What are my options after FAFSA

[laz98]

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@BrokeStudent2010 wrote:

Sillyrabbit160, I can't believe you chose for your very first post on FICO Forums to a put down of the OP's situation.

Now is not the time for chastising the OP by presuming he or she should know better, or for rambling on about how bad the economy is. We don't know what this person's situation is. All kinds of people who should have or did know better sometimes fall on hard times or end up in unexpected situations. While every negative thing you say might all be true, I'm sure the OP is faced with these realities on a daily basis, so reiterating them while failing to actually give any advice seems pointless.

I don't mean to sound harsh, but it frustrates me when people give really lackluster responses to the post of someone actually seeking legitimate advice.

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+1.  i'm not usually one to jump on these kinds of bandwagons, but the last post did strike me as a little rude.

sillyrabbit, there are lots of legitimate reasons why this person is 30 & in college.  it's doesn't necessarily mean they don't have their life together.  i'm 30 & in college because i spent several years in the military before i went to school.  not everyone follows the college track after high school, & lots of people are going back to school right now precisely because of the economic conditions you mentioned.

i'm glad that you have firsthand experience with the financial aid realm, & it's always great to have insider knowledge.  but perhaps you could share it in a less antagonistic way?  that way the OP (& future readers) won't be put off by your comments & ignore the helpful advice you have offered

to the OP:  i hope that you find a solution that works for you.  i do agree with previous posters that you should be less concerned with getting a car & more concerned with finding employment, or seeking some type of welfare assistance.  unless you live in an exorbitantly expensive place to live, you should be able to adjust your lifestyle to fit your small budget.  i do think it will be tough to get any kind of loan without proof of ability to repay, unfortunately.

[Anonymous]

My apologies, I got really carried away because this is a topic I feel strongly about....I have a tendency to get on my high horse and be long-winded. I thought I was just giving it to the OP straight, no shooter -- a reality check. I've been in this field for a long time, I've seen and heard it all and sometimes can be a bit jaded. But, I do know what I'm talking about and wanted to get my point across that the OP should put the car side and focus on the job to get out of the situation. Unfortunately, the loan will be a pipe dream at best according to the facts presented. As for me saying that the OP is old enough, etc --there was no judgmental intent. That's something I say to my own kids and students I counsel when they need to step up. I definitely know how hard it is out there but there are always ways out of circumstances if you focus and buckle down.

[haulingthescoreup]

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@Anonymous wrote:

My apologies, I got really carried away because this is a topic I feel strongly about....I have a tendency to get on my high horse and be long-winded. I thought I was just giving it to the OP straight, no shooter -- a reality check. I've been in this field for a long time, I've seen and heard it all and sometimes can be a bit jaded. But, I do know what I'm talking about and wanted to get my point across that the OP should put the car side and focus on the job to get out of the situation. Unfortunately, the loan will be a pipe dream at best according to the facts presented. As for me saying that the OP is old enough, etc --there was no judgmental intent. That's something I say to my own kids and students I counsel when they need to step up. I definitely know how hard it is out there but there are always ways out of circumstances if you focus and buckle down.

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We're all about tough love here, when it needs to be distributed. It's just a bit unusual to see it on a first-time post. Usually people try to get a feel for things first, I guess.

After however many posts --where am I, omg, 26,550 --I still do this with a lot of caution.

Unless it's a troll, of course. I love blasting trolls! 

[Anonymous]

I want to make some points so you guys get a clearer picture of my situation.

1. I can get a job right now there are plenty of low paying jobs in the area but that is the problem their low paying and my time is put to better use studying. School is my number one priority.

2. Yes I want to get the loan to buy a car for employment but more importantly for school. I can only take so many coarses at the campus that I am at right now I will eventually (probably either spring or summer semester have to switch campuses so yes the car would primarily be for transportation to school.

3. This is an important point I want to go to school during the summer I won't be able to without more money ergo why i need the student loan.

4 I will probably have to use my credit cards in December or January but I can pay down that debt in Febuary as I am in the process of applying for scholarships and will  be awarded them in the spring.

5. The reason why I thought about a student loan is because it's deferred until after you GRADUATE so what difference does it make really if I am unemployed or not. I know i'll probably be employed sometime in the near future and want to pay it back as soon as I can.

6. I am used to making 40000 a year. I've been getting job offers of 30,000 to 36,000 a year which I'm ok with, but lately, I haven't been able to attend many interviews because of the car issue. If I get a car I'll pretty much have a job that I want within 2 weeks.

7. I expected to take some pain short term going into this and while I am not in a desperate situation and probably won't be (If things get bad i would just have to work two low paying jobs and not go to school)  the fact of the matter is getting a loan will open up alot of opportunities for me and is something I can handle (ergo 720 credit score) over the long term.

8. Again whether I like it or not if I want to stay in school I will eventually have to get a car.

Just to give you some info on my background I have been living between Florida and NYC for the last 7 years, 4 and a half in Florida, and the last 2 and half in NYC. I have been living on my own for the past 12 years. Two years ago I decided i wanted to go to school and started researching my options. You want to talk about planning better I started the application process to get into the CUNY system of schools last march. I sent in my transcripts to register for the fall of 09, after waiting for it to process I was put on a wait list just to get in! I was told that I would not be able to register for the fall.I was then told to try the spring which I did in September of 09, again I was waitlisted, after trying for a third time for this fall semester and talking to student couselors I finally gave up, I thought I'd never be able to go to school. I came down to Florida in July on vacation realized I was still a resident, asked how long it would take to get into school. I was told 1 week, I was registered for classes within 2 weeks. Your right I'm 30 and could have planned better but at 30 i'm not getting any older and realize when an opportunity presents itself you take it especially when getting into school had become so tedious. While NYC may have a stable economy I was by far not stable in NYC I moved 5 times in two and half years while living there, and I was constantly trying to stay above my means. The Northeast may be great for alot of things but the fact of the matter is it is alot easier to live in Florida. Me coming here to go to school is a decision that I have no regrets about in fact the only regret i have is the amount of time and money 225 dollars I wasted trying to go to school in New York.

[Anonymous]

Sorry but so many things are just not adding up :

1) You say you were making $40K and have a credit score of 720—then why did you have to move 5x in NYC? There are ways to live in NYC on that kind of budget.  Parts of Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens and the Bronx have affordable rent, not to mention affordable mass transit.

2) You say you’ve been on your own for 12 years –then how were you able to pick up and leave NYC in 1-2 weeks? Did you break your lease that fast or did you leave someone holding the bag—a landlord or roommate?

3) You say you’ve gotten job offers in the $36K range…Are you sure you mean job offers and not job interviews? If they are indeed job offers then why are they not good enough? It sounds like that would be the answer to your problems. I don’t think you’re being really upfront with us, or yourself for that matter. From what I can gather, it sounds like you were employed in NYC.  So you traded one workable situation for a worse one.  You could’ve waited another semester to get into CUNY –kept working, saved money, taken advantage of the transit system instead of relocating to a place where having a car is essential to everything,  to where you don’t have a job and you’re now strapped for money.

4) As for the application process at CUNY which I know about as well –not adding up either…Sounds like you either missed deadlines –not getting proper paperwork in on time or you were not applying to appropriate programs. If you’re really honest here I bet you’ll admit there were some things you could’ve done differently to get in.  Sorry, there is no way if you had done your due diligence, could there be so many roadblocks to registratering. Just wouldn't be tolerated there. Something about your account just doesn’t sound kosher to me.

Don’t you think it’s a bit suspect that a school will accept you within one week?  You seem like a smart person –so, it would stand to reason that a diploma from that school probably isn’t worth the paper it’s written on.  Is this school even accredited? I pray your school is a 2yr CC that way you can at least transfer to a decent school. I don’t know what field you’re trying to get into, but for the record Florida colleges are widely not considered a bastion of academia anywhere.

In my experience, unless you’re from here, Florida is a place where people go when they can’t make it somewhere else. It’s full of burnouts. It’s fine if you’re not overly ambitious.  Don’t get me wrong –Florida is great for kicking back and relaxing. Why do you think it’s destination #1 for retirees? In life, anything that is worth having doesn’t come easy and usually requires hard work and dedication.  Forgive me if I’m sounding overbearing, but I’m a mother of 5 –some of my kids are in your age group. It’s just the maternal side of me coming through. This is the same thing I would tell my own kids.  

[Anonymous]

Things not adding up I could say the same about you.

1. Affordable rent I pay 400 a month down here, you can't get a piece of crap apartment in New York for less than 800, unless you have rent control which is pretty much over with. If you lived up there you would know that . Just to give you a reference I paid 150 a month for a parking lot space when i lived in New York, I've seen some places charge as much as 600 a month for parking. I sold my car May of this year as I had not anticipated moving to Florida yet.

2. I pretty muched worked 8am to 8pm this is not counting commuting which added anywhere from an extra 30 minutes to two hours depending on where I was living in New York since i moved so many times. Which meant that I never really had time to look for apartments that were affordable and so I was constantly moving in with roomates.

3. Most young people that live in New York have to have roommates I've seen 4 people in a 1 bedroom apartment up there. I was not on a lease when they moved I would have to look for somebody else to move in with.

4. From December to March I pretty much wasn't working as I had knee surgery and was not put on disability.

5.I tried three times unsuccessfully to get into the CUNY system I could only imagine the outcome after being accepted what the waitlist would look like scheduling classes. If you know it well than you would know that my situation is actually quite common. 

6. I am in a community college I said this in the original post you should pay better attention. It took my school a week for them to get my high school transcripts and then I took a placement test and I was in.

7. I don't know what you think you know about Florida schools but University of Miami is ranked # 47 and University of Florida is ranked #53 in the U.S. News best colleges of 2011 you should do better research.

8. Unless your making 80,000 or more New York can and is a stressful place to live anybody that has lived there on their own knows that, the only exception to that would be if you lived with your parents, which many of my friends in New York still do. 

[haulingthescoreup]

I feel like I'm watching a tennis match here...

Perhaps if y'all could back away from the ya-ya-ya bit, and get back to the original question, which I believe dealt with alternative sources of SL, there might be a bit more light and a lot less heat.

Just a thought.

[laz98]

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@Anonymous wrote:

5. The reason why I thought about a student loan is because it's deferred until after you GRADUATE so what difference does it make really if I am unemployed or not. I know i'll probably be employed sometime in the near future and want to pay it back as soon as I can.

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it matters because private student loans rely solely on your credit, as opposed to federal student loans, which are pretty much handed out like candy.  federal student loans don't care if you are working or not as a student; a private loan lender cares because it's like getting any other kind of loan, which is why i mentioned that you need proof of ability to repay.

that's why it is not always easy to get private loans, regardless of your cost of attendance.  i imagine if people could get a private student loan for any old reason, they would be signing up for them left & right!!! 

also, graduation does not equal employment.  i don't know what your chosen field is; hopefully it's in high demand! i just want to give you a heads up about putting all your eggs in one basket, so to speak.  people are having trouble finding jobs in any field nowadays.  if you know you will be employed soon, as you mentioned, then you shouldn't have any worries. 

[Anonymous]

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@laz98 wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

5. The reason why I thought about a student loan is because it's deferred until after you GRADUATE so what difference does it make really if I am unemployed or not. I know i'll probably be employed sometime in the near future and want to pay it back as soon as I can.

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it matters because private student loans rely solely on your credit, as opposed to federal student loans, which are pretty much handed out like candy.  federal student loans don't care if you are working or not as a student; a private loan lender cares because it's like getting any other kind of loan, which is why i mentioned that you need proof of ability to repay.

that's why it is not always easy to get private loans, regardless of your cost of attendance.  i imagine if people could get a private student loan for any old reason, they would be signing up for them left & right!!! 

also, graduation does not equal employment.  i don't know what your chosen field is; hopefully it's in high demand! i just want to give you a heads up about putting all your eggs in one basket, so to speak.  people are having trouble finding jobs in any field nowadays.  if you know you will be employed soon, as you mentioned, then you shouldn't have any worries. 

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Besides credit score is there anything else that private student loans look at?

[laz98]

sure!  every lender will have its own list of course, but simpletuition.org gives this general list of items:

Your full name, social security number and date of birth

Your permanent address and the number of years you have lived there (no P.O. boxes)

The amount of your monthly rent or house payment

Your home phone number

Your current occupation and position

The name of your employer and how long you have been employed by them

The business phone number of your employer

Your gross annual income

The contact information for a reference (name, address, home/business phone number)

The name of your school (or the school the student for whom the loan is for is attending)

The social security number, contact and employment information for your co-signer (if applicable)