topic Re: Starting MBA in a few weeks, now what? in Student Loans

Starting MBA in a few weeks, now what?

Anonymous — Mon, 20 Jul 2015 21:01:31 GMT

I have no idea where to start in regards to student loans. As a college student, I went to a state school and was able to work and pay it all off as I was attending. Now, I do not know where to go for help with my $88,000+ upcoming tuition for USC. What are the best rates? Where should I be looking? Mulitiple loans? Private or federal?

Any advice and help would be great. Thank you!

Re: Starting MBA in a few weeks, now what?

SCF — Tue, 21 Jul 2015 00:11:58 GMT

Have you talked to your school's financial aid office? They should have made you an offer of federal assistance (and possibly other grants/loans handled by the institution) based on your FAFSA.

$88k seems very high, is that for the entire program? The rule of thumb is that your graduate degree should increase your income by at least as much as it costs to complete it - will this program lead to very good job opportunities for you?

Re: Starting MBA in a few weeks, now what?

Anonymous — Tue, 21 Jul 2015 14:52:53 GMT

I completed my FAFSA last night, so I will wait to hear from the school.

The 88k includes tuition and expenses like books and materials for the 2 year program. It is about 44k a year, so 88k total.

I believe this program will open up a lot more doors and almost guarantee a much higher income.

Re: Starting MBA in a few weeks, now what?

Anonymous — Tue, 21 Jul 2015 20:54:51 GMT

Congrats on getting into USC!

As for student loans, your school's financial aid office should offer you a package of subsidized Stafford loans (subsidized meaning the government pays the interest while you are in school), unsubsidized Stafford loans (interest starts accruing immediately), and grad PLUS loans (interest starts accruing immediately) which will completely cover your costs. If you don't need to cover living expenses, then make sure that you only take out the loans you need to aka you don't need to accept the full package.

There should be no need for you to get a private loan and I strongly urge that you stic kto federal loans.Although the interest rates aren't the greatest compared to what you might get on a private loan depending on your credit score, they have a fixed APR and very flexible payment plans in case you run into any issues paying on the loans.

If you want some more info, go to the Federal Student Aid website which can breakdown in detail about each type of loan.

Hope that helps! And good luck with school!

Re: Starting MBA in a few weeks, now what?

Anonymous — Tue, 21 Jul 2015 20:57:44 GMT

What degree are you going for? If i may ask.

Re: Starting MBA in a few weeks, now what?

Anonymous — Mon, 27 Jul 2015 16:31:39 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
Congrats on getting into USC!

As for student loans, your school's financial aid office should offer you a package of subsidized Stafford loans (subsidized meaning the government pays the interest while you are in school), unsubsidized Stafford loans (interest starts accruing immediately), and grad PLUS loans (interest starts accruing immediately) which will completely cover your costs. If you don't need to cover living expenses, then make sure that you only take out the loans you need to aka you don't need to accept the full package.

There should be no need for you to get a private loan and I strongly urge that you stic kto federal loans.Although the interest rates aren't the greatest compared to what you might get on a private loan depending on your credit score, they have a fixed APR and very flexible payment plans in case you run into any issues paying on the loans.

If you want some more info, go to the Federal Student Aid website which can breakdown in detail about each type of loan.

Hope that helps! And good luck with school!

Thank you for your response. As for the loans, I will be needing money for living expenses. How do I get the loans for living expenses and are they sent in full directly to me or in monthly deposits? I am contacting the financial aid office today after work to get some more details about the loans they offer but wanted some additional advice.

Re: Starting MBA in a few weeks, now what?

Anonymous — Mon, 27 Jul 2015 16:32:11 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
What degree are you going for? If i may ask.

MBA program.

Re: Starting MBA in a few weeks, now what?

Anonymous — Tue, 28 Jul 2015 03:35:07 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
Congrats on getting into USC!

As for student loans, your school's financial aid office should offer you a package of subsidized Stafford loans (subsidized meaning the government pays the interest while you are in school), unsubsidized Stafford loans (interest starts accruing immediately), and grad PLUS loans (interest starts accruing immediately) which will completely cover your costs. If you don't need to cover living expenses, then make sure that you only take out the loans you need to aka you don't need to accept the full package.

There should be no need for you to get a private loan and I strongly urge that you stic kto federal loans.Although the interest rates aren't the greatest compared to what you might get on a private loan depending on your credit score, they have a fixed APR and very flexible payment plans in case you run into any issues paying on the loans.

If you want some more info, go to the Federal Student Aid website which can breakdown in detail about each type of loan.

Hope that helps! And good luck with school!
Thank you for your response. As for the loans, I will be needing money for living expenses. How do I get the loans for living expenses and are they sent in full directly to me or in monthly deposits? I am contacting the financial aid office today after work to get some more details about the loans they offer but wanted some additional advice.

The financial aid package should include loans to cover "estimated" living expenses. What happens is the loans for the year are disbursed each semester to the school. The school takes out the tuition expense and gives you a refund check/direct deposit which is then what you can live off of for the rest of the semester.

Let us know what the financial aid office has to say.

Re: Starting MBA in a few weeks, now what?

Anonymous — Wed, 05 Aug 2015 05:26:20 GMT

bhertz3,

Forgive me while I say something unpopular:

Consider not going.

I have a masters from UCLA and while I loved my time there and it opened doors, I deeply regret the financial hole student loans put me in.

Take a long, cold, hard look at what you want for your future.

If you're an entreprenuer -- you don't need an MBA.

If you are career driven -- try to land a job at a good company who will help cover the cost of tuition.

Whatever you do -- do NOT under any circumstances take out private loans. The loan officer won't make this clear what is "private" and what is government backed. It is akin to making a deal with the devil, or the mob, only worse -- it's a student loan.

You can never, ever, ever get rid of it. You can't discharge it in BK, you can't put it in forebearance (after you use it), you cannot make payment arrangements. If you default on it -- because they will ask you to start paying about $1500 a month on $88,000 and you can't pay it -- they will come after you, garnish your wages, and seize your tax returns. They have been known to ruin lives and aren't afraid to do so. They have gone after kids parent's retirement and social security. They will stop at nothing. Now this hasn't happenned to me but I know of stories to other people.

Please think long and hard. USC is prestigious but try to find a way, it will be difficult, to pay your way through some of it.

Please do not take out any "signature" loans or "private" loans or whatever they are calling them.

Even government loans are difficult but they have more payment plans after you graduate.

Good luck!

Re: Starting MBA in a few weeks, now what?

Anonymous — Wed, 05 Aug 2015 05:27:18 GMT

bhertz3,

Forgive me while I say something unpopular:

Consider not going.

I have a masters from UCLA and while I loved my time there and it opened doors, I deeply regret the financial hole student loans put me in.

Take a long, cold, hard look at what you want for your future.

If you're an entreprenuer -- you don't need an MBA.

If you are career driven -- try to land a job at a good company who will help cover the cost of tuition.

Please think long and hard. USC is prestigious but try to find a way, it will be difficult, to pay your way through some of it.

Please do not take out any "signature" loans or "private" loans or whatever they are calling them.

Even government loans are difficult but they have more payment plans after you graduate.

Good luck!

Re: Starting MBA in a few weeks, now what?

youdontkillmoney — Thu, 06 Aug 2015 13:52:14 GMT

I went to USC for my undrgraduate degree, Bachelor's in economics. I took out public and private loans, grants, parents helped some. I was probably maybe $50K in debt.

I went to Cal State LA for my Masters in economics immediately thereafter, then 6 years later my MBA at Cal State LA; mostly because tuition was cheaper at State universities....maybe $1300 a quarter or $5,200 a year. I worked part time teaching economics at a community college and other colleges to pay for my MBA, so no debt.

It worked out for me, make $120,000 (potential in current position is $140K), teach econ part time for maybe $10k-$20k a year depending how much I take on.

Zero student loan debt, probably paid that off ten years ago (am 41) since I don't see any student loan debt on my credit file.

The point is, USC is a good school, esp. if you stay local in So Cal networkwise; my coworker started off as an analyst here too, she went to USC, I went to Cal State LA for my MBA; she is stil an analyst ten years later, I am a manager. I think you'll enjoy time time at USC, but you will pay for it and having a lot of debt will delay life events (wedding, home, vacations, etc) due to money issues/debt....unless you choose a specialty wisely as an MBA, and able to secure a good paying job, do not expect $100,000+; expect more like $50K-$75K starting salary.

My organization by the way pays tuition reimbursements, I think $30,000 a year, yes very generous and unusual.....I can go back to school and get anothe rmaster's or PhD and take one class at a time, but the psychic costs of studying, it huts my brain, papers, reading and more reading, prpblem solving, I do not have the stomach for anymore, so like someone else said on here, if you can find a job with your degree now, maybe an employer will help foot the tution. Or is the job market tough and you'd want to get an MA to be more competitive,

So those are the options for funding your MBA: (1) borrow money with consequences (2) go to a cheaper school -- I did, and I did okay (3) don't go (4) find a job that'll pay for it and defer enrollment for a year until you do

Re: Starting MBA in a few weeks, now what?

Anonymous — Thu, 06 Aug 2015 22:24:30 GMT

@youdontkillmoney wrote:
I went to USC for my undrgraduate degree, Bachelor's in economics. I took out public and private loans, grants, parents helped some. I was probably maybe $50K in debt.
I went to Cal State LA for my Masters in economics immediately thereafter, then 6 years later my MBA at Cal State LA; mostly because tuition was cheaper at State universities....maybe $1300 a quarter or $5,200 a year. I worked part time teaching economics at a community college and other colleges to pay for my MBA, so no debt.

It worked out for me, make $120,000 (potential in current position is $140K), teach econ part time for maybe $10k-$20k a year depending how much I take on.

Zero student loan debt, probably paid that off ten years ago (am 41) since I don't see any student loan debt on my credit file.

The point is, USC is a good school, esp. if you stay local in So Cal networkwise; my coworker started off as an analyst here too, she went to USC, I went to Cal State LA for my MBA; she is stil an analyst ten years later, I am a manager. I think you'll enjoy time time at USC, but you will pay for it and having a lot of debt will delay life events (wedding, home, vacations, etc) due to money issues/debt....unless you choose a specialty wisely as an MBA, and able to secure a good paying job, do not expect $100,000+; expect more like $50K-$75K starting salary.

My organization by the way pays tuition reimbursements, I think $30,000 a year, yes very generous and unusual.....I can go back to school and get anothe rmaster's or PhD and take one class at a time, but the psychic costs of studying, it huts my brain, papers, reading and more reading, prpblem solving, I do not have the stomach for anymore, so like someone else said on here, if you can find a job with your degree now, maybe an employer will help foot the tution. Or is the job market tough and you'd want to get an MA to be more competitive,

So those are the options for funding your MBA: (1) borrow money with consequences (2) go to a cheaper school -- I did, and I did okay (3) don't go (4) find a job that'll pay for it and defer enrollment for a year until you do

I would love to find a position that pays into my tuition. Once I figure out the time commitment needed for school, I will definitely be looking for an analyst position like the one I am in now closer to school. Hopefully it all works out...

Thank you for your advice and information.