After 8 years of college for kids, need some advice on loan options for last one. Out of money. Looking for recommendations for loans for last daughter. Thanks in advance.
I feel for you. College tuition is like buying a new car every year, with no trade-in to offer. Not many folks can handle 12 years of that, even with a lot of advance planning and investing.
Lots of good advice offered in the thread. I'll just amplify a few things:
1) have your daughter have some skin in the game. and go over this with her, so that she appreciates the situation. Most kids at 18/19 have no real sense of money, so don't stop with just 1 conversation, as she'll probably say the right things but won't grasp what you are saying. Depending on your financial situation, you can make a few deals with her. If you think you can afford it, you can promise to pay the loan if she attains a 3.5 GPA in the semester. Or, you can indicate that if she graduates, you'll assist with the repayment. Or, you can say nothing, and then evaluate your situation in 4/5 years to see if you can help her.
2) contact the college. they will instruct you in how to apply for financial aid. In most cases, that starts with filing a FAFSA form with the Federal Govt, and the equivalent form for your home state. You'll need to do this pretty quickly for the fall semester. Depending on your financial situation and the college/university to which she's going, the college/university may offer you some assistance. Don't be surprised if most of the money is in the form of Fed. Govt. loans to your daughter, and loans you can take out. The federal loans are the best ones out there (in terms of loans) If you take out loans (which I recommend), you'll have the option to start paying them off right away, or of deferring the payments until your daughter graduates. Only you can determine which option is best.
3) I believe in the FAFSA application your daughter will be asked if she'll accept work-study as part of the aid package. Be realistic about your daughter. If she's disciplined, this is a good option. If she's not, then the work-study may come at the expense of studying. Then again, every little bit helps, and work-study is a very direct way of having your daughter get some skin in the game.
4) if the package (including loans) that the college/university offers is not enough, call them back. They generally try to work with people. Sometimes they'll find additional money for her. Sometimes they'll offer a more relaxed payment schedule. There's all kinds of options. Be persistent, but not obnoxious, in your conversations.
I concur with the advice to avoid paying for college with commercial loans, or with home equity loans, if you can avoid those routes. However, if after submitting a FAFSA and working with the college/university, you may have no other option.
A few other thoughts assuming that you get past the above with a viable solution:
1) don't force your daughter into a particular major. That said, work with her, encourage her, etc. to pick a major that has a very viable job path
2) have a discussion with your daughter about next summer. She's going to have to earn money to assist with the situation. The ideal situation is to have her do an internship each summer in her career path. That's hard for freshmen, especially those that don't have a major, but if she knows she has to do it then she might be motivated to find such a situation. (Check the college/university web site to see when they have job fairs. That's a great way to find an internship.)
3) it's way too late to look now, but start searching for scholarships that she can apply to in future years. Don't pay for a service -- just do research. Alas, a lot of them are focused on high school seniors,so you'll have to wade through a lot of stuff
4) have your daughter apply for scholarships with her college/university each year. The process varies, but often they are a great source of scholarships for upper classmen, but you often have to be proactive to get them.
5) have a serious talk with your daughter about expenses during the year. Sororities are nice, but they cost a lot. Spring break trips are nice, but they cost a lot. Eating at restaurants off campus is nice, but you/she are already paying for a meal plan, so you're already paying for meals. I could go on, but you should get the sense. Basically, she needs to understand what her budget is at college, and that expenses above that are on her.
I wish you the best of luck.