First Time Sending Kid To College Panic Thread (1 Viewer)

[ChiefD]

Well, here I am where a lot of you have been and I'm sure some of you are going through this. My baby boy will be going to college next fall, so we are in the middle of research and applications and all that stuff.

As a little background on me and my wife: we are not FBG rich. We are not able to just write a check and send each kid through college without any debt incurred. As some of you may know from reading previous posts by me - my wife and I scratched and clawed to give our kids a good life and put them in a good school district to give them a good foundation.

But, my wife worked part-time the first years of the kids being young, so our household income was tight for the first 10-12 years of our marriage. Only now are what I would consider "comfortable" to where we have a really good household income. The problem is, of course, is now our household income is too high to really qualify for any free grant money. My son makes really good grades so there will certainly be scholarship money available. But, at the end of the day we will have to borrow money.

Our credit rating is excellent, so I would expect us to be able to get a good rate and favorable terms. I have a few questions about the loan process, which is the point of this thread.

1. Where is the best place to borrow money for college? Sallie Mae?

2. Can we do that in advance NOW, or should we wait until he gets accepted to the school, go through their process, the FAFSA app (which I don't expect anything from that), and then apply next spring?

3. What is a normal loan term?

4. Can we pay on that loan while he is in school? (this is our plan if its allowed)

Our goal is to minimize his damage on graduation day. So we would like to pay on this thing as we go as my salary is pretty much earmarked for college money. Any help is greatly appreciated.

 

[Galileo]

If you borrow from the Feds, there is always a chance you might not need to pay it back.

 

[scorchy]

IMO, this is one of the best and most helpful threads in the history of the FFA: College Admissions Questions

IIRC, there's a decent amount of info about the financial aid process as well. Happy searching.

 

[Nathan R. Jessep]

Our local U has had "direct lending" in the past where the school itself issues the loan (through a secondary I am sure, but correspondence is through the school). They also have a payment plan that students can do each semester.

 

[Nugget]

My daughter is in her 2nd year at KU and spent last year at JCCC. I’ve filled out a couple FAFSAs and started funding the 529s a bit more.

For student loans, my recommendation would be to use the federal loan programs, and have the student maximize their loans before the parents. Preference is subsidized > unsubsidized > ParentPlus. Rate is a couple points higher for the parent loans.

 

[El Floppo]

Still there?




(And I mean you and wife lurking outside the dorm)

 

[STEADYMOBBIN 22]

If you borrow from the Feds, there is always a chance you might not need to pay it back.

Just putting this out there into the universe. I’ll probably do this a lot.

 

[berndog]

@ChiefD your story mimics mine where my wife worked part time and we skimped by until the kids were older and she went back to work full time.

We had no 529 and limited savings so we applied for Fafsa and didn’t get much help until we had 3 kids in college. We went Sallie May to cover the difference and are crossing our fingers some of the debt will be relieved.

I’m far from a financial expert so there were probably better avenues to utilize but that’s how we did it.

 

[ChiefD]

@ChiefD your story mimics mine where my wife worked part time and we skimped by until the kids were older and she went back to work full time.

We had no 529 and limited savings so we applied for Fafsa and didn’t get much help until we had 3 kids in college. We went Sallie May to cover the difference and are crossing our fingers some of the debt will be relieved.

I’m far from a financial expert so there were probably better avenues to utilize but that’s how we did it.

Was the Sallie Mae process pretty easy in terms of getting a quick decision and such?

 

[berndog]

@ChiefD your story mimics mine where my wife worked part time and we skimped by until the kids were older and she went back to work full time.

We had no 529 and limited savings so we applied for Fafsa and didn’t get much help until we had 3 kids in college. We went Sallie May to cover the difference and are crossing our fingers some of the debt will be relieved.

I’m far from a financial expert so there were probably better avenues to utilize but that’s how we did it.

Was the Sallie Mae process pretty easy in terms of getting a quick decision and such?

Yes it was a quick process

 

[Snotbubbles]

Well, here I am where a lot of you have been and I'm sure some of you are going through this. My baby boy will be going to college next fall, so we are in the middle of research and applications and all that stuff.

As a little background on me and my wife: we are not FBG rich. We are not able to just write a check and send each kid through college without any debt incurred. As some of you may know from reading previous posts by me - my wife and I scratched and clawed to give our kids a good life and put them in a good school district to give them a good foundation.

But, my wife worked part-time the first years of the kids being young, so our household income was tight for the first 10-12 years of our marriage. Only now are what I would consider "comfortable" to where we have a really good household income. The problem is, of course, is now our household income is too high to really qualify for any free grant money. My son makes really good grades so there will certainly be scholarship money available. But, at the end of the day we will have to borrow money.

Our credit rating is excellent, so I would expect us to be able to get a good rate and favorable terms. I have a few questions about the loan process, which is the point of this thread.

1. Where is the best place to borrow money for college? Sallie Mae?

2. Can we do that in advance NOW, or should we wait until he gets accepted to the school, go through their process, the FAFSA app (which I don't expect anything from that), and then apply next spring?

3. What is a normal loan term?

4. Can we pay on that loan while he is in school? (this is our plan if its allowed)

Our goal is to minimize his damage on graduation day. So we would like to pay on this thing as we go as my salary is pretty much earmarked for college money. Any help is greatly appreciated.

Fill out the FAFSA forms. I think you can link it to the State for state grants, as well. The Federal Loans carry low interest rates and you can bump it out 30 years. If you go with a private loan you're looking at 10%+ interest, not sure the term, I don't do private loans, shop around.

If you don't have the money to cover college, I'd recommend a community college for the first 2 years. The credit costs are really cheap and the credits will mostly transfer to a 4-year school. For example in Philly we have Community College of Philadelphia and the credits transfer to Temple (and other schools) but its a cheap way to get an education.

You can pay a loan while the student is in school.

 

[rockaction]

Best of luck, ChiefD. If you can wade through the FFA thread that has been mentioned here, then you're a step ahead of the game. It really was full of information.

 

[JAA]

@ChiefD your story mimics mine where my wife worked part time and we skimped by until the kids were older and she went back to work full time.

We had no 529 and limited savings so we applied for Fafsa and didn’t get much help until we had 3 kids in college. We went Sallie May to cover the difference and are crossing our fingers some of the debt will be relieved.

I’m far from a financial expert so there were probably better avenues to utilize but that’s how we did it.

Honest question - I hope it lands well. Why do you believe some of the debt will be relieved?

 

[JAA]

Well, here I am where a lot of you have been and I'm sure some of you are going through this. My baby boy will be going to college next fall, so we are in the middle of research and applications and all that stuff.

As a little background on me and my wife: we are not FBG rich. We are not able to just write a check and send each kid through college without any debt incurred. As some of you may know from reading previous posts by me - my wife and I scratched and clawed to give our kids a good life and put them in a good school district to give them a good foundation.

But, my wife worked part-time the first years of the kids being young, so our household income was tight for the first 10-12 years of our marriage. Only now are what I would consider "comfortable" to where we have a really good household income. The problem is, of course, is now our household income is too high to really qualify for any free grant money. My son makes really good grades so there will certainly be scholarship money available. But, at the end of the day we will have to borrow money.

Our credit rating is excellent, so I would expect us to be able to get a good rate and favorable terms. I have a few questions about the loan process, which is the point of this thread.

1. Where is the best place to borrow money for college? Sallie Mae?

2. Can we do that in advance NOW, or should we wait until he gets accepted to the school, go through their process, the FAFSA app (which I don't expect anything from that), and then apply next spring?

3. What is a normal loan term?

4. Can we pay on that loan while he is in school? (this is our plan if its allowed)

Our goal is to minimize his damage on graduation day. So we would like to pay on this thing as we go as my salary is pretty much earmarked for college money. Any help is greatly appreciated.

Fill out the FAFSA forms. I think you can link it to the State for state grants, as well. The Federal Loans carry low interest rates and you can bump it out 30 years. If you go with a private loan you're looking at 10%+ interest, not sure the term, I don't do private loans, shop around.

If you don't have the money to cover college, I'd recommend a community college for the first 2 years. The credit costs are really cheap and the credits will mostly transfer to a 4-year school. For example in Philly we have Community College of Philadelphia and the credits transfer to Temple (and other schools) but its a cheap way to get an education.

You can pay a loan while the student is in school.

I did summers at Bucks County Community College

 

[jhib]

Just wanted to mention that just because you don't get money through the FAFSA process, that doesn't necessarily mean your son's college won't consider you worthy of need-based financial aid. It varies a lot by school, and some schools usually offer mainly loans to cover the amount over what they think you should be able to pay, while others are more generous with grants instead.
We happened to get very lucky where with a combination of need-based grants and a payment plan to spread payments across the school year, we avoided loans for our two kids. The younger is a senior now, so almost there.
(Sorry I'm no help with the loan process, but just thought I'd mention it because it's often a source of confusion)

 

[tri-man 47]

The best option are federal Stafford Loans vis the financial aid process (and FAFSA). These include both the subsidized loans and unsubsidized loans. Annual amounts are capped. Parents can also do PLUS loans, but ideally, the finances work out without PLUS loans. Schools provide need-based grants along with merit-based scholarships, and those are part of the overall financial aid package. (A little secret: Schools often have grids where a certain GPA and certain test scores results in an offer of $xx scholarship funding.) Aid packages might also include federal work study where the student works on campus and receives a paycheck …theoretically used to help cover the tuition bill.

 

[SoBeDad]

Big choice. Private versus public schools. Public is usually cheaper unless your son qualifies for those relatively rare special scholarships or gets into a school with a huge endowment (Ivys, etc). Most money is need based, not merit based, after acceptance. Local community colleges are a good option for many. The choice of majors is a predictor of future income and ability to pay back loans. It's OK to have some debt, especially if it leads to a good paying job. Good luck in the process.

I know you're not in FL, but I want to mention that FL public universities are are among the cheapest in the country and have generous merit-based scholarships. Students graduating from UF, FSU, FIU, etc have among the lowest debt in the nation. Out of state students pay alot more tuition than in-state.

 

[skol asylum]

We had our first start school this fall. We had no money saved up unfortunately. For their freshman year we took out all the unsubsidized federal loans we could to cover the cost, both under them and the rest under us as a Parent Plus loan. The rates are pretty low on theirs. Not really that low on ours. Waiting to get our first bill(s). Going to pay the interest while they are in school. Adjusted our 401K withholding down temporarily for the next 2 1/2 years and will begin saving each month soon into a new high interest savings account. (Where still TBD.) That will help us cover the parent cost starting in year 2 so we shouldn't have to take out any more loans. They will hopefully still have a small scholarship each year plus their smaller unsubsidized loan. We'll have our youngest start 4 years after the oldest so back to back. It's expensive.

 

[Van Dyman]

We had our first start school this fall. We had no money saved up unfortunately. For their freshman year we took out all the unsubsidized federal loans we could to cover the cost, both under them and the rest under us as a Parent Plus loan. The rates are pretty low on theirs. Not really that low on ours. Waiting to get our first bill(s). Going to pay the interest while they are in school. Adjusted our 401K withholding down temporarily for the next 2 1/2 years and will begin saving each month soon into a new high interest savings account. (Where still TBD.) That will help us cover the parent cost starting in year 2 so we shouldn't have to take out any more loans. They will hopefully still have a small scholarship each year plus their smaller unsubsidized loan. We'll have our youngest start 4 years after the oldest so back to back. It's expensive.

My kids are also 4 years apart and the first graduates in 2025. We'll have a little savings but a drop in the bucket, so pretty much assume our path will be like yours.

 

[-OZ-]

Two kids in college, next one starts in 3 years.
Both live at home and attend local schools. we rarely see one but the oldest is around a lot. They’re incredibly different guys.

Son 1 costs about $5k / annual, community college.
Son 2 costs about $1500 with books, full tuition scholarship.
We have $35-50k invested for each of them.

Yesterday Son 3 commented how he’ll probably attend the same school as Kid 2.
I might never get these 5 out of the house. We’ll move when the youngest graduates HS unless she also stays local.

 

[belljr]

I posted in my thread about being empty nester moving out but here is just as good.

Daughter is finishing up her first semester next week.

Currently she is teetering around 4 A and 2 B's but they can go either way in 4 classes with finals. She "screwed up" her one easy class but overall very pleased.

She adapted to softball very well so far from what she tells me.

I'm still concerned shes not social enough and or making enough friends OR leaving her dorm often enough or getting involved with other things.

I'm also concerned she is not keeping on top of her co-op responsibilities and such.....

her bad habits from HS are creeping in. She is studying better so that is good but she lets her anxiety and shyness rule her daily life. And she also doesn't go out of her way to keep on top of everything.......

Overall I'm happy that shes happy and it is just one semester.....

 

[Brunell4MVP]

First year is rough on most kids. Roommates aren't easy. There's usually more free time than HS, even if your kid plays time consuming sports. And now there's media where they can feel like they have a life without ever talking to someone. We've had two go through college and just became empty nesters. One really struggled socially in year 1 and 2. Got almost all As, but no social life. The younger one learned from his brother and handled that aspect better. All you can do is encourage them. And really the grades end up being the most important thing, because the job they get largely determines the next 40+ years of their life. And from that perspective we were lucky because they are both smarter than us. In the end it usually works out and all is well.