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Old 06-02-2011, 11:09 AM
 
Location: Harrisburg, PA
2,336 posts, read 7,761,479 times
Reputation: 1580

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Quote:
Originally Posted by Z3N1TH 0N3 View Post
I don't think this is true anymore, particularly for private student loans. I called Citibank yesterday to find out what my options were to reduce my min. payment since it jumped nearly $175 after my graduated repayment plan expired and they told me there were no options available. I don't want a forbearance or deferment, I still want to pay my loans. I just need to be able to afford to pay them. Nobody is even consolidating anymore either, unless you're talking about a federal loan. I am slowly developing the opinion that student loan debt is just as toxic as ANY debt. Put it this way, I would advise against it if anybody came to me with questions.
Oh; I actually don't have any private loans....my were all federal. So I can only tell of my experiences with federal student loans (which are pretty flexible....mine are deferred right now).
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Old 06-02-2011, 12:14 PM
 
5,730 posts, read 10,094,902 times
Reputation: 8051
Quote:
Originally Posted by MissShona View Post
Are you kidding? Moving takes money! Money or connections (friends and family) that you can stay with and support you.

-Not everyone has access to this
-Not everyone can swing 1 month rent + 1 month deposit on a new place
-Not everyone owns a reliable car that can take them more than 100 miles on a highway

If it were that easy, than a good number of people would be moving constantly. But that doesn't happen. Heck, if they could even scrape a couple of thousand dollars together, then many people I know who live in the the projects would leave in an instant. But they can't. It takes money to move!
I'm on my I phone at the moment
This evening when I have access to a computer I will address this and your other posts...
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Old 06-02-2011, 12:31 PM
 
Location: Harrisburg, PA
2,336 posts, read 7,761,479 times
Reputation: 1580
Quote:
Originally Posted by Themanwithnoname View Post
I'm on my I phone at the moment
This evening when I have access to a computer I will address this and your other posts...
{Sigh} Well hopefully you can highlight some different points than Gatornation was able to bring up. Especially any viable solutions (like I really feel that low-income youth who have strong academic records...like I did, should get full tuition vouchers/waivers...end of story). Although I find it pretty difficult to find others who do not or did not live in poverty to truly understand. However only 1/3 of my goal is to change anyone's mind or opinion. I really just try to give a voice (not that I can claim to speak on anyone's behalf...but I was of 'that demographic'....i.e. on welfare, in public housing, in an economically depressed community, etc.) to an American experience that is many times silent when it comes to discussions like these.
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Old 06-02-2011, 12:40 PM
 
5,500 posts, read 10,488,751 times
Reputation: 2302
Quote:
Originally Posted by MissShona View Post
{Sigh} Well hopefully you can highlight some different points than Gatornation was able to bring up. Especially any viable solutions (like I really feel that low-income youth who have strong academic records...like I did, should get full tuition vouchers/waivers...end of story). Although I find it pretty difficult to find others who do not or did not live in poverty to truly understand. However only 1/3 of my goal is to change anyone's mind or opinion. I really just try to give a voice (not that I can claim to speak on anyone's behalf...but I was of 'that demographic'....i.e. on welfare, in public housing, in an economically depressed community, etc.) to an American experience that is many times silent when it comes to discussions like these.
While I didn't grow up below the poverty level my parents did not pay for my college. I got plenty of grants and used very little in loans because my parents did not make much money. In the end I graduated from a top 20 public with 10k in loans.

If your academics were so strong and your family was so poor how did you not get grants/scholarships?
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Old 06-02-2011, 12:49 PM
 
5,730 posts, read 10,094,902 times
Reputation: 8051
Quote:
Originally Posted by MissShona View Post
{Sigh} Well hopefully you can highlight some different points than Gatornation was able to bring up. Especially any viable solutions (like I really feel that low-income youth who have strong academic records...like I did, should get full tuition vouchers/waivers...end of story). Although I find it pretty difficult to find others who do not or did not live in poverty to truly understand. However only 1/3 of my goal is to change anyone's mind or opinion. I really just try to give a voice (not that I can claim to speak on anyone's behalf...but I was of 'that demographic'....i.e. on welfare, in public housing, in an economically depressed community, etc.) to an American experience that is many times silent when it comes to discussions like these.
Lol,we can talk about 'poor' too...
I just can't cut and paste and highlight with this


-from someone who wore $7 k mart shoes till high school
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Old 06-02-2011, 12:58 PM
 
2,279 posts, read 3,960,740 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Gatornation View Post
While I didn't grow up below the poverty level my parents did not pay for my college. I got plenty of grants and used very little in loans because my parents did not make much money. In the end I graduated from a top 20 public with 10k in loans.

If your academics were so strong and your family was so poor how did you not get grants/scholarships?
Well, I graduated with a 3.9 GPA, a 29 on my ACT, top 5 in my high school class and I got very little financial aid support in the form of grants and scholarships (I think I got a Pell grant). My parents grossed about $40k for a family of six and they did not assist me at all with my educational expenses. I graduated from UMich, a top 5 public school, and still had a decent chunk of student loans. Granted, some of them were used to cover some living expenses such as housing and food. I also worked around 30 hours a week during this time. I'm not necessarily disagreeing with you, but just saying it can be pretty expensive when you take into account living expenses associated with going to a "good" school.

Last edited by Z3N1TH 0N3; 06-02-2011 at 01:08 PM..
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Old 06-02-2011, 01:05 PM
 
Location: Harrisburg, PA
2,336 posts, read 7,761,479 times
Reputation: 1580
Quote:
Originally Posted by Gatornation View Post
While I didn't grow up below the poverty level my parents did not pay for my college. I got plenty of grants and used very little in loans because my parents did not make much money. In the end I graduated from a top 20 public with 10k in loans.

If your academics were so strong and your family was so poor how did you not get grants/scholarships?
I did. I will say that 3 of the 4 schools I applied to were private...and not public. That was my mistake...and I admit that. What can I say, I was 17 then, and no one in my family went to college before. I was very naive.

I don't remember the exact breakdown...but it went a little something like this (in 1997)

Accepted to Florida Institute of Technology. Offered about $12,000 in scholarships & grants; left and annual balance of $10K to be paid in loans.

Accepted to University of Pittsburgh. Offered only $7K in grants (no scholarships); left $9K to be paid in loans. Also, they did not have my preferred major (which aeronautical engineering)

Accepted to the University of Miami. $19K in scholarships (including one for National Achievement Scholars) & grants. Left $13K to pay in loans.

Accepted to Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. Recieved $11K in scholarships and grants. Left a $12K balance to be paid in loans.

I opted for ERAU, spent two semesters there, and when I started talking to some alumni and people from neighboring schools (particularly UCF - University of Central Florida)...I bailed.

Went to community college for 1 semester. However I was not living at home...and my living situation at the time was precarious (I was squatting in an apartment that was suppossed to be unoccupied).

Started to re-apply to transfer. At least I would be able to get some funds for housing...and also keep progressing towards my degree. I re-applied to Pitt and WVU. The result was a wash tuition-wise. WVU had higher tuition because I was out-of-state...but offered more financial aid.

On top of that Morgantown had a much, much cheaper rate of living. I paid only $225/month for a nice one-bedroom in the woods for 2 1/2 years.

Bottom line: My main mistake was initially enrolling at an expensive private school. As a transfer student, you are more limited in regards to grants and scholarships. However, my subsequent choices in lifestyle and schooling have been VERY modest. So that is what happened....in my case.
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Old 06-02-2011, 01:11 PM
 
5,500 posts, read 10,488,751 times
Reputation: 2302
Quote:
Originally Posted by MissShona View Post
I did. I will say that 3 of the 4 schools I applied to were private...and not public. That was my mistake...and I admit that. What can I say, I was 17 then, and no one in my family went to college before. I was very naive.

I don't remember the exact breakdown...but it went a little something like this (in 1997)

Accepted to Florida Institute of Technology. Offered about $12,000 in scholarships & grants; left and annual balance of $10K to be paid in loans.

Accepted to University of Pittsburgh. Offered only $7K in grants (no scholarships); left $9K to be paid in loans. Also, they did not have my preferred major (which aeronautical engineering)

Accepted to the University of Miami. $19K in scholarships (including one for National Achievement Scholars) & grants. Left $13K to pay in loans.

Accepted to Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. Recieved $11K in scholarships and grants. Left a $12K balance to be paid in loans.

I opted for ERAU, spent two semesters there, and when I started talking to some alumni and people from neighboring schools (particularly UCF - University of Central Florida)...I bailed.

Went to community college for 1 semester. However I was not living at home...and my living situation at the time was precarious (I was squatting in an apartment that was suppossed to be unoccupied).

Started to re-apply to transfer. At least I would be able to get some funds for housing...and also keep progressing towards my degree. I re-applied to Pitt and WVU. The result was a wash tuition-wise. WVU had higher tuition because I was out-of-state...but offered more financial aid.

On top of that Morgantown had a much, much cheaper rate of living. I paid only $225/month for a nice one-bedroom in the woods for 2 1/2 years.

Bottom line: My main mistake was initially enrolling at an expensive private school. As a transfer student, you are more limited in regards to grants and scholarships. However, my subsequent choices in lifestyle and schooling have been VERY modest. So that is what happened....in my case.
I'm not quite sure why you have any issue with what I've said. My claims have been go public in your state or do two years at a community college and then in state. You made it seem like you racked up 100k in loans by going in state or to public schools.
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Old 06-02-2011, 01:12 PM
 
5,500 posts, read 10,488,751 times
Reputation: 2302
Quote:
Originally Posted by Z3N1TH 0N3 View Post
Well, I graduated with a 3.9 GPA, a 29 on my ACT, top 5 in my high school class and I got very little financial aid support in the form of grants and scholarships (I think I got a Pell grant). My parents grossed about $40k for a family of six and they did not assist me at all with my educational expenses. I graduated from UMich, a top 5 public school, and still had a decent chunk of student loans. Granted, some of them were used to cover some living expenses such as housing and food. I also worked around 30 hours a week during this time. I'm not necessarily disagreeing with you, but just saying it can be pretty expensive when you take into account living expenses associated with going to a "good" school.
Seems odd you wouldn't get more. I graduated in 2005 so maybe you were in school after that and they cut back on grants? Obviously it varies by university but my wife did her graduate school at a top 5 public and from what we could tell undergrad grants were pretty similar to our undergrad experience. My family income was around that for a family of five.
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Old 06-02-2011, 01:17 PM
 
Location: Harrisburg, PA
2,336 posts, read 7,761,479 times
Reputation: 1580
Quote:
Originally Posted by Gatornation View Post
I'm not quite sure why you have any issue with what I've said. My claims have been go public in your state or do two years at a community college and then in state. You made it seem like you racked up 100k in loans by going in state or to public schools.
Ummm...I have 132 credits under my belt. Only 30 of them were earned at a private university.

I did go out-of-state. But I also explained that my overall cost was lower that way (tuition + cost of living) than my home state option.

I will say this is not the case today. WVU is now more expensive than Pitt is for PA residents. However at an alumni banquet, I spoke to a man who graduated from WVU in 1982 and his out-of-state tuition was about 2/3 the amount of Pitt's in-state tuition for PA residents.

So....
1) It depends on where you live (we are in an interesting spot...WV is only 45 minutes away)
2) It depends on when you went to school, since many changes can occur even in 10 years.
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