S/o - would you allow child to take out loans for dream school
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Anonymous
| Can you stop him? I have loans in my name only from undergrad. I'm pretty sure my parents didn't sign anything saying I was allowed to take out a loan. |
Anonymous
| Of course! |
Anonymous
| Depends on what he intends to major in and whether he intends to go to grad school. Also, I would only pay for the top Ivies or Stanford, MIT and maybe one or 2 others. Otherwise, go public. |
Anonymous
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Yes, but we would probably have an in-depth discussion before he/she signed the loan papers so I could be sure that my child understood what the debt would mean in terms of repayment once they graduate. I think debt can be very abstract to young people unless they understand the bottom line. |
Anonymous
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Unless your child has consistent income and an established credit rating, they will not get a private loan without a cosigner. So yes, you can stop your child from taking on exorbitant loans by refusing to co-sign.
Federal student loans do not require a co-signer, but as noted above, there are limits to how much you can borrow. The current limits for unsubsidized federal student loans for undergraduate study are $5500 for the first year of college, $6500 for the second year of college, and $7500 for the third year and beyond, up to a cumulative maximum amount of $31,000. If the "dream school" costs $15k more per year ($60k total) than in-state, OP will either need to cough up the money herself or co-sign a loan for her DD. Note that a student owing $60k would face payments of ~$700/month for 10 years. For a new graduate making, say, $45k/year, that amount would be 21% of gross monthly income. That's a lot of cash. And of course we haven't discussed grad school. |
Anonymous
| As long as he clearly understands how much he will owe (and how much per month that will be) after he finishes school. Even if he doesn't graduate, he still owes the money. I don't know anyone who didn't take out a loan to go to college. |
Anonymous
| No. I'm not encouraging my DD to even HAVE a "dream" school. She can pick from what's in state, and we'll pay as long as her grades stay B or higher. If she wants to go to a commuter school she can live at home rent free as long as she goes to school full time and again, gets above a B. |
Anonymous
| What is the school in question? |
Anonymous
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Depends on which school and for what major. I think I'd only be ok with significant loans (more than 5-7k/yr) for an Ivy, Stanford, MIT, Caltech -- AND only if the intended major was something pre-professional like engineering, finance etc.
If he wants to go to Wharton (and can get in) to major in finance -- loans are ok. If he wants to go to URichmond to major in English with vague plans of law school -- no. |
Anonymous
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Why is a mortgage good debt, and college loan debt bad debt? I'd consider debt up to $15,000 a year. If he gets lots of merit aid, it might be one-third that.
I'd make clear that you will all decide when all acceptances and merit aid offers are in. He can also call and try to get more. I know students who can afford to pay full freight who got more merit aid than first offered. (I find that objectionable but there you go.) Good luck! |
Anonymous
Northeastern. |
Anonymous
I'd lean towards no for the full 60k in debt though what are the details -- why Northeastern? What does he intend to study? |
Anonymous
Loves the campus, vibe, location and students. He intends to study finance. |
Anonymous
+1 possibly graduating from undergrad $60k in debt is crippling. Especially if he want to go to grad school. He should try to transfer in soph or junior year to save the $ |
Anonymous
| The loan is paid over how many years? 10? OP, can you help pay off the loan after he graduates? |