Shrinkrap

^ Wow...does grandfather know that you plan to drop out after one year? He is willing go pay your loans even if there is no degree?

happymomof1

Remind your grandfather that he needs to have a life insurance policy on you in case anything should happen to you. A surprising number of grandparents are paying off the loans they co-signed for long after their grandchildren died. Yes you don't want to have to think about it that way, but it is a possibility.

Tjolmsy

I guess I just don't worry too much lol. This school is more important to me then anything. I also worked something out with my landlord where he'll dismiss my rent if I keep up the property. I also got a new job two days ago that pays better than my last one. As far as my grandfather goes, I'm sure he knows exactly how to approach this since he's experienced in the field. And no he doesn't know I plan on dropping out, but now since I'm receiving help, I don't see a strong enough viable reason to do so anyway. He made the joke that since I'll be moving to Boston anyway, I should apply to Boston University which is where he graduated. Anyway, we'll just see how things go. If it's meant to be, it's meant to be.

juillet

This is ridiculous - it's not a gift, it's a burden.

Even if you only stay at Berklee for one year, we are talking about $52,000 in loans. That's the cost of attendance for Berklee at one year. Most recording artists struggle in their first few years of trying to get big - playing a few gigs here and there makes it difficult for them to even afford rent and food, much less a $600 loan payment every month (because that's how much $52,000 boils down to, and that's with an interest rate of 6.8%)

But let's say that things don't go as planned - as they often don't for aspiring musicians - and you decide that another year at Berklee is what you need. Then that's another $52,000. Now you're in debt $104,000. For two years of school. This isn't fate. This is madness. There's no way a musician can hope to pay off that kind of debt.

It may have been your dream to go to Berklee since age 12, but we often have unrealistic dreams as children because we don't know how much they will cost or how unlikely we are to reach them. As an adult, we grow up and realize that. Have you ever heard someone say that they've always wanted a Ferrari and the fact that they can't afford it won't stop them from buying one? What about wanting a mansion and the fact that they can't afford it won't stop them either? That's because that's a silly way to think, and college is really no different. You pay for what you can afford. You can't afford Berklee. Those loans are going to come due someday. They're not magical money that someone is giving you for free - you are going to have to pay them back, with interest.

lerkin

I agree with Juliet.

I don't want to sound insensitive or morbid, but you should consider the possibility that your grandfather dies before he helps you pay off your student loans. What are you going to do then? How will you be able to afford of those payments.

You might want to talk to your grandfather about how he expects you to pay off all these loans. Since he is in financial field, he should know how huge those payments are going to be.

If your grandfather really wanted to help you, he would obtain loans in his name and you help him pay the off, not the other way around.

emeraldkity4

I thought that magical thinking ended in childhood?

Tjolmsy

Well to be honest, I think magical thinking ends because we tend to view only the negative possibilities which causes us to only let negative things happen. I worked at Disney World in entertainment for 2 years, and they didn't let us think negative lol. Anyway, I'm still going to pursue my dream regardless of what may happen because at least I can say I tried. No point quitting and simply falling into the same soulless dead end job that 90% of the world falls in to. These past couple weeks since I started this thread, I have found a new job, worked out an arrangement with my landlord, and was offered a great gift from my grandfather. My grandfather is extremely sharp and healthy, still working, and knows what he's talking about. I'm going to continue with Berklee because too many people take the easier or safer route and, although the may be more financially stable afterwards, will still always hold the passions they once had, even if they don't admit. I'm not going to school to make more money, I'm going to Berklee because it's where my passion is. Again, thank you everyone for the concerns, but I figure life is more inportant then constantly worrying about the future. I'm simply focusing on the present. I do no want to have kids or get married, so I'm not worried about having to support anyone after school. I'm 21 and have a lot of life ahead of me, and plan on spending some of it at Berklee, because who knows? Maybe I'll be apart of that small percent that make it. If not, at least I tried.

BettyfromCA

You can take out loans or you may just have to wait until you are 24 to go to college.

cptofthehouse

I agree that the OP is not thinking rationally. If grandpa is willing to take out the loan himself or give the OP the money, fine and well. For him to cosign is just putting another monkey on the OP's back, and he;'s gonna have enough of a zoo on their in his field of interest. Though grandpa may be well versed in the financial world, he may not have much if any knowledge on how things work with school loans. Co signing that loan can be a real problem for both of you. If he has to repay it because you can't, and if his credit is adversely affected due to it, and, yes, these are real issues, it can be a problem for him. If you should die or he should die, it can be a problem for the survivor. Both of you should have life insurance for that contingency and this is not brought up by the lenders. Your grandpa may be able to pay for the loan if you can't, but if he is out of the picture and can't help you, and you don't get enough in inheritance monies to pay, it can be a real problem for you.

Berklee is not the be all or end all for performing arts success, I guarantee you. I know a dozen at least of grads from there, and not a one of the ones who I know well are even in the performing arts any more. Those teachers that I do know are not making the kind of money where they can take out a loan of that size, I assure you.

My son is in the performing arts, and he is really having a tough time. Considered successful because he can meet his rent each month, but he has very little beyond that in terms of money. It is not an easy go of things. But he has no loans. He would be living here at home paying for the loans for at least 10 long years, had he taken out loans.

If your grandfather is as well to do as you say, and is able to afford paying those loans, let him take them out on his own name and have a separate agreement with you for repayment. Don't go to those sharks that'll have both of you on the hook, come hell or high water.

As for the easier or safer route, going to college for performing arts is the easy, safe route. It buys you time and shelter of sorts until going out into the real world where you want to get paid for your work instead of paying others so you can show your work, which is what school does. We pay these schools to let you play and perform, and hopefully learn some things, get some connections, but really it's to give you an easier, safer place to be during those young adult years.

That loan is not a great gift and if you grandfather has the savvy you say he does, he would have other sources for loans at better terms that don't involve you. He would not have to go these places that are just there to snap up desperate students and parents who can't get the money anywhere else . THey are taking advantage of the rules to have both you and your cosigner in their clutches forever with no way of discharging the loan--bankruptcy, death, disability, and they will be able to get the money from tax refunds, government checks, liens in ways that other debts cannot use. It's no great deal, just easy for the easy prey.

So, please. If you have this wonderful grandfather, explain to him the pitfalls of these loans, and have him go to his personal lenders who have more standard terms, and get the money from there, and then work out a separate contract that protects both of you more than what these lenders have.

lerkin

Op,

even if you skip all the advise given you so far, at least follow this one. After all, what does it matter to whom you are going to pay?

ugofatcat

Op please run the numbers on the loans you plan on taking out. Direct Stafford loans are at 6.8%. If you take out $52,000 that is $598.42 a month for ten years. If you take out $104,000 that is $1196.84 a month for ten years. Now, government loans will only let you take out so much so to accomplish your dream you will have to take out private loans. Private loans interest rates are much higher, sometimes at 17%. A 17% loan of $52,000 is $903.75 a month. Remember, you will be paying this off for ten years.
Go the loan calculator and play around with it. Direct Loans—Standard, Extended, and Graduated Repayment Calculator

juillet

I think magical thinking ends because we tend to view only the negative possibilities which causes us to only let negative things happen.

No, it's because we realize that magic doesn't exist. Not the kind of magic that will make $52,000 in loans a reasonable investment in one year of college, anyway.

People aren't trying to tell you not to do this because they want to take your dreams away. People are telling you this because this is more likely to rob you of your dreams than fulfill them. Even in the event that you do become semi-successful in music, all of your money will go towards paying student loans!

You're not going to Berklee because that's where your passion is. You're going because of a childhood dream, and a misguided idea that that's the best way to make connections for a year. A hard-working musician with talent and persistence can make connections without going to a ridiculously expensive music school they can't afford.

Of course in the end you are going to do what you want, and I only hope that you don't come to regret it. But I do hope that you grow up a little in the future, and realize that worrying about the future (and thinking realistically about the future effects of what we do) is part of being an adult. There is definitely a way to follow a passion and still be responsible and financially stable. Yes, sometimes in life we must take chances, but only chances that are likely to have a payoff that will help us. Jumping off a cliff without a bungee cord, reasoning that even if you splatter on the rocks below it'll still have been a fun fall, is not a chance.

Tjolmsy

Not to get too personal Juilet, I believe I've grown up too fast due to the life I've had in the past. My acceptance into Berklee is probably the happiest thing that has ever happened to me. There is more behind it then simply "my dream." However, I have chosen not to go. After reading this forum, I'm giving in to the Idea that life isn't about being happy or fulfilling your dreams, it's about making logical decisions regardless of how you feel about them. Speaking of which, call me crazy, but I would be happier being dirt poor in the future and have gone to Berklee, then have gone to another school that was second best since it was the more logical decision. Growing up has thousands of different meanings, and magic is what you make of it. But I'm wasting energy arguing a pointless battle. I'm not going to Berklee, I'm going to my local college as an Archeology major. Seconds best, and I will never fully be satisfied. But I want it all or nothing. If I go to school for music, it will be Berklee, and Berklee only.

Parent46

Tjolmsy, don't write out Berklee just because you're not going now. You can always go back later when you have established yourself in the world. You can always keep reinventing yourself. Never think you have to do something because you're a certain age. There's even a certain advantage to going back to college when you're older. In my art/feminism class at Scripps, I was the only one who had kids, so I basically ruled the discussions about what it was like to have children.

cptofthehouse

Tjolmsy, getting accepted to some of these colleges is like winning a chance to buy an expensive item. Like if there if a certain limited edition car is being offered for this year and only so many people can buy one since only so many are made. Winning that lottery means you have to come up with the money to buy the car. The thing with college admissions, however, is that this lottery occurs every single year so it's not a once in a life time win. I know you are feeling down right now.

Parent is 100% correct. Don't write off your dreams. There are many ways to get them. BUt to take on that kind of debt on the terms laid out was really a bad idea. Bear in mind that higher education is a business and part of it is extracting the money from the buyers regardless of the harm it may do to them.