So, i'm not sure how many other college students are on here, but i'm having a bit of a problem. It's almost time to pay for my tuition.. and it happens to cost around 40,000. (I'm attending Purdue Univeristy). I have no idea where i am going to get this kind of money. unfortunately i am only 20, and there for considered dependent on my parents. My parens make "too much money" for me to receive any grants from the government. Good thing they arent paying for it right? gotta love the government. I do not get a single dollar of financial aid. With the economy the way it is, i have no idea who is going to give me this big of a loan. Does anyone know of any loan companies that are still giving student loans? Dropping out of school because of money problems is NOT something i had listed on my "agenda-for-life"
Have you gone to your financial aid office...they usually have a wealth of information on how to pay for tuition. You can also go to finaid.com; this website has a lot of info about loans, etc. The FAFSA website also has information about loans and other options for paying tuition. Hope this helps.
You could also look into merit scholarships, either through your school or your local area, since merit scholarships aren't dependent on your parents' financial situation.
One thing I did when looking for student loans is I went back to my high school counciler. She told me before I graduated that they help alumni with finding scholerships. I got lots of help from her and I did not apply to collage until I was 24, out of high school 7 years. And make sure that you triple check the fine print on any student loan before you sign. Also be extra weary of loans offered by the school you want to attend. Many of them are not in the best intrest of the student.
Man, if I could go back to the year 2000 when I graduated, I would've said, "Hey, stupid! Get the best bang for your buck, get in, and get OUT!".
...but I didn't do that. You DO qualify for aid- government loans. Fill our your FAFSA, apply for work study, and if dropping that much money is truly worth it for you, look at private loans via banks- Sallie Mae, Wells Fargo, Us Bank, etc...
My advice- try to get as much through government loans as you can.
...and look into cheaper schools. (and just because you can't cough up a private education doesn't mean you can't get a GREAT education publicly)
ETA: Also, after you start attending school, look into the grants and scholarships your program offers. My school had some nice scholarships up for grabs for currently enrolled students.
Purdue isnt a private school -it is just out of state for me, thats why its so expensive. ive taken out private loans before im just afraid that at this amount they wont approve me. as far as fasfa, i have filled it out - and i will not receive any money through that. and unfortunately changing schools is not an option because i have just spent two years talking to people everyday and night and keeping a 3.6GPA to transfer IN to purdue. lol so i cant transfer out. i only have 2 years to go.
i never thought of going back to my high school, ill have to try that. my counselor was great to me all through high school. perhaps she can help
Have you considered switching from the Lafayette campus to the Indianapolis campus? IUPUI is considerably cheaper, with the same degree, and they have dorms also. When I switched, my tuition was about 1/2 what it was at Lafayette, I'm not sure what the difference would be for you since you're out of state.
I work in the student loan industry, and I would apply for government backed loans, stay away from private loans if you can avoid it. Your financial aid office can help you locate loans available to you. Private loans aren't regulated the way government loans are, so they can charge you 9-12% interest. You may also want to consider Parent Plus loans, if your parents will go for it.
I had a similar problem when I was 19. I went to NYU, which is around the same price. I managed to get loans for the first year, but my mom's bankruptcy left me unable to get a co-signer for the second. I ended up working & saving money for almost two years before I got back to school. Now, I have a year left at OSU, which is only about $8k a year.
So I think your only option is to take out a $40k loan and have your parents co-sign it (hopefully they'll be able to for all 4 years).
Have you considered switching from the Lafayette campus to the Indianapolis campus?
i attended the hammond calumet campus for two years and im just now switching to the lafayette campus, so i havent even been there yet, and it took FOREVER to just switch to lafayette, by the time i transfer to any other school, ill have graduated.
im almost done. i guess ill have to talk to the financial aid office next week when i register for classes. its ridiculous how expensive school is.
I teach for a living and advise students all the time. My first recommendation is always, "don't pay to much for your college education!" Find a new college, one in your state that offers instate tuition. In NC, if a student attends Duke, it will cost $38,000/year and if they attend NCSU, it will be about $7,500/year. Unless Perdue has a degree that you can't get anywhere else, find a new school. But don't stop your education.
well, im almost done as i said - and ive worked very hard to get where im at, at purdue and i havent even gotten to attend purdue yet because im just now transferring there, also as i said, by the time i transfer anywhere else i will be done. its a long drawn out process and took two years just to transfer from a purdue campus to another purdue campus, so by the time i do all that, i will have graduated. so. im not changing schools, that is not an option. so if anyone has any other ideas, other then changing schools, they would be greatly appreciated. thanks.
You can get an unsubsidized stafford loan as well as other loans if your parents make too much. My husband paid for most of his law school with cash but had to take loans for stuff he couldn't cover immediately. Did you actually do a Fafsa? I thought that you needed to do that if you needed an unsubsidized loan.
I believe there is also a parent backed loan for education as well. Another option is getting a job on campus. I got a job as soon as I transferred from one school to another and that helped pay for my living expenses.
I also have to say I transferred from a school because of a number of factors including my parents increasing income, my dwindling financial aid without huge loans and the fact that another school was much cheaper. I ended up graduating with about 11k in loans total.
Student Loans
