I'm getting ready to get back to school now that my life has calmed down and the dust has settled. I'm looking for different ways to pay for it, and while I have done the grants and scholarships and whatnot, I'm looking at loans as well to add an extra cushion in there. I really hate to borrow money or get into debt, but 'supposedly' student loans aren't so bad. Just thought I would ask and see if anyone here has/is using one and what kind of contract you ended up in.

I'll be a freshman in college this year, but my parents are paying for all of it. (Sorry, just had to.)

You don't pay tution fees in Scotland.

i HATE you.

I had a Student loan for 2 years back in 2003-2005 for a course in astrohphysics, which i left.

Im now accepted at Solent Uni for Art and Games Design, but theres a good chance i'll be turned down for that loan simply cos I've had part of one before.
It really sucks, do u really only get one chance at uni?

There are other mitigating circumstances, such as the fact that i've supported myself for 3 years, i'm almost 25 (mature student for Student Loans Company) and i had medical reasons for leaving my last course.

Pray for me

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elseif(getThingFlags(source) & 0x4){
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Be sure to show them you appreciate it, not all of us have parents that are so generous.

Sell your plasma if you need a little extra cash. It's the popular thing to do at my school.

Or a testicle.

I've heard that a testicle goes for $60,000. I mean, you only need one...

Someone out there is making a killing.

And you don't even really need one.

I work in the enrollment department for a university so I help students secure student loans almost every day. There are a few key things that you should be aware of when deciding to take out a student loan:

1: It has no basis on your credit (meaning if you have bad credit now, it won't factor into whether you are awarded a student loan).

2: When applying for future loans, it will not be weighed into your debt to income ratio (for example, if you were taking out a loan to buy a house, they would not factor in your student loan).

3: You can get a subsidized loan through the federal government (meaning they pick up a good chunk of the interest).

4: Loans are deferred while you're in school (meaning you don't need to make payments on them until after you are finished with school, and typically you have about 10 years to pay it off).

5: Just about anyone can get a student loan if they will be attending full time. The only real excluding factors are:
a) you declared bankruptcy while on a student loan.
b) you defaulted on a student loan.
c) you have a drug-related felony conviction while on a student loan.
d) you are a male and did not register for selective service.
e) you are a dependent student (not 24, not married, or don't have a kid).
and even if you are dependent you are still eligible, you just need your parents to help you secure the loan.

Those are the big details about student loans that you need to consider. Also, if you've taken out a student loan before, that does not mean you won't get another one. I believe you can get up to $90,000 in student loans in a lifetime.

I've just been told i CAN have a loan!!

Games Design and Art course, here i come!!!

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elseif(getThingFlags(source) & 0x4){
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else{
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What if I'm only 21, but NOT a dependent... my parents are completely useless to me.

It doesn't matter. In the eyes of the government you are a dependent student unless you're 24, you've gotten married, you've had a kid, both of your parents are deceased, or you're an emancipated minor, or you're in the military. I've had to tell 23 year old students who haven't spoken to their parents in years that they can't get the loan on their own because they didn't meet any of those requirements.

However, if your parents have bad credit/low income, they still need to apply for what's called the parent plus loan (the loan that all dependent students' parents apply for), and if they are denied that loan, as it is credit and income based, you automatically become independent and thus eligible for the full amount in student loans on your own.

And in case I've missed anything, just go to fafsa.ed.gov and under step one click on "determine your dependency status." If you can answer yes to any of the questions you are independent.

Oh, you are also considered independent if you are going for a graduate degree. That's the only reason I'm considered independent.

That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard.

i'm 24 and i'm not considered a mature student, not until i'm 25 apprently.

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elseif(getThingFlags(source) & 0x4){
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else{
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Well one of my parents makes less than I do, and the other has gone through bankruptcy more than once I think, and is up to his ears in debt even though he makes 80k a year.

Just pulled this off the FAFSA site, didn't see anything about dependent elegibility though.

Right, you absolutely don't need your parents to cosign the loan, you will be eligible to receive a student loan without your parents even if you are a dependent, but it will be significantly less than the tuition requirements for a lot of schools.

If you are a dependent, it's highly recommended that your parents apply for the PLUS loan to secure additional funding. If your parents are denied the plus loan (based on what you said above about your parents income and debt, there's a good chance they will be) then you will automatically be considered independent and eligible for the full amounts yourself.

Cool thanks!

The magic age is 23 according to FAFSA

PS, I did it this way.

Max pell grant, max stafford, decent sized private.

UPS pays most of my tuition, the pell grant covers the rest, the stafford loan and the private loan pay my rent and for tools and books.

UPS pays my stafford loans back over time. (Upto something like %75 of three loans, I only need one this year and one next year.)

Any money left over I save. I live on my own, so I've been trying to build a rent safety net of about 6 months. I've also been saving for another motorcycle. (I love the S90 and everything, I just need something bigger to use once a week at best to go shopping in the next town over or visit friends)

I don't have a TV, or internet at home. Honestly.. aside from missing a couple of shows here and there I can't see much of any use for them. I'm a much more productive person with no internets.

But you should seriously look at working for UPS hub that pays out tuition. The work isn't as bad as people say. The people that think the works sucks are the ones you'll find are the lazy douchebags that make it suck so bad.

Well, I can't speak for the UPS Parcel side, but I worked for the Frieght side for almost a year. I wasn't a loader/unloader, I was somewhere in between the supervisors and those guys... Their boss, but not A boss. Anyway, that place was a s*** hole. I'm going to say it was probably 80% because everyone who ran it was corrupt (most of which have been fired from what I hear) but it was definately NOT a job I wanted to keep. Besides, working a night shift during school just doesn't work for me. I'm not nearly as productive.

You sound like every other typical crying *** baby that works for UPS.

WAHHH WAHHH YOU MEAN I NEED TO COME TO WORK AND ACTUALLY DO MY JOB??!! WAHHHHH

That made no sense... All I said was working at night didn't suit me.

And all I said is that you're a crybaby.

What was there to not understand, crybaby?