Financial Advice: Paying Off College Loans in 1-2 Years

[Benzoate]

HI, I am predicting that I will have a pool of college loans to pay once I graduate from university, seeing that I won't graduate in four years like most college students . There lies a problem, because right after I graduate, I want to attend graduate school. What do you guys think is the approach /strategy to apply that would I allow me to pay for college loans in a year or two? Perhaps maybe I should join the military so they would pay for my college loan with the GI bill I'm automatically entitled to once I sign up for the military.

 

[fizziks]

Is your family poor? Are you attending an in-state school? You can probably get financial aid in grants for 4 years. It was enough to pay for my school. I don't have any debt. But it was a state-school, so tuition was incredibly cheap.

Also, don't "join" the military just to have them pay for your college costs. It's not the smart thing to do unless you are very very interested in military.

 

[gravenewworld]

HI, I am predicting that I will have a pool of college loans to pay once I graduate from university, seeing that I won't graduate in four years like most college students . There lies a problem, because right after I graduate, I want to attend graduate school. What do you guys think is the approach /strategy to apply that would I allow me to pay for college loans in a year or two? Perhaps maybe I should join the military so they would pay for my college loan with the GI bill I'm automatically entitled to once I sign up for the military.

I most likely assume that you are going to grad school in science. If it is something else other than for a professional degree or in science/engineering think hard about it. You should never have to pay for an advanced degree. It just isn't worth it. How much do you owe? If you owe a lot you won't be able to pay off the loans in two years. Once you graduate you really really want to start paying off the loans as soon as possible since the interest builds on it everyday. Consolidate as much as possible at the lowest interest you can find.

 

[Benzoate]

Is your family poor? Are you attending an in-state school? You can probably get financial aid in grants for 4 years. It was enough to pay for my school. I don't have any debt. But it was a state-school, so tuition was incredibly cheap.

Also, don't "join" the military just to have them pay for your college costs. It's not the smart thing to do unless you are very very interested in military.

Unfortunately, I'm not 'poor' enough to qualify for any grants , period. my parents make too much money. I attend a state school; my university cost me a whopping $14K a year, and 50% of that comes from simply staying at my schools dormitory.

 

[gravenewworld]

Unfortunately, I'm not 'poor' enough to qualify for any grants , period. my parents make too much money. I attend a state school; my university cost me a whopping $14K a year, and 50% of that comes from simply staying at my schools dormitory.

Apply for federal loans. ALWAYS apply for federal loans, they have the best terms and are usually low interest. Seek private loans as a last resort.

 

[Benzoate]

I most likely assume that you are going to grad school in science. If it is something else other than for a professional degree or in science/engineering think hard about it. You should never have to pay for an advanced degree. It just isn't worth it. How much do you owe? If you owe a lot you won't be able to pay off the loans in two years. Once you graduate you really really want to start paying off the loans as soon as possible since the interest builds on it everyday. Consolidate as much as possible at the lowest interest you can find.

So you are saying I should accept the fact that I am not able to simultaneously attend graduate school and pay for college loans and therefore should give up my pursuit for graduate school, simply because of financial troubles? Sorry, I won't consider that option. Not attending graduate school is not an option.

To fizziks, why would you consider it a bad idea to join the military after college. Lots of people join the military before deciding to go to college and then see college as an option and are now easily able to pay for college because of their GI bill. Why wouldn't the same notion apply to graduate schools. In other words, sign up for the military for a few years, and then after your service is up , used the money from the GI bill to pay off my college loans.

 

[Benzoate]

Apply for federal loans. ALWAYS apply for federal loans, they have the best terms and are usually low interest. Seek private loans as a last resort.

tell me about your experience with using federal loans to help pay for college , as opposed to borrowing loans from somewhere like CNFC

 

[gravenewworld]

tell me about your experience with using federal loans to help pay for college , as opposed to borrowing loans from somewhere like CNFC

ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS have your parents fill out FAFSA forms. I can't believe your university's financial aid department didn't explain this to you. I went to a private school with a tuition of about $36K per year. I always took out the maximum amount allowed every year in federal stafford loans. I believe my parents took out the maximum amount of PLUS loans too. You definitely want as much in federal loans as possible if you can't get grants. All of my federal loans had longer grace period times and are now all consolidated at 4%. The private loans that I have vary in interest and are at about 8% now. Try to avoid private loans because consolidating them is harder, you end up paying higher interest, and the terms are not nearly as good as federal loans.