Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
I know you don't want to hear it, OP, but 7.54% interest in this economy is just not intelligent. You don't get a house at the end. Your kid gets a diploma whose worth is limited to what he's going to do with it. Might as well go in-state.

Kindly, instate colleges are expensive too. I’m not sure why you’re assuming OP’s kid is going OOS or private. W&M and UVA are $35k+/year.

Yeah either merit our instate is still 28k.

Anonymous wrote:check college work study programs.

This isn't 1950. No college work study pays even a fraction of tuition let alone room and board

People on here are jerks. Not you have gotten some leads on lower interest loans and advice about the advantages of Parent Plus vs. private loans. There are situations where borrowing by makes sense. Like if you will have access to funds in a few years to pay it off. But agree that you should proceed with caution. We may do something people will find even more upsetting—withdraw some funds for retirement. Folks on here will say NEVER DRAW FROM RETIREMENT. And that is generally true. But not all situations are the same. We are older and over saved for retirement instead of putting it in 529. Probably should have. But we will withdraw IF the school is deemed to be worth the money.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
I know you don't want to hear it, OP, but 7.54% interest in this economy is just not intelligent. You don't get a house at the end. Your kid gets a diploma whose worth is limited to what he's going to do with it. Might as well go in-state.

Apparently they do not want to hear it. I agree with you. No school is worth taking loans at that rate---NO SCHOOL. You/your kid will be saddled with debt for years to come.

But ... UNIQUE!

Anonymous wrote:You will not see anyone on here taking out such loans. Most kids doing so are first-gen and the parent or uncle has no idea what they’re really signing up for, older nontraditional students with no family support & has to leave their job to go to school or kids whose families are culturally opposed to college & kid finds somebody to co-sign their student loans because parents refuse to pay anything.

+1

I would add. Never put them on forbearance. That will kill you

I took out 20k a couple years ago. Cash flowed the rest . Son owes 26k total. My payments are 219 a month. I spend more on cable

We thought about loans. We thought we'd likely send kid to a private top 10.

Recently, he changed his mind and is going to accept UVA instead.

Hoping brother will do the same as their 529s cover the entire cost. They are in private HS now so it will feel great to have that extra $.

I borrowed 20k for sons freshman year. Due to pandemic rules I just started paying in October of this year. We have been able to cash flow the last three years. Graduates in May. 219 a month

https://studentaid.gov/help-center/answers/article/what-is-current-interest-rate-for-direct-unsubsidized-loans

“For undergraduate students, the interest rate for Direct Subsidized Loans and Direct Unsubsidized Loans is 4.99%.”

For your child, barring extenuating circumstances (i.e. your child is married or has their own child), the limits for direct loans are as follows:

$5500 freshman year
$6500 sophomore year
$7500 junior year
$7500 senior year

These would be in your child’s name. Need to fill out FAFSA to get these & your kid must accept/decline them each semester. These are certainly the “best” loan option there is for an undergraduate.



If you need to take out more than that, please pick another school. It’s one thing to have to possibly take out a parent loan for spring semester senior year of college to get the kid across the finish line, but if you’re already planning to that’s a bad sign.

Anonymous wrote:
I know you don't want to hear it, OP, but 7.54% interest in this economy is just not intelligent. You don't get a house at the end. Your kid gets a diploma whose worth is limited to what he's going to do with it. Might as well go in-state.

Apparently they do not want to hear it. I agree with you. No school is worth taking loans at that rate---NO SCHOOL. You/your kid will be saddled with debt for years to come.

Have your kid commute to GMU or UMD after transferring from community college. Commuting to Marymount or CUA with merit aid is an option, too. And have your kid take out the $27k in federal loans.

Which I hope means "My rich uncle has willed all his 100s of millions to me", and not "My son is the first in the family to go to college, and he's just been accepted at Harvard! We will make this work if it kills us!".

Anonymous wrote:Ugh this is so dinkensonian. The colleges are getting away with murder. I know it’s buyer beware but come in, they are exploiting these parents at exactly their weak spots. It’s despicable.

https://hechingerreport.org/parent-plus-loan-stuck-in-it-until-i-die-parents-get-buried-by-college-debt-too/

Op, the interest rates are really bad. Balloons very quickly. There’s no way this should be legal. It’s just another way for colleges to inflate tuition obscenely. You are making it harder for every family coming after you by doing this.

But OP's situation is UNIQUE.

Ugh this is so dinkensonian. The colleges are getting away with murder. I know it’s buyer beware but come in, they are exploiting these parents at exactly their weak spots. It’s despicable.

https://hechingerreport.org/parent-plus-loan-stuck-in-it-until-i-die-parents-get-buried-by-college-debt-too/

Op, the interest rates are really bad. Balloons very quickly. There’s no way this should be legal. It’s just another way for colleges to inflate tuition obscenely. You are making it harder for every family coming after you by doing this.