So, the daughter is starting college in the fall and thus far I've been pretty aloof about the process. She's 18 years old now, and if she's mature enough to go away to college then she should be mature enough to handle her entrance and loan paperwork. And thanks to her Mom being a loser, and her good grades, she's going to qualify for around $11,000 in grants, scholarships, and loans per year. Anyway, she's opted to go away to Ohio University so with housing fees the gap between what she's already got and what she'll need is about $6,000-8,000 per year. I'm assuming it's pretty easy to borrow this amount? Any advice from those of you who've recently been through this process? And yeah, I intend to help her. But given her personality I can't just thrown money at her at the front end of this process. Unless she's got some skin in the game she would not spend my money wisely...
Student loans stay with you forever. Not even bankruptcy can make them go away. Even if one is stuck at McDonald's, the payments will be directly garnished from your wages. With the cost of modern edumacation, look forward to a mighty mountain of debt by graduation, says the guy who notes that student loan debt has now surpassed credit card debt in the US... Student Loan Calculator Da Gubbamint on Higher Education costs (edit: The costs of Higher Education, that is. Not the higher costs of education.) Sorry about letting my modifier dangle out in public like that!
Yeah, to be honest I'm pretty pissed that she's going away to school. She could stay in town and go for free essentially. The pitiful thing is she doesn't even have a sound reason - she's going in undecided. And it's not like we live in the middle of nowhere, within easy commuting distance is the University Of Cincinnati, Northern Kentucky University, Xavier, etc. She's got an acceptance letter to the Lender Business College right here in town, and yet she's going to go to O.U. with no major... [-(
Going to school without a clue of what to do? Yikes. My wife's ex-friend flip flopped on majors so much, that by the time she was done, she got a major in para-psychology, with a minor in geology. WTF?? It took her like 6 years to do it too because she wasn't sure what she was going to do. That's why I never did university: I couldn't think of anything that I wanted to REALLY apply myself to. That, and the fact I had no money to afford it!
She's done very little investigating in terms of careers, and has loosely chosen "business" as a major. Of course she has no idea what that means, what the job is like, what the market conditions or job outlook are, etc. And yeah, she has a friend at O.U. A boyfriend...
dont do it man. get her into a decent job first, let her make some money and grow as a person before going off to college and racking up loans and debt. student loans arent a joke... when she starts making a bit of money and getting a taste of reality bills and expenses, she'll wisen up and make better decisions on what to do. maybe go to school part time, work full time. or vice versa. either way it goes, she needs to be making some money of her own right now. unless both of you as parents will pitch in to pay for her school, i see this as a big issue in the future.
Oh no worries there. She won't get a dime from me unless she graduates with a degree and actually gets a good job. And as far as she knows she isn't getting any help from me at all. No art history majors on my dime, there are cheaper ways to get a job at Starbucks...
Posting for the arrow icon thing so I can come back and elaborate when I get real Internet again tomorrow.
I would put very strict and extreem conditions on every single dollar of support you provide. Sounds like a most kids. They turn 18 and want a blank check on their lives for as much as they can get. I didn't have that option. The flip side is, she is legally old enough to suffer all her own consequences now, all by her one-sees.
I understand where you are coming from but... Should really think about having an honest and blunt conversation with her. Hell my wife and I are STILL fucking around with student loan debts from when we 'experimented' with college and figured out that it wasnt for us. Not trying to tell you how to parent, its just that I really wish that my father / mother were brutally honest when I was all 'la la la i'ma go to college and major in something something'. Would have saved me YEARS of debt repayment. edit: it sounds like i'm saying she shouldnt go to college, which isnt what i was going for. just a bit extra confirmation that she understand that this shit is serious could help both of you down the road
Pretty sure MSP lives in Ohio. So, my twoish cents now that I've got internet hooked back up: Like has been stated before, very few at 18 know what they want to be when they grow up, even more so with us Millenials (I'm only half joking when I refer to my generation as the Peter Pan generation). That said, I don't think you should discourage her from attending college just because she doesn't quite know what she wants to do or be when she grows up. I think a fair thing would be to let her know that you'll help her with the first semester or year provided she gets at least a C average and then discuss future financial help. The first semester(s) are a huge adjustment and she may do worse than she did in HS as it's a whole different game (I graduated Salutatorian from HS and managed an AWESOME 1.7 my first semester). However, with the first semester or two some people find themselves and what they want to pursue since they divorce themselves fully from the high school mindset by then. Don't worry about the boyfriend, good chance they'll break up around or by Thanksgiving. Now post-graduation. I know it seems like a waste to you and I don't disagree but it's a huge pain in the ass getting a job in the field you want right now thanks to this awesome recession. Obviously there are some who do want to work at Starbucks and not get a "real job" but I don't think those are the majority. Maybe make a deal with her that you'll help pay half of her loans provided she's either employed in field OR actively searching and interviewing thus showing effort on her part.
All good advice. A business degree is a rather usefull area to enter the college scene on. While taking usefull prerequisites that can transfer over to other majors, she will probably find what it is she will end up with as her choice. If she can't decide, or is just there to party, I'd make sure she was on her own dime.
Thread mostly tl;dr. The one thing that I'll add it this point is this: Just like K-12 education is only *partly* about learning how to read/write/do maths, going away to college provides a lot more than a degree. There's a whole lot of growing up that happens when... -you can't call daddy to set a mouse trap for you -you have to negotiate roommate rules without a parent doing it for you -you have a pregnancy scare and are afraid to call home about it -you are the one in charge of whether you actually get out of bed in the morning or not My 2c: she needs to be far enough away that she won't come home most weekends to do laundry but close enough that in an emergency, support is only 2-3 hours away (whether that's by driving/flying).
I'm not discouraging her from going to college, I'm discouraging from her racking up a huge debt that won't land her a decent job. My advice to her was to go to school here in town until she finds a direction, then transfer to a school with a good program in that field. Hell, even Miami University is nearby. So many choices right here... And helping her with her loans, I'm not going to leave her high and dry if she gets an accounting degree and has trouble finding work. I'll leave her high and dry only if she gets a bullshit degree (women's studies, art history) and can't get a job. But anyway, back to my initial question, where did you get your non-federal loans? You work with someone at the financial aid department of your college, high school guidance counselor, some other resource? Is the payback on these non-federal loans deferable until after graduation?
Let's be honest, nowadays, 25K in student debt is NOTHING in comparison to what she could be amounting. I know MANY people going to so-so schools, getting degrees in meh subjects and have WELL OVER 100k in student debt. To answer your question, I think you'd work directly with the financial aid department at the school. I never had loans, so can't be positive, but that sounds like the place to start. Also, I'm pretty sure the loans don't start until after graduation (or drop out :x). And, not suggesting, but I believe you can continue rolling them over if you pursue higher degrees (MBA, MS, etc.)
I was lucky enough to live at home while attending University. I also received grants and worked part time so I never had to take out a loan. It also helps that it was a State University so tuition was not that expensive to begin with. That being said no one helped me out financially, I paid everything I used/consumed in addition to paying all utility bills for our 2,200sqft house (3 occupants) plus $200 a month on top of that which averaged about $450 a month total. I always thought this was the hierarchic of paying for college: 1. Fill out FAFSA 2. If you qualify for Grants/Scholarships this will help 3. Grants/scholarships usually would not cover everything so subsidized loans will be offered 4. If grants and subsidized loans dont cover it then unsubsidized loans are the next step. A lot of this depends on how much income you and your wife make. I have a feeling your daughter will get jack shit as far as grants go with your combined income. All this info should be available by the colleges financial aid department.
Do it while you can. http://finance.yahoo.com/blogs/daily-ticker/student-loans-could-next-housing-bubble-robert-reich-144742652.html
Luckily for Liz the primary parent fills out the FAFSA, and her Mom is a big fucking loser. So my income doesn't penalize her at all. :mrgreen: And yeah Wiskas, I can smell death in the air. We checked with Liz's bank and they aren't even offering student loans anymore. My bank is though. Anyway, thanks for the info guys. I've got a warm/fuzzy she'll be able to finance and have minimal debt.
