I have a daughter heading off to college shortly. As part of the original financial aid application she was only approved for a rather small student loan amount. Her mom and I are going to try and help pay as much of the cost as we can, but we still want her to pay a part of the cost. We are a little late getting around to the whole student loan thing and are kind of lost of where to begin. They are just so many different lender options out there. She got a year of college out of the way by doing PSEO last year so that really helps. She has plans to work during the school year as well, but I want her to keep that to a minimum untill she gets settled into the whole college life. Anyone recently been through this process and figured out the best place to get the student loan through.
first off, congrats to your daughter and to you for getting her to this point. Paying for college is an insanely difficult discussion. As someone who spent my entire 20’s paying off student loans, I will admit I was completely failed in regards as to how to pay for college. First thing, good job on PSEO, it’s an incredibly valuable resource that can save you a ton of money, I think my 2 years of PSEO saved me over 60k. Second, make sure your daughter is ready for college. If she is wishy washy on her major, or, is anticipating going to a private university for elementary education, maybe have some hard conversations about the reality of saddling over 100k of debt. Third, if you don’t already have one, get a financial advisor that you trust to guide you through this and if they are good, they will be willing to sit down with your daughter and set some realistic goals for work, study, savings, etc. Last, the university admissions office should have information on loan services. If I understand your situation correctly, she doesn’t qualify for government subsidized loans, so you’ll likely be looking at private loans. If possible, stay away from variable rate loans, and make sure you understand loan terms and interest rates and write everything down in a neat and organized way so that you can sit down with her once a year or so and talk about where things are at, what it means for her future and what goals she has achieved or made that year. I can’t stress this enough, learn everything you possibly can about this and make sure she understands the commitment she is making and the impact it will have on her future. It really sucks getting your first job out of college and half of your income goes to paying for a piece of paper. Reach out if you have any other questions.
if she already has a Govt backed student loan sounds like you’ve completed the FAFSA, good that was step 1 and not a lot of flexibility within that, you kind of get what you get. I’d reach out to her college financial aid department for some private loan resources as well as work study opportunities. They should have also sent you some info from their financial aid dept on what if anything thru the school she is eligible for. It is pretty late in the game, but private loans should still be available. If she can get a work study job that is ideal, as she makes some base amount to hand out towels at the gym, or put books back in the library aka free money to study.
My wife and I both had 0 help and went to MIAC schools, so I’m very familiar with a (un)healthy debt load. Whatever she does make sure she starts paying principal AND interest once she graduates. That’s what I did, and while it sucked having $600+/month payment right out of college, mine was paid off in 10 years. My wife didn’t really have anyone explain what she was signing up for, and paid interest only until we met 10 years after college and we will have hers paid off about the time she is 40.
first off, congrats to your daughter and to you for getting her to this point. Paying for college is an insanely difficult discussion. As someone who spent my entire 20’s paying off student loans, I will admit I was completely failed in regards as to how to pay for college. First thing, good job on PSEO, it’s an incredibly valuable resource that can save you a ton of money, I think my 2 years of PSEO saved me over 60k. Second, make sure your daughter is ready for college. If she is wishy washy on her major, or, is anticipating going to a private university for elementary education, maybe have some hard conversations about the reality of saddling over 100k of debt. Third, if you don’t already have one, get a financial advisor that you trust to guide you through this and if they are good, they will be willing to sit down with your daughter and set some realistic goals for work, study, savings, etc. Last, the university admissions office should have information on loan services. If I understand your situation correctly, she doesn’t qualify for government subsidized loans, so you’ll likely be looking at private loans. If possible, stay away from variable rate loans, and make sure you understand loan terms and interest rates and write everything down in a neat and organized way so that you can sit down with her once a year or so and talk about where things are at, what it means for her future and what goals she has achieved or made that year. I can’t stress this enough, learn everything you possibly can about this and make sure she understands the commitment she is making and the impact it will have on her future. It really sucks getting your first job out of college and half of your income goes to paying for a piece of paper. Reach out if you have any other questions.
Another tip, and this isn’t for everyone, but I lived off campus in an apartment. Living cost me a fraction of what it would have to share an 8×8 box with a stranger, the difference being I had to pay it monthly in real time and not wait until after college was over to start paying it.
If you’re able to balance work and school and life it’s a great way to save on that overall bill.
UofM Mpls cost me $12k per year because I didn’t have another 10k of living and meal plan on the bill.
To apply for a federal student loan, you must first complete and submit a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA®) form. Based on the results of your FAFSA form, your college or career school will send you a financial aid offer, which may include federal student loans.
Start by filling your FAFSA