My dream school, DePaul University, accepted me as a transfer student for this upcoming winter quarter, but I didn’t get as much in federal aid as I thought I would, and DePaul doesn’t offer merit aid for transfers. My parents are divorced in the state of Illinois, meaning they are required to pay 1/3 of my college tuition, but their max is the cost of UofI (10k each). So, this leaves me with owing around 12-18k per year that I have to pay for all myself. I’ve been filling out scholarship applications like crazy, but I don’t think there’s any possibility of me getting all of that from scholarships every single year. Is 12-18k too much to take out in private loans every year? And will I be killing myself trying to pay them back in the future? I’m going into divorce and family therapy, so the average entry salary is around 40k per year. Also, how exactly do I go about asking someone to cosign on a private loan?
Have you considered living with one of your parents while at DePaul (assuming they live in the Chicago Land area)? That should save you some bucks, maybe a good chunk of the amount you think about borrowing.
Who is going to lend you 18K?
You will be limited to the federal limits. Only your parents could take on a private loan for that much money and my guess is they will politely decline to do so.
How many years at depaul would you have? How much debt have you accrued so far?
I would think that to work in any kind of licensed therapy, it would require at least a masters degree, no?
Divorce and family therapy? Do you mean marriage and family counseling?
That is not a very marketable degree. If you take on 18K debt per year over 3 years, you will have accrued $54K in debt. in order to make $40K per year. If you allocated 10% of your annual gross income to pay back your loans (assuming just a 5% interest rate) then it would take you 25 years to pay off your loans.
You’ve only completed one semester at Eckerd, so you have 3-1/2 more years, right? That means you need ~$60k more than you’re spending now to get a degree from DePaul. Will your parents each borrow an extra $30k for you? If not, either stay where you are or look for a more affordable school.
For that school and your career goals (which I think would require at least a masters degree), that is too much debt. What are your other options? Could you attend one of the IL state schools? What is the appeal of DePaul compared to where you are now?
Yes, it’s too much
You need a grad degree as well, right? You’re going to end up with way too much debt.
Do not ask someone to cosign those loans. You won’t earn enough to support yourself and pay the loans back.
Transfer to an instate public…one where you can live at home and commute.
@crazycatlady57 Way too much for you to consider even if you could. You won’t be able to get the loans and will need your parents to take them out for you. I realize you said this is your dream school but please find another. There is another school out there that is going to be affordable for you that you can love. Please read this thread which was started in 2012 but has been updated, as recently as 5 days ago. Good luck to you!
http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/1306403-at-a-loss.html