**College and Student Loans**

First off some background information, Im 18, black male, and attend school at Clemson University in Clemson,SC. I have but just a few questions i'd like to bring to the attention of the folks here who are in/almost out of college at the Bachelors/Masters/PHD ect level with student loans.

-Im going into my 2nd semester

-I am currently $5500 in debt by the end of this semester or 6500(more at the bottom)

-After all my scholarships(2 or 3) and the loans (2) I still have a balance of about 970$

-There is a loan (unsubsidized) that i could take thats worth 1000$ and that would put me in the clear for this semester and take my worries off my bill till at least the fall of 2013.

-The thing is that that loan is unsubsidized and it will collect interests while i'm in school which i dont like the idea of.

-My bank account has enough money to finish this balance but that's all i have to spend till i graduate and the money left would DEF NOT make it through all the way till the end

-I have a job and am close to obtaining another(at home) so i would have some sort of supplementary income to support my poor account would have to go this route but it's unlikely.

-Would it be easier to:

1.Take this unsub loan and say done
2.Go to my local bank and ask for some sorta loan from them to pay the remaining balance.


This is the scenario im looking at, my dad paid my balance last semester ~1300$ and im not looking for a handout from him again as im the one in college trying to make something with my life.

I understand over the summer im totally going to need to find some damn scholarships because school is expensive, but my college is cheap to some standards, its about 11K a semester (with the damn OP meal plan-$1600 and the OP housing costs-2200$ but i plan to slim those out in my sophmore year in the fall as i feel like im being ripped off while college is an educational institute, it is a business at the same time.

I have 45 credit hours atm, which makes me a sophmore when im actually a 2nd semester freshman which should make me finish my school faster elminating the potential debt.

One last question, would it be in my best interest to just wait till my final semester of college, to see all of my money that i owe, go to my bank again and pay all of it in full so the only debtor i have is my local bank?

Sorry for all the questions im just a bit confused at the moment..

Thanks!

Cam

 

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I know that school is expensive and it seems that you will be looking at a big expense at the end of it with the loans and that can be frightening.

If you are working two jobs to go to school then are you able to apply yourself fully to study?

Pay as you go seems to be what you want to do but let me ask you a few questions. Do you have your mind set on a major at this point or are you still searching?

If you are undecided, then you might look into a community college and knock out some of the basic requirements until you are sure on your major. That is a way to same some money. I did that and lived at home during this time. I also fell into a scholarship that paid for tuition.

It seems that you have a fair amount of hours already so maybe you have done this already. You might consider a couple of options. If you have time maybe you can co-op in your program. My college roommate did this. He went to school a quarter and worked the next in the field related to his major. He gained experience in his field of study while making money. I think he might have taken a class while he worked.

I got my advance degree while in the military. The reserves and national guard have education benefits but in today's world the probability of being deployed is high.

My son graduated with a PharmD two years ago with $160,000 in loans. He is living with us while he is paying back his loans.

We paid his living expenses for a of his time in school and for the undergraduate portion of his degree. I would discuss with your parents and see what they are able to do.

Maybe you should sit down with someone in the finance department at your school and project your costs to complete your degree. Also knowing the probability of getting a job in your field of study and the potential income would be factors to determine your rate to pay back the loans.

Good luck with your difficult decision.

 

regarding the part about having only one lender at the end of it all, it's commonly referred to as a consolidated loan. You can usually get a lower interest rate when you do that, too. However, IIRC, you can only consolidate your loan once.

 

Unfortunately when the government took over my son's loans the consolidated all of them; even those with lower rates which added $17,000 interest to his loans. He was less than pleased with that.

 

Well thanks for the inputs guys I'm away from my comp at the moment. I'm certain I want to pursue my degree
Computer science with a minor in philosophy. I think that I may end up with around 40K in debt at my current rate, hopefully it won't be that high. I've knocked out a couple classes while in high school for free so that's Cut my costs down a little bit and I'm thankful for that.

I'm going to take some classes over te summer at a community college near my home so ill kill a class or two while I'm here. I hope to get into the federal law enforcement so if that works out because I will be busting my ass to get the grades I need. I just don't want to be freaking over my head in debt but the job opportunities I have I think I'll be alright when it comes to making the money.

Any additional comments will be highly appreciated.

 

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Cam. I'm a Army National Guard recruiter. Ever considered the military? Might as well get paid to go to school.

 

I would prefer an unsubsidized federal loan to a bank loan. Yes the interest accrues (as it would for a bank loan) but you can always make an interest payment to it to keep the loan at it's original amount. For a loan that size, it shouldn't be too large of a payment. With a subsidized loan you can at least combine them when you have to start paying them back. With a bank loan, you'll still be paying interest charges plus you won't have the ability to combine it so you'll have two payments. Plus the interest payment will be tax deductible up to a certain income. Plus, if you're having a hard time finding a job, the federal loans have deferment options. You won't get that with a bank loan.

 

Cam, Go to your scholorship office and explain your situation. When i was in school i applied for a new scholorship every semester.(on top of the ones I had) I would absolutly loan out school and finish. But make sure you finish in some field that you can get a job in. AKA don't do communication's because its easy(no offense to anyone in this industry.) Challange yourself. Go above and beyond rather than just school and work, join a professional society(often have scholarships)

 

I'll have a go at it and talk to my advisor. I'm going for a degree in computer science with a minor in philosophy, job shouldnt be hard, at all

Unsubsidized it is thanks

I have considered the military. I dont know why I didnt consider it harder, but i mean i'd be interested in federal law enforcement so i mean if it could help me reach that goal.

 

I was in roughly the same boat in college. End of sophomore year I knew there was no way I was going to be able to afford to gradate, also the college was screwing around with our department making it difficult to graduate anyway (Was going to be an industrial arts major with a manufacturing minor).

I had work study as part of my student loans and got into the school maintenance dept. Worked with the HVAC tech, plumbers, carpenters, even the boiler guys. Got along well with all of them, found out there was a guy 2 years older than me who worked there and was taking classes during the day. Thought it was a great idea.

Talked to the assitant chief operator, got him to let me borrow and old textbook and he quizzed me every day on boiler operation (In massachusetts where I went to college you had to have a state license to operate anything over 15 p.s.i.) Got my license, worked it out with a guy ahead of time so I got my license 1 week before he retired, knew another guy wanted him 1st shift slot. So begged and worked my way into his 2nd shift steam fireman job. $38,000 a year, full benefits, and FREE TUITION. I worked 3-11 tues-sat, went to school during the day. Took me an extra year to graduate but did it. Quit 8 months later, move back to VT with a new truck, a harley, a fiance, and no debt.4

Long story just to show it's completely possible!!! I'm not saying go work in a boiler room and sweat your ass off dealing with toxic chemicals and explosive fuels, that just worked for me cause it's something I knew how to do. What I'm saying is pay attention to your colleges human resources department and look throught their openings. Look at schools around that offer the major too. You can always transfer 60 credits to another school. But most colleges offer good pay and free tuition. Hell even a janitor can get free tuition (worked with a guy who went that route too, loved it). Not saying it's the perfect set up for everyone, but it makes for a much easier time (plus the look on your professors face when you're the guy coming to fix the heat in his office is priceless. "Wait, you have keys to my office??")


Good luck.

 

Thats an intresting situation you found yourself in there.

I'll have to look around when i get back about jobs that make tuition free and do them, no matter the job. Thanks for the input.

 

ttt

 

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I just graduated, and owe something in the 31k range. Not stoked and super stressed now that I can't find a full time job, and I can barely pay rent my car insurance and buy food and gas. For my degree I should have never gone to school and just got certifications, but thats just me I fucked myself there.

I know more kids who didn't go to school with a better job than I could dream of....a degree in my opinion is bullshit these days. Unless of course your in school for something that literally required a degree. When I started school...6......years ago I was told I would make 30% more than those without a degree, a statistic that must have been made up. Dishwashing sucks.

The best advice I can give since it seems you actually have income is pay as you go, and study hard making connections in your potential field so a job is easier to grab. Best of luck to you!!!

edit-props to you for thinking about this earlier rather than later!!

 

Do you live at home? Do you pay rent? What is your major? Do you attend a community college or university?

 

Holy moly, with my degree im going for, Im pretty much going to be set ~50,000$ starting off and im prob going into the military right afterwards to begin my experience for the FBI.

I only time i get income is when i actually work, during the summer, generally i make enough to float but this summer i'll prob work two jobs so i can have some spending money.

Im hopefully not going to be that much in the hole ~35K potentially but with my job outlook, and me potentially going into the military using the DEP i'll be butter with that, hopefully

I dont have a credit card, dad wont let me get one at this moment in time, isn't getting a student loan a way of building credit? correct me if im wrong here.

I live on campus, i pay housing ~2200$ a semester, meal plan ~1600$ we have to live on campus the first year, which freaking kills me this first year,

I go to Clemson University (4 year college)

 

Just as an aside, you can download the app "credit karma" and you can check your credit score at any time for free. Or you can make an account online for free as well.

But to the OP, luckily I don't have any loans for college, but I do have a credit card that I pay off each month and my credit score is good even though that is the only line of credit I have. You will though have to have a parent or someone also put their name with you on the account or you'll have trouble getting one.

 

I'm about 40K in the hole with 2 quarters to go.

My first 3 years, I was only 12K in debt, working 33 hrs a week to make up the rest in tuition, living expenses, rent, etc, and barely making the grades to pass, until I failed 2 quarters in a row officially kicking me out of the university for academic difficulty.

I petitioned, got back in the following quarter. Quit my jobs, maxed out every loan I could. My final year, I'm a lot happier. Only working 12 hrs a week, getting straight A's, dean's list, awards, engineering competitions, etc... but a lot more in debt...

To make the grades, you need to focus on school so you can graduate. What's the point in working your ass off and still not graduating? You need to find that balance.

Also, I'm not worried about paying off all that debt because I got a job offer 1 year from graduation and tentatively said yes... Can still change my mind if I get a better offer. The salary they're offering, I'll be debt free in less than 2 years.

I graduate with a double B.S. in chemical and environmental engineering in June 2013.