Accepting Student Loans?

[deleted1029620]

I know this will be unique to each person, but how do students usually go about determining the amount to accept for loans each semester?
Do students create spreadsheets of their expenses? I'm just trying to be smart about how much I accept & only borrow what I really need to live comfortably.

Obviously I need enough to cover the cost of tuition & any additional school fees for the semester, which is about $5000 for summer semester, but what about taking out excess? Like to use for cost of living/ paying bills bc I won't be working. In my case, I'll be living at home & commuting about 20 mins each way to school so I don't have to worry about housing. Also, my program provides a lot of the books needed on an online drive. Any other major fees & costs that I should account for?

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[dptnaynay]

Remember you have to pay it all back and then some so borrow as little as possible!!! I would highly recommend getting a job or making some money before school starts so you have the funds to pay for things like food, gas, going out, etc. with your own money during the semester. A parking permit may be an extra expense. Find out from students above you if you are required to have certain tools for labs, immunizations, certifications/memberships.

 

[deleted1029620]

Remember you have to pay it all back and then some so borrow as little as possible!!! I would highly recommend getting a job or making some money before school starts so you have the funds to pay for things like food, gas, going out, etc. with your own money during the semester. A parking permit may be an extra expense. Find out from students above you if you are required to have certain tools for labs, immunizations, certifications/memberships.

I've been working full time for the past 2 years & have saved up a decent amount of money, but that will only last me maybe my first year. I made sure that I have a $1000 emergency fund in addition to the money i've saved. We also have free parking + shuttles on campus so the parking wont be an expense thankfully. My program required us to have our immunizations, clinician kit, APTA membership & CPR certification before/ at the beginning of the program. I will definitely talk to some students that are in the program already, thank you!!

 

[kdubz7w7]

I know this will be unique to each person, but how do students usually go about determining the amount to accept for loans each semester?
Do students create spreadsheets of their expenses? I'm just trying to be smart about how much I accept & only borrow what I really need to live comfortably.

Obviously I need enough to cover the cost of tuition & any additional school fees for the semester, which is about $5000 for summer semester, but what about taking out excess? Like to use for cost of living/ paying bills bc I won't be working. In my case, I'll be living at home & commuting about 20 mins each way to school so I don't have to worry about housing. Also, my program provides a lot of the books needed on an online drive. Any other major fees & costs that I should account for?

- Depending on your age, health insurance is a real pain. I paid for it fully out of pocket for two years before it dawned on me to go on medicaid. But even so, if you have crappy health insurance, there are a LOT of things that add up. Last September I needed both emergency dental surgery & new tires for my car (not covered by my car insurance) and was out over a grand all at once and unexpectedly. Contacts were another $500 the following month (not covered by my previous health insurance or medicaid).
- I can't think of any *expected* expenses that blind-sided me.
- My school had a couple of unique opportunities that came up - one, to fly to CSM, and another, to do a clinical rotation in Italy. Both were around $2k, all told, probably more. They obviously were not required expenses - I couldn't afford either - but if your school has such things and you really want to do them, that might be something to consider.
- Also, I accept the full loans. I am an adult, zero parental/family financial support, so I'm totally on my own. I also started school with savings, and burned through it by my second year. I'd rather have the money if I needed it, such as what I mentioned, and if you had leftovers you can always just pay it right back into the loan when you graduate....even if it is accruing interest, it's better to have the money than realize you need to choose between your health or eating dinner for the next month...
For all of you out there who do have financial support from families, even things as seemingly basic as health insurance....you have no idea how good you have it, so treasure it.

 

[deleted1029620]

- Depending on your age, health insurance is a real pain. I paid for it fully out of pocket for two years before it dawned on me to go on medicaid. But even so, if you have crappy health insurance, there are a LOT of things that add up. Last September I needed both emergency dental surgery & new tires for my car (not covered by my car insurance) and was out over a grand all at once and unexpectedly. Contacts were another $500 the following month (not covered by my previous health insurance or medicaid).
- I can't think of any *expected* expenses that blind-sided me.
- My school had a couple of unique opportunities that came up - one, to fly to CSM, and another, to do a clinical rotation in Italy. Both were around $2k, all told, probably more. They obviously were not required expenses - I couldn't afford either - but if your school has such things and you really want to do them, that might be something to consider.
- Also, I accept the full loans. I am an adult, zero parental/family financial support, so I'm totally on my own. I also started school with savings, and burned through it by my second year. I'd rather have the money if I needed it, such as what I mentioned, and if you had leftovers you can always just pay it right back into the loan when you graduate....even if it is accruing interest, it's better to have the money than realize you need to choose between your health or eating dinner for the next month...
For all of you out there who do have financial support from families, even things as seemingly basic as health insurance....you have no idea how good you have it, so treasure it.

Oh wow, thanks for your transparent response. I definitely agree w/ having the money vs. being in a position where i'd need it & i'm without.
I will keep the expenses for conferences & clinicals in mind. Thankfully I'm only 24 turning 25 in the fall so i'll still be on my mom's health insurance. Not to be nosy, but was Medicaid considerably cheaper than the other health insurance plan you were on?

 

[deleted1029620]

Also does anyone know if loans are given out every semester? Or is the loan amount offered supposed to cover both summer & fall for example?

 

[kdubz7w7]

Oh wow, thanks for your transparent response. I definitely agree w/ having the money vs. being in a position where i'd need it & i'm without.
I will keep the expenses for conferences & clinicals in mind. Thankfully I'm only 24 turning 25 in the fall so i'll still be on my mom's health insurance. Not to be nosy, but was Medicaid considerably cheaper than the other health insurance plan you were on?

When students in my cohort turned 25 in late second year they were suddenly scrambling to figure out what to do for insurance, so maybe think that one through, too.
I was on the school insurance which was revolting, I think it was like $1200/semester or something like that, it totally wiped out what I was supposed to be living off of. Medicaid is free - I qualify because I'm over 25 and make way less than $18k/year. It was actually really easy to apply for. It isn't great insurance but it is something. I wish I had thought of it when I started the program. And my school is a rich private school so when I was going over finances with the financial aid office, it never occurred to them to suggest it to me.
For your other question, loans vary per semester depending on how many credits you are taking & they come every trimester (so 3x/year).

 

[MartialArtDPT]

Also does anyone know if loans are given out every semester? Or is the loan amount offered supposed to cover both summer & fall for example?

My school disburses in installments over each semester.

 

[deleted1029620]

When students in my cohort turned 25 in late second year they were suddenly scrambling to figure out what to do for insurance, so maybe think that one through, too.
I was on the school insurance which was revolting, I think it was like $1200/semester or something like that, it totally wiped out what I was supposed to be living off of. Medicaid is free - I qualify because I'm over 25 and make way less than $18k/year. It was actually really easy to apply for. It isn't great insurance but it is something. I wish I had thought of it when I started the program. And my school is a rich private school so when I was going over finances with the financial aid office, it never occurred to them to suggest it to me.
For your other question, loans vary per semester depending on how many credits you are taking & they come every trimester (so 3x/year).

I just had to waive out of my school's health insurance which would've been an extra $672/ semester so i'll definitely look into different options sooner vs. later. I didn't know that they were given out that often, thank you again!

 

[deleted1029620]

My school disburses in installments over each semester.

I just looked on my student account & saw that I will get them each semester as well. Thanks!

 

[KorbinL]

Oh wow, thanks for your transparent response. I definitely agree w/ having the money vs. being in a position where i'd need it & i'm without.
I will keep the expenses for conferences & clinicals in mind. Thankfully I'm only 24 turning 25 in the fall so i'll still be on my mom's health insurance. Not to be nosy, but was Medicaid considerably cheaper than the other health insurance plan you were on?

In the state of Virginia at least, Medicaid is free. I had to choose between university elicited healthcare (Aetna) or private insurance. It took me almost two years to get accepted and I’ve currently been on Medicaid for 3 years. I’ve been able to have yearly check ups, emergency surgery, and glasses coverage. I will say every state is different and Gov. Northum has been very progressive and expansive in Va. Either way it is worth the application.

 

[ya1]

I know this will be unique to each person, but how do students usually go about determining the amount to accept for loans each semester?
Do students create spreadsheets of their expenses? I'm just trying to be smart about how much I accept & only borrow what I really need to live comfortably.

Obviously I need enough to cover the cost of tuition & any additional school fees for the semester, which is about $5000 for summer semester, but what about taking out excess? Like to use for cost of living/ paying bills bc I won't be working. In my case, I'll be living at home & commuting about 20 mins each way to school so I don't have to worry about housing. Also, my program provides a lot of the books needed on an online drive. Any other major fees & costs that I should account for?

Definitely make a spreadsheet (on paper or in your head, whatever works) where you calculate all upcoming expenses. If you do not have to spend any money on housing, food, etc, I would add another $1000 to $5000 of tuition/fees in case you need it. After the 1st semester, you will have a better idea how much money you need beyond the tuition and borrow accordingly. I would not touch that extra $1000 unless I need to. You can leave that amount for the rest of your program as emergency funds" or put it back into tuition next semester.
For my school, we had to apply for the certain amount of loan once a year. The amount would then be divided into 3 semesters and you would get money before each semester. Now, if let's say you asked for $30,000 a year, meaning that they would give you $10,000 each semester. But if you need only $5,000 next semester, you can let your financial aid office know and they will give you $5,000 only. But if you apply for $30,000 a year and need $50,000, I believe it may be more difficult to get more money that year. So My strategy was to apply for a little bit more than I needed and take less = as much as a need only.

 

[deleted1029620]

Definitely make a spreadsheet (on paper or in your head, whatever works) where you calculate all upcoming expenses. If you do not have to spend any money on housing, food, etc, I would add another $1000 to $5000 of tuition/fees in case you need it. After the 1st semester, you will have a better idea how much money you need beyond the tuition and borrow accordingly. I would not touch that extra $1000 unless I need to. You can leave that amount for the rest of your program as emergency funds" or put it back into tuition next semester.
For my school, we had to apply for the certain amount of loan once a year. The amount would then be divided into 3 semesters and you would get money before each semester. Now, if let's say you asked for $30,000 a year, meaning that they would give you $10,000 each semester. But if you need only $5,000 next semester, you can let your financial aid office know and they will give you $5,000 only. But if you apply for $30,000 a year and need $50,000, I believe it may be more difficult to get more money that year. So My strategy was to apply for a little bit more than I needed and take less = as much as a need only.

Thank you! I'll definitely be making an excel spreadsheet & keep track of how much I'll need beyond tuition & fees. Though I wont have to worry about housing, I'll still have monthly bills to cover like car insurance, car note, phone & also groceries. I guess i'm still trying to decide if I should use the money I have saved up (not my emergency fund) to cover those bills until I run out & then rely on the loans OR should I just use the loans to live off from the beginning & keep my savings? The money I have saved wont last me any more than a year & half max.

 

[ya1]

I guess i'm still trying to decide if I should use the money I have saved up (not my emergency fund) to cover those bills until I run out & then rely on the loans OR should I just use the loans to live off from the beginning & keep my savings? The money I have saved wont last me any more than a year & half max.

It comes down to what you feel more comfortable doing. I personally did not touch my savings (less than $10K) because I wanted to make sure IF something happens, I will not end up on the street and will be able to support myself for a few months before I figure out financial stuff. It gave me the peace of mind which I would not have had if I had zero savings and only $1000 in my emergency fund.

 

[ya1]

It comes down to what you feel more comfortable doing. I personally did not touch my savings (less than $10K) because I wanted to make sure IF something happens, I will not end up on the street and will be able to support myself for a few months before I figure out financial stuff. It gave me peace of mind which I would not have had if I had zero savings and only $1000 in my emergency fund.

 

[deleted1029620]

It comes down to what you feel more comfortable doing. I personally did not touch my savings (less than $10K) because I wanted to make sure IF something happens, I will not end up on the street and will be able to support myself for a few months before I figure out financial stuff. It gave me the peace of mind which I would not have had if I had zero savings and only $1000 in my emergency fund.

Very true! Thanks for your perspective!