ChiefD
Footballguy
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.
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.