College Loans

[KristiXP]

I'm starting college in a few weeks. I'm unemployed, and have been for most of the year now. :o It's hard finding a job in this area. Anyhow. For those of you college students, if you took out a loan, what loan did you go with?

I don't really know much about loans such as the interest rates (which is best). So, if someone could explain interest rates to me that would help.

I am currently looking at 4 different loan opportunities. I will be going as an Undergraduate.

www.educationone.com
www.superloan.com
www.fleeteducation.com
1800-2-College (I will be calling them today to find out more) They have a 3.5% interest rate.

If you have the time, could you check out the links and maybe give me a little adivce on which you think is best? If you have taken out a loan, I would appreciate any info you could give me about it and the experience you had with the company.

Thanks,
Kristi

 

[Blake]

I havn't taken out a college loan before, but I hope I can give you some helpful advise.

Every college should have a finacial aid department on campus, with staff that should be knowledgeable in this area. There are different government fiancial aid forms that you can fill out. Depending on you family's income and other factors you maybe able to recieve a money grant. Also, your college should have various scholarships that you can apply for (major and non-major related).

As for a loan, I believe, if you take a loan from your college the interest will not start to accrue until you have graduated or quit college and the interest rates are relatively low.

Having a job always helps. On-campus jobs are usually abundant and close by, but are low paying. Work times should be flexible with your class schedule. Usually, you cannot work over 20 hours a week with one, which shouldn't be too burdensome with a full load of classes. If so, just take some hours off of work each week, after all school is more important than work.

 

[Matt R.]

I am getting a student loan from the government, but I'm from Canada.

I dunno how it works in the US.

 

[Lotar]

If you apply for financial aid, there are 2 types of loans. Subsidized loans don't gain any interest while you attend school. Unsubsidized gain interest, but you don't have to make payments while in school.

 

[dinkime]

i have both subsidized and unsubsidized stafford loans through the government.

i am paying them off together right now.

your best bet is to contact the financial aide office at your college -- they will know/be able to help you figure out what is best for you!

 

[wonder111]

i'm in Canada too, but I had a provincial loan, Canadian government loan and a personal bank loan. Basically i'm in serious debt right now

 

[Matt R.]

i'm in Canada too, but I had a provincial loan, Canadian government loan and a personal bank loan. Basically i'm in serious debt right now

I think that's how I'll be when I'm done. I might have to take a bank student loan out too, as well as the Provincal-Federal government one.

Matt

 

[oneiric]

http://www.salliemae.com is where i got mine

 

[Clay]

if you are going to a state school or a private school that accepts government funds, apply for FAFSA. also apply for special government grants and scholarships to help subsidize the funds. last option should be a loan. get a job where ever you school is (it will help with the loan interest part) and basically just work and work and work. ive been working my butt off sicne freshman year of high school and so far im loan free going into my 2nd year of school and ill be able to come out this year without a loan also, so God has been good. just do your best and God will bless.

 

[KristiXP]

http://www.salliemae.com is where i got mine

I forgot about Salliemae. Do you reccomend getting a loan from them?

Thank you everyone for your replies. I will be considering everything you have all suggested. I really feel that I am in a bind here.

Clay, I have applied for scholarships, and for some reason have not gotten even one. I have an account at Fastweb and I have applied to many of the scholarships they have there. I have even written reports for scholarships, inwich I had gotten into the second round of judging, but didn't win.

I will keep trying with scholarships. I won't give up. I hope to have a job in the same area as my school, that way I might be able to work inbetween classes. (Has anyone done this? How did it work for you?)

Thank you everyone for your replies. Keep 'em coming!

 

[Lotar]

I forgot about Salliemae. Do you reccomend getting a loan from them?

Thank you everyone for your replies. I will be considering everything you have all suggested. I really feel that I am in a bind here.

Clay, I have applied for scholarships, and for some reason have not gotten even one. I have an account at Fastweb and I have applied to many of the scholarships they have there. I have even written reports for scholarships, inwich I had gotten into the second round of judging, but didn't win.

I will keep trying with scholarships. I won't give up. I hope to have a job in the same area as my school, that way I might be able to work inbetween classes. (Has anyone done this? How did it work for you?)

Thank you everyone for your replies. Keep 'em coming!

Salliemae is good, I got my loans there, just try to only take subsidized loans if possible.

 

[Blake]

To me working part-time, 20 hours a week, and going to school full time, 15 credit hours, wasn't too hard to balance. I scheduled my classes early in the morning and back-to-back, so that I would have an open afternoon for a job. I even had my weekends free, to catch up on homework or to just be lazy.

I know a few people who work full-time jobs and go to school full time, but they don't have much time for a social life or even for much of a break.

With working part-time (20 hours) and getting paid minimum wage you should be able to pull in atleast $200 every two weeks.

 

[Lotar]

To me working part-time, 20 hours a week, and going to school full time, 15 credit hours, wasn't too hard to balance. I scheduled my classes early in the morning and back-to-back, so that I would have an open afternoon for a job. I even had my weekends free, to catch up on homework or to just be lazy.

I know a few people who work full-time jobs and go to school full time, but they don't have much time for a social life or even for much of a break.

With working part-time (20 hours) and getting paid minimum wage you should be able to pull in atleast $200 every two weeks.

It matters how much your tuition is. Thats only about $1,200 a quarter.
I pay about that much for tuition and books. At most schools, that wouldn't even cover tuition. Then you have to figure room and board. If you live at home, there's gas, car repairs, and maybe car payments.
Admit it, your parents give you money

 

[Clay]

i worked last semester (20 hours a week and 16 credits) and ill be working this semester (25 hours a week and 18 credits) to stay on top of things. ive scheduled my days so i have tuesday and thursdays free of school (10 hour days at work) and 5 hours to work on saturday. my monday wednesday and friday is pretty packed though so no work for me then. its really not that bad. i didnt work first semester (long story) and it was actually wicked boring just hanging around. i'd still find every excuse not to do homework!

 

[Lotar]

I work between 16 and 20 hours a week during school and full-time in the summer, but I make $16 an hour, so I don't really have a problem paying for school anymore. I did need loans my first couple of years.

 

[alonesoldier]

My parents don't give me money! I left home at 18 and never looked back.

 

[KristiXP]

I have Tuesdays and Thursdays off of school too, so I could work those days. On Mondays and Fridays, I could work after classes. On Wednesdays, I'll be at college until 9 P.M. YAY

I have 5 hours in betwen my two classes on Mondays and Fridays, but I think I'll take a few of those hours to study and get my homework done.

 

[Blake]

It matters how much your tuition is. Thats only about $1,200 a quarter.
I pay about that much for tuition and books. At most schools, that wouldn't even cover tuition. Then you have to figure room and board. If you live at home, there's gas, car repairs, and maybe car payments.
Admit it, your parents give you money

I have a scholarship which covers for my tuituion, which is around $2,400 a semester, and $150 for books. I do live at home with my father, but I do give him money for rent, utilities, and food. Car insurance is pretty cheap since I have liability. I am blessed not to have a car note. Although, I do not drive anything close to luxury. Car repair is a constant pain though. Neither of my parents give me money. I am a very fortunate individual to not be in debt. Otherwise, I'd have to work more and I do value my free time.

 

[breanna]

My advice is to avoid loans at all cost! I work at a bank, and I know how quickly loans and debt can get out of control... If you need to take out some loans to get you through your first year (because of the job situation), try to save money from a job during that year so that you can get ahead and save for next time the tuition bills roll around.
Also, some people have mentioned this, go for a loan that is subsidized over unsub, it's definitely a better deal. And from what I have seen, you can get better deals from the financial aid office than from an independent bank or loan place. But, that is just my experience, and I don't know what it would be like at your school.
I know that there are some places you can go on the web to find an interest and payback schedule for your loans - you can enter the amount that you've taken out or plan to take out during your college career, enter the rate of interest, and it will calculate your monthly payments. It's amazing to see how much the interest adds up... You definitely end up paying a lot more than face value.

 

[Hewitt]

From what I've been told, the best interest rate you can possibly get is 4.25% which is considered the prime rate. When you mentioned 3.5%, I'm assuming that was in addition to the prime rate.

For example, if you have no credit history (such as me), you would qualify for prime + 3.5% with Wells Fargo Credit Union. In total, that puts my loans at a 7.75% total interest rate. However, after my first year of college I will hopefully have established credit and can refinance my freshman loans for a lower rate.