College, student loans, etc. WTH??

[4SG]

Try to get in touch with the Financial Aid person and set something up before you get there. You don't want to arrive with a horde of similarly-situated stressed out parents all asking the same people the same questions at once. It helps if you make some sort of personal connection, or at least get your name out to them.
Congratulations for you and your daughter!

 

[southpaw723]

Financial aid has been huge for me but it does run out eventually

 

[southpaw723]

I know that few people want to hear it, but your daughter can live at home and go two years to a community college at a fraction of the cost. I've never had an employer ask in an interview if I went all four years to the school I received my degree from. Unless you go to an Ivy League school, or one of the online diploma mills, for most professions no one cares where you got your degree.

I wish I went that route. If you do well you can get into most schools for your junior and senior years and save a TON of money.

 

[atlbassist1987]

Like @4 Strings Good said congratulations to both of you! As far as the government loans go I have found a big difference between subsidized and unsubsidized in regards to paying them back. The unsubsidized is huge PITA because of the interest. As some other people have recommended, you should probably see an accountant. The university cares about getting their payment, but they don't care who or where it comes from as long as it gets there.

 

[GTx2]

I'm of the Dave Ramsey school of thought that......debt doesn't help us build wealth.

The borrower is slave to the lender.

 

[Bluto]

I'm getting close to where you are and have twins wanting to go to college. I still have a couple years to go but have already started looking and feel the pressure. Here are a few things I found you may look at if it helps.

1. If your daughter was looking at going into Teaching some states have programs she can apply for where they pay for the education as long as she works in the state for X-amount of time after graduation.

2. You might look into the one of the ROTC programs (Looks like JMU has them per their website), National Guard, or military reserves. She most likely will have to serve time but her education may be paid for. When she is finishes her time she will have a degree and experience. Not trying point you to the military but something to think about.

3. If you had prior military service you might look at scholarships/grants for her from the state all because you served. Also If you did and you qualified for the Post 9/11 GI Bill you may be able to pass it to her.

4. There are scholarships for almost everything you can think you just have to look and spend time looking for example. My daughter is a red head hence here is a link that offers scholarship money just to red heads. Scholarshipred

I work with a lady who went through this for her daughter. She said her cost was manageable after all the scholarships her daughter received but she applied for everything. She said the best thing to do is start a filing system so you can track what you have applied for and what is required if she gets one because some scholarships come with catches like maintaining a GPA above a certain level. She said she applied for 100s and there was no way she could track all that stuff in her head.

 

[EarnestTBass]

One suggestion- some grants are based on grade point average. If you are having trouble gathering funds to go full time- for the first two semesters- slow down and just take one or two classes. Go part time that first year.

Enjoy a relaxed approach, but work hard on those few classes. Make straight A's.

Next year, apply for aid with 4.0 GPA.

Also, one warning- there are people out there that will be very helpful with helping you borrow a lot of money to pay for college. These same people may not have any concern whether you are obtaining a meaningful, or marketable, education. Student loans are non dischargeable in bankruptcy, unless you can prove "undue hardship", which is a high burden of proof.

 

[Ross W. Lovell]

Thanks for the snark, that's helpful.

Did it ever occur to you that the people that hang here come from a wide variety of ages, backgrounds, and experiences? And as such, might have something useful to say? Don't think for a minute that this is my only resource, but as with other non-music related things, I have found advice and suggestions from members here valuable. In this case, I figure I'll get answers from parents who went through this already (recently or long ago), recent or current students, etc. That's valuable input from a community I trust, while not knowing them personally.

Hell, last year about this time, I spent significant time helping someone here sell his home under difficult circumstances. He came here for advice, just like I did. Turns out there was a realtor here (me).

I did this to help someone in the community, because that's what people do. As he was in an area I didn't feel I could serve properly, I did not handle the sale and received no money from it, never expected to. However, I gave him expert, professional advice, and he benefitted from it. I suppose I could have scoffed at him for asking here, but I decided I'd rather be helpful.

Technically he's right and now my opinion of everything you've written up until now has been seriously downgraded.

No, I'm kidding.

Seriously though, why did you start so late?!?

There was financing and grants your kid could have applied for and likely been approved while she was in school to help you offset a small portion of this.

I find its better to pay attention in life, this stuff is likely NOT a surprise to your daughter, either she had other priorities or you fill in the blank.

You don't buy insurance for your house when you smell smoke.

Now, what to do.............

First off, understand your daughter is the consumer of the education. Yes they have a cost, and they, believe it or not want a student, but you can bargain with them.

The school will make it ever so easy to get loans, but understand, they need to be paid back, and they are your daughter's loans, not yours. Give/get her counseling on education, how to pay for it, and how to keep out of debt.

If you went to college, how did you pay for it?

What is her major going to be?

If she doesn't know, she doesn't go!

"Trying to find" one's self in college is a waste of money when you have extra spendables but criminally insane if you don't.

You and your daughter need to do some homework, if she's not willing, she's not ready, and likely neither are you.

 

[Ross W. Lovell]

I know that few people want to hear it, but your daughter can live at home and go two years to a community college at a fraction of the cost. I've never had an employer ask in an interview if I went all four years to the school I received my degree from. Unless you go to an Ivy League school, or one of the online diploma mills, for most professions no one cares where you got your degree.

That makes sense for many.

 

[bolophonic]

+1

Colleges are like basses. There's nothing wrong with owning a Fodera if you can afford one, but you can play the same gig on a Squier.

Sometimes the cheaper option can appreciate over time, too. I graduated from Virginia Tech back when it was regarded as a respectable, workaday state college that accepted C-average students. Now, when college-age overachiever kids find out where I got my degree, their reaction is like, “HOW did you even get past the essays and interviews??!?” (Answer: there were none back then.)

OP: good luck. I still have 11-12 years before my kids reach college age, but I am assuming that the in-state college system in N.C. will no longer exist in its current form by then.

 

[SirMjac28]

My wonderful child decided to forgo a full ride to a good school just to go to another school and be bogged down with a ton of student loans that's she's still paying off. The one thing I would advise any parent is not to co-sign for any student loans and to start early with a college or trade school fund another way is to go National Guard and use their tuition assistance.

 

[TheLowDown33]

I graduated about a month ago with my BS in civil engineering. I currently have 50k in loans. If I didn't get scholarships from school and athletics, I would NOT have gone to a 4 year institution. My advice? Make a plan as to which 4 year school is right for her. Figure out which of the community college credits transfer and take those for the first few semesters, including summers if possible. Do well...like really well. Just passing at community is not a good look for a transfer. She'll then get to go to a 4 year and finish her degree with significantly less debt and still get a very solid education.

When she inevitably says she wants the "college experience" please try to remind her that while 4 years of fun is cool, not having debt and being able to do and buy the things you want for the rest of your adult life is pretty cool too.

Also milk that university for everything it's worth. I got a great job out of college because of their career centers and how-to seminars. You're paying for it, use it.

 

[Keiths]

Our daughter got her bachelors from an out of state school and has loans out the ....... She now admits that she should have listened to us and stayed in state. She also says she should have applied for EVERY scholarship, no matter how small, that she could find.
Get to work on those essays and send them to EVERY scholarship she can find online. You WILL help her out. That's just what we do as parents. It can be especially tough for daughters.

 

[james condino]

Even though my parents could have afforded it, I paid for college using the GI Bill.

 

[Altitude]

I know that few people want to hear it, but your daughter can live at home and go two years to a community college at a fraction of the cost. I've never had an employer ask in an interview if I went all four years to the school I received my degree from. Unless you go to an Ivy League school, or one of the online diploma mills, for most professions no one cares where you got your degree.

I agree with most of that. Your point on 2 years at home and at community college is spot on, and frankly it's probably necessary for most families to come to terms with that and do it, just to make the finances work out.

The name of the university you graduated from is the one on your diploma; if you went to a couple years of community college to knock out the compulsories first, only you will ever know.

But -

I wouldn't recommend graduating from a community college because you miss all the excellent recruiting that the top employers do at the top-tier 4 year schools. At least in the business and engineering areas, your kids can get automatic exposure to the accounting firms, engineering firms, and certain companies who tend to do a certain percent of their hiring straight out of the colleges. I went to the University of Texas and accepted an offer from Andersen Consulting 3 months before I graduated. At that point in the process my sense is that where you went to school does indeed matter.

 

[Mister Boh]

There's nothing wrong with knocking out some pre-reqs at community college but if you go the CC route, make sure the credits will transfer to somewhere you will want to go. Check with that place because I'm sure the CC will tell you plenty of schools accept them.

Also don't let your kid fall into the "attending CC but taking one class a semester for 7 years" trap that some kids around where I live find themselves in. Make sure they transfer quickly, that the credits will go with them, and like the above poster said, to a school worth going to.

 

[fdeck]

Definitely call the financial aid office, pronto. They may be able to give you enough information over the phone, that you have a decent picture of what's going on.

 

[Spidey2112]

Make sure and fill out the FAFSA, and then have your student go to the financial aid office. Make sure that she applies for every scholarship and grant she could possibly qualify for...the essay writing in the first few weeks of the semester can really pay big dividends. Even small awards like 300-500 are worth it when it only took an hour to write the essay.

Great advice!

 

[SasquatchDude]

Expected Family Contribution is an estimated figure for your own budgeting purposes, based on the financial info that went into her application. Not necessarily an exact amount anyone will be on the hook for.

+1 on what everyone has said about filing the FAFSA as soon as possible if she hasn't already. That'll put you in the Federal $$$ system and tell you how much of what type of aid you're eligible for, be it loans, grants, etc. Not to worry, there's no commitment until/unless you accept an aid option(s). As I recall, the Pell Grant is available to most students with decent academics for up to 12 semesters (or 6 year full-time equivalent), with up to $6K/year... That's a grant – cash in your pocket, no repayment, no interest, etc.

Most schools will have their own list of private, local scholarships (outside the FAFSA umbrella) on their financial aid page... definitely worth looking into as well!

Good luck and congrats you and yours!

 

[Killed_by_Death]

We have some experience in this regard, not with JMU, but...

The school will try and get you to take those loans. My student has accidentally signed up for loans EVERY year, because the online forms are just set up to make you sign up for loans.
It was easy enough not to go through with the loans, & as mentioned above it is deep debt that likely won't get paid, because of the current job market.

Also, when searching for scholarships we found that some of them are bait & switch. You fill out forms online, but what you're really doing is filling out an application for a loan.
If it seems too easy, it probably is.
Most of them require some work & they almost all have prerequisites, for instance:

being a member of a certain demographic
intended to follow a certain field of study

If you know the intended field of study, look for grants & scholarships in that field.

Virginia Scholarships, Full List of Scholarship Awards for VA State | Scholarship Directory | Unigo

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VTAG is kind of a given for VA residents:

Scholarships for Virginia Students: Free College Grants in Virginia


Our family often argues about how JMU basically owns Harrisonburg.
An aunt used to work there & so did I, but as a building contractor.
Coincidentally, my cousin is working there as a building contractor for the same company right now.