being able to afford college. Plenty of students find great colleges while getting no help from their parents and without having to take out $50K in loans.

Think about it, if you take out $50K in loans and your parents are giving you $50 then that means you're paying $100K for an undergraduate degree. That's pretty ridiculous.

momofthreeboys · 08-06-2011, 12:57 PM

The OP has maybe $15,000 a year to spend. $10,000 from the parents and the balance in Staffords. You need to think "harder" about public colleges in your state. Those should be within reach financially or close.

Your parents need to do an FAFSA calculation to get an idea of what they will be expected to pay (not what they want to pay) so you have an understanding of how your "need" will be viewed by all colleges.

Lastly you need to focus on colleges where you are in the upper quarter of better of all entering students to put yourself in a position to get some potential merit/scholarship money.

northeastmom · 08-06-2011, 03:10 PM

In NJ, if you commute, you can go to some state schools. Here are links to tuition for 3 different 4 year schools:

Office of Financial Aid - Cost of Attendance

Ramapo College of New Jersey || Bursar: Cost Information

Bursar - Tuition Fees and Rates

If you can get some merit aid, you might be able to even live on campus.

mom2collegekids · 08-06-2011, 04:24 PM

IMO you should pursue your dream and not let the financial issues rule out opportunities.

LOL....

You need to read that recent thread about the NYU girl with mega-debt after she "pursued her dream." Her adult life is nearly ruined. She has to live at home to make her loan payments and she won't be debt-free until she's 37. Ugh.

Her dream has become a living nightmare.

swimcatsmom · 08-06-2011, 05:48 PM

is that a CC thread? Would be good reading for all the students who think tons of debt is ok.

mom2collegekids · 08-06-2011, 05:54 PM

^^^ Yes...

'Dream School' Left Her Drowning in Debt

OP....what is your likely future major/career?

You may need to start at a CC for 2 years, ask your parents to set aside that $25k, and then add it to your budget for the last 2 years.

WandMParent · 08-07-2011, 02:32 PM

I believe there are roughly ten thousand threads that say the same thing here.