<p>Does anyone know of all the student loan resources out there what offers better than more than 9% interest on their student loans? UNL has Wells Fargo onsite but the interest seems high. Any advice for a granddaughter just starting out? And, do all colleges have only one onsite bank? Sure’d be appreciated!</p>
<p>If she needs to borrow more than the Federal/Stafford loan limits, she is borrowing too much. Why is she considering a private loan?</p>
<p>Many colleges and universities have several different banks or credit unions with branches and/or ATMs on campus. There also should be several banks and credit unions in the surrounding area. If your granddaughter already has a checking account (for the few checks she might need to write) with an ATM/Debit card (so she can get cash when she needs to), unless her bank/credit union charges big fees for using another institution’s ATM machine there really isn’t any reason to open a new account where she will be living.</p>
<p>Well, that’s because with everything UNL has taken off she is still left with $17,550 to pay as a balance for her 1st year. Ridiculous, isn’t it? She hasn’t signed the loan with Wells Fargo yet. I think she is hesitant for good reason. She is somewhat shy about making calls to the financial aid office. I think she needs to be proactive on that and tell them that is too much and ask what more could be done. Our daughter and son-in-law with our granddaughter made the visit to the college. They seem to think Wells Fargo was the only bank onsite. Doesn’t seem fair or right. Since we were asked to cosign I plan to make a call to the financial aid office over there. They won’t be able to talk about Andrea’s plan but I can still ask some general questions. We just hate to see her go into to debt like that. Her plan is to get into forensics. She wants to catch the bad guys! Commendable. She had a 3.6 GPA throughout HS. Oh, and I don’t think her parents have let her have a checking account althought she’s been working in HS and has made regular payments on a car so must have a start of a credit rating. Thanks for your response. Otherwise how do we know any of this stuff if not from experienced parents?! Thanks, happymomof1!</p>
<p>She may want to consider doing her first two years at community college or a local school where she can commute. I realize that it is August, but UNL may not be doable or practical. If she defaults, can you afford to take over the loan payments?</p>
<p>Also, just because Wells Fargo was the bank on campus, doesn’t mean that is who loans have to be taken out with.</p>
<p>Is she in state for UNL? If she needs another 17 thousand or so that you have to cosign for, is she also borrowing the 5500 loan from the Feds. This a lot to borrow, probably too much.</p>
<p>This is an interesting article about paying for college that is relevant to the here and now.</p>
<p>[More</a> College Students Living at Home - NYTimes.com](<a href=“http://bucks.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/07/16/more-college-students-living-at-home/]More”>More College Students Living at Home - The New York Times)</p>
<p>Sorry, forgot to mention she is from Iowa so she did not qualify for a bunch of money that she would have gotten credited had she resided in Nebraska. Just the way it is. I am pretty sure the college had noted the Federal/Stafford loan. Yeah, you may be right about commuting to a community college there is one right in her town. But just between you and me her folks want her out. Don’t understand it, she’s a good kid, kind of rare but they don’t realize it. Hope they come around to realizing it rather than having us refuse to cosign. We’d feel bad about that. It would be hard! A very interesting article that I’m sure is getting to be the way it is. Thanks so much, lastminutemom196!</p>
<p>Public universities give virtually no monies to most out of state students (there are exceptions, of course, but generally only tippy top students.) It isn’t “just the way it is” because most students can’t afford to go out of state. It doesn’t sound like she can either.</p>
<p>If her parents want her out, why aren’t they cosigning and taking the risk? Are you willing, and will you even qualify, to cosign for four years? </p>
<p>What about in state options that she could live on campus? Also, could she live with you and commute or take a gap year, and depending on your state, become in state resident.</p>
<p>Right now, the plan is 90,000 in student debt, if she graduates on time and if tuition doesn’t increase (unlikely). </p>
<p>It looks like UNL is 10,000 more a year for out of state students than University of Iowa in state students. Is UNL giving her any money that isn’t loans? If not, it is time to reassess.</p>
<p>Many of the Iowa community colleges have residence halls, including North Iowa, Iowa Central, Iowa Lakes, Southeastern (Burlington campus), Hawkeye (shares UNI residence halls), Iowa Western, and Southwestern. Your grand daughter really needs to look at these. They still may not be affordable though given the cost of the residence halls.</p>
<p>The parents should be encouraged to re-think their strategy for paying for this young person’s education. The kind of debt that is contemplated is excessive. The potential co-signer(s) would need to qualify for all four years, not just one time. Each year the chance that they will qualify again decreases. There is every possibility that the student could find that she cannot complete her degree, yet is up past her eyeballs in debt. There is a lot of good reading on that topic at [FinAid</a>! Financial Aid, College Scholarships and Student Loans](<a href=“http://www.finaid.org%5DFinAid”>http://www.finaid.org)</p>
<p>I know that it is tough to have these kinds of conversation at any time, much less right before the student was expecting to start college. I do wish all of you all the best as you sort through this.</p>
<p>This school is NOT affordable. If you’re being asked to co-sign, then do your grandchild a favor and DECLINE.</p>
<p>*Well, that’s because with everything UNL has taken off she is still left with $17,550 to pay as a balance for her 1st year. Ridiculous, isn’t it? She hasn’t signed the loan with Wells Fargo yet. *</p>
<p>Yes, it is ridiculous. when you add that loan to her fed loan, she’ll have $100k in debt when she graduates. Do you really think she’ll be able to afford to pay that back? Uh, no, she won’t. </p>
<p>the truth is that most kids cannot afford to go away to school. that is a LUXURY. Most kids commute to their local state schools. Your granddaughter is borrowing to pay for a luxury experience…and the “adults” are helping with this poor decision. </p>
<p>How much do you think she’ll be earning when she graduates? How do you think she’ll be able to make $1000+ monthly loan payments IN ADDITION to paying for all of her living expenses and taxes??? Guess what, she won’t…and you’ll be stuck with the loan.</p>
<p>She was poorly advised when she decided to attend an OOS public. She needs to either take a gap year and apply to AFFORDABLE schools…or start at a CC and then transfer to an instate school.</p>
<p>She will NOT get more aid from the school later. </p>
<p>Give your grandchild some good advice…do not encourage attendance at this school. Do not co-sign otherwise be prepared to pay when she won’t be able to.</p>
<p>Thanks for all the on the mark good advice. I should have said we, too, live in Iowa, in fact, only 9 miles from them so getting her to stay with us to gain residency wouldn’t work. You are both exactly right. She needs to reaccess it all. She certainly doesn’t have to give up her goals. I think she might could even transfer her credits from a community college to a 4 year college. The thing with UNL is that it along with a college in Pennsylvania had the best program of studies for forensics. UNL being the University of Nebraska at Lincoln would be closer to home though just far enough she would need to live on campus. Her parents to be honest are both working but haven’t and don’t handle their finances well at all. They know with the debts they have they would never be accepted as cosigners for her. They don’t state that as the reason we were asked by our granddaughter instead give the excuse that she needs to stand on her own two feet now that she’s 18 and graduated from high school. We will advise her and her parents to rethink it all. Even if it means loosing her deposit for the dorm and any other fees she had to pay. Thanks again to you all that brought us back into reality about the situation. If any of you believe in prayers that would help us a great deal as well. Bless you all!</p>