hey guys im a senior in high school and im pretty nervous about taking a student loan for college anyone have any tips or advice?
You shouldn't go to college unless, 1)it's free or dirt cheap, and 2) you plan to study something that you can't learn on your own. I have about 62k in student loans for my undergraduate education. Now I'm going to law school. That's cool and all, but alot of people aren't cut out to stay in school for 7 or 8 years. If you're one of those people, don't waste money on a 4 year degree. Get a job. If you know what you want to do, and that you're capable of it emotionally, financially and academically, then go for it, just don't be mad if you flunk out or can't get a job and you owe the govt thousands that can never be discharged.
Work as much as you can, and don't take out the full loan if you don't need it. Apply for grants and scholarships instead. If you can, start paying it off early. Go to a community college and if you want, then transfer to a university, state school or whatever.
[quote name='"Streetwise"']hey guys im a senior in high school and im pretty nervous about taking a student loan for college anyone have any tips or advice?[/quote] Well in many cases I would say don't worry about it, you'll them paid off. What's your major? I'm a computer science major and I plan to live close to the same way I'm living now and pay off all my school loans my first year out of college.. I've gotten good grades and have scholarships and grants pay all my university costs.. I pull loans out to pay rent etc. Have you filled out your fafsa? Unless your parents make a lot you more then likely will get pell grant. About $5750 a year you don't have to pay back.. If you go to a community college it will cost about $1000/semester and you keep the rest for books, living..
Find and apply for as many grants and scholarships you possibly can first and if you get them keep your gpa high enough to hold on to them. Borrow as little as possible
The school you enroll in should have you do things to see if you qualify for grants or scholarships, most people will get at least one. I forgot which one it is but if you absolutely have to take out a loan use the one that, starts building intrest after you graduate. Most loans have a grace period which means after you graduate they give you time to find a job before starting payments.
do not, DO NOT, take any government backed/guaranteed loans. Government back loans can never be discharged in cases of you being unable to repay...even if disabled they will collect your property, social security, disability payments, even your bank/credit union/investment accounts... if a loaner wants a co-signer for the student loan, tell them byby and seek a loan elsewhere... ALWAYS READ the entire set of papers..ask questions, seek legal consultations for clauses you do not understand. apply for every grant you can find! work part time to hep pay for cost. college students getting out with BA/BS/MBA degrees and into a market that won't pay them enough to pay off student loans and live out of poverty is the norm now...nothing but educated wage slaves breed to work for the worlds owners... keep the dept low if not zero and you will have a much greater chance of living above the poverty level.
Listen to this guy, it's good advice. I'm an english major (ha) and I don't see why somebody would go through 4 years of schooling and roughly 50k of debt (class price, textbook prices over 4 years at an in-state college) to get a major like this that gives me maybe a 40k a year job when I am out, if i'm lucky. Only reason I'm doing it is I have some other financial support, I work 30 hours a week and my parents aren't charging me rent yet. I know people who have a similar major and are taking debt for it with no plan for further schooling. That's not smart, because you'd be maybe an english teacher with low starting pay, paying off a debt of 50k over 5-10 years while you struggle to keep up. Factoring in you having to pay back those government loans (which is what most people get) 6 months after graduating, it can get nasty. Guy at my work is paying off 60k debt. Says his monthly bills suck because he's paying a 350 loan payment on top of car insurance, car payment, rent, utilities, gas, food...He works a 40 hr job then a part time 30 hour job to get through his month...after a college education. Ouch. Honestly, college isn't all it sets out to be anymore, everyone and their mom gets a degree and half the people at my retail job either have a 4 year degree or are trying to take that degree further to get the hell out of retail. It's sad. Go to college if you have the drive to do a specific thing, don't go to get a piece of paper and a pile of debt.