Student Loans...Embarrassed to Ask!

[kd2412]

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I am going to be a first year vet student in the fall. I have yet to receive my financial aid package and while I wait I am getting nervous! I have a lot of debt and am worried I will not get enough aid to cover tuition (50,000/year) in addition to my monthly credit card debt, car loan, car insurance, cell phone, apartment, and undergraduate loans payments (I know I can defer..). I have no savings and my EFC was a couple of thousand of dollars which I defintly do not have. Am I the only vet student that has bad debt? Just looking for words of encouragement....

Thanks!!

 

[lei325]

Nope, definitely not the only one. I just applied for direct loans and I need around $75,000 to cover costs (going overseas, the exchange rate is a b*tch). Plus, I've got around $10,000 in credit card debt that I still need to pay while in school. So I feel your pain. I haven't received any info about how much I'll be getting yet, hopefully I'll know by mid-July.

 

[snyder272]

I am going to be a first year vet student in the fall. I have yet to receive my financial aid package and while I wait I am getting nervous! I have a lot of debt and am worried I will not get enough aid to cover tuition (50,000/year) in addition to my monthly credit card debt, car loan, car insurance, cell phone, apartment, and undergraduate loans payments (I know I can defer..). I have no savings and my EFC was a couple of thousand of dollars which I defintly do not have. Am I the only vet student that has bad debt? Just looking for words of encouragement....

Thanks!!

You have looked into Direct loans graduate right? Such as Graduate PLUS loan? This loan will pay you up to 100% the cost of attendance, minus other financial aid you have received. So it won't help you with living, paying back anything else (Can't borrow your way out of debt!) but it will provide you with 100% tuition coverage.

To qualify, you need to have good credit, no missed / late payments over the last few months (if ever), and if you don't qualify, you can get a cosigner for it.

 

[Armymutt25A]

My sister hasn't received anything yet for Glasgow. Apparently, due to the health care bill (which had the student aid rider) things are kind of screwed up right now which is delaying the processing of aid requests.

Good luck with the credit card debt. I can't understand how a traditional student could end up that far in debt - I think my card had a $1500 limit by the time I graduated. $10K is going to take a long time to pay off, especially while in school and just starting out after graduating.

 

[lei325]

Good luck with the credit card debt. I can't understand how a traditional student could end up that far in debt - I think my card had a $1500 limit by the time I graduated. $10K is going to take a long time to pay off, especially while in school and just starting out after graduating.

Car repairs and not having a job for a year. And paying for the few remaining pre-reqs last fall. It adds up fast. That, and I've had the card for 8 years and they've upped the limit about 3 times. At least I have good credit...? 🙁

 

[Armymutt25A]

Car repairs and not having a job for a year. And paying for the few remaining pre-reqs last fall. It adds up fast. That, and I've had the card for 8 years and they've upped the limit about 3 times. At least I have good credit...? 🙁

Make sure you keep up the payments on it. Good credit disappears quickly. I got a bit of a shock when I misunderstood the Army Loan Repayment Program and missed 3 months of student loan payments. My credit score took a faster dive than the stock market. On the flip side, it usually builds back up quickly. None of it is based on income, oddly enough. I was making OK money and didn't qualify to finance a $600 item (wanted to take advantage of a deal). It's all about carrying a debt and paying it off.

 

[lei325]

Haven't missed a payment in years. And I check my score yearly. Still in the 700s! 🙂

 

[david594]

You have looked into Direct loans graduate right? Such as Graduate PLUS loan? This loan will pay you up to 100% the cost of attendance, minus other financial aid you have received. So it won't help you with living, paying back anything else (Can't borrow your way out of debt!) but it will provide you with 100% tuition coverage.

Actually it will cover living expenses. Thats what is meant by cost of attendance. The cost of all educational expenses and living related expenses to attend there.

 

[haytater]

Can you all tell me more about your experience with the Grad PLUS loan?

 

[Dansy55]

Nope, definitely not the only one. I just applied for direct loans and I need around $75,000 to cover costs (going overseas, the exchange rate is a b*tch). Plus, I've got around $10,000 in credit card debt that I still need to pay while in school. So I feel your pain. I haven't received any info about how much I'll be getting yet, hopefully I'll know by mid-July.

What website did you go to in order to apply for direct loans??

 

[david594]

What website did you go to in order to apply for direct loans??

Direct loans are through the school. Not an option for you since your going to AVC.

 

[lei325]

Direct loans are through the school. Not an option for you since your going to AVC.

Actually, a lot non-US schools have signed up to originate direct loans. I'm not sure if AVC is on there, Dansy, but I applied at the Studentloans.gov website for direct loans. You have to complete entrance counseling and that's where you'll be able to tell if AVC is on there or not.

 

[Dansy55]

actually AVC is also using the direct lending system. Just though that there was a different website than the one I was using, but they're the same....and checked today, UPEI is up so I can finally apply. good luck to everyone just a couple of months to go!

 

[david594]

actually AVC is also using the direct lending system. Just though that there was a different website than the one I was using, but they're the same....and checked today, UPEI is up so I can finally apply. good luck to everyone just a couple of months to go!

Thats pretty handy! Have they upped the Stafford loan limit from from $20,500 a year to $40,500 too?

And I'm and idiot and should have know the direct loan thing since that was a change in the health care reform bill requiring all federal loans to be direct.

 

[zeebra44]

Can you all tell me more about your experience with the Grad PLUS loan?

It's based on your credit score, apparently.


http://www.gradloans.com/graduate-plus-loan/