Basically the title says it all. I'm running out of options in regards to financing my education. Currently I owe $2,500 in order to register for spring semester. I started out full time and then dropped two classes this semester and went to part time which forfeited half of my loans. ( My loans do not cover my entire semester even when I'm full time). I've talked to everyone at my university imaginable and they basically told me " Sorry for your luck but you are going to be able to attend school in the spring unless you come up with the money".

My mom refuses to co-sign any school loans for me. My parents make a lot of money so I do not qualify for grants or hardly any loans in the first place.

If I miss spring semester I'm put back a whole another year because my major is small and you cannot take courses out of sequence. I'm a junior so I'm pretty much done with general classes.

Are you attending a private school?

The way I pay for school:
-I attend the second least expensive four year school in my state (it is a state school, not private).
-My parents do not make any money as they are both disabled, so thankfully I qualify for a lot of financial aid.
-I have a partial scholarship.

I realize that is not really helpful, but the only way I make it is by attending a state school. Every private school I applied to, I was accepted to, and received the highest amount of scholarships offered. But it just was not enough. I still couldn't cover it on my own.

So I definitely did not attend my first, second, or third choice school; but I am happy I am here because I can afford it.

I am sorry your mom won't cosign a loan. Have you considered asking another relative, like an aunt or uncle? My mom doesn't have credit, but my uncle offered to cosign a loan if I ever needed it (thankfully, I haven't).

Also, do you have a job? I have a campus job, and that really helps as well.

I've got one kid who just graduated in May, and another who is a college freshman. Scholarships are the main way they paid/pay for college, but I have also cosigned student loans for them. I don't know why your mom won't cosign; it doesn't seem very fair since it's your parents' income that keeps you from qualifying for financial aid. Can you talk to your dad? Maybe he would be willing to discuss this further with your mother. Would he cosign for you? If not, how about another relative, such as a grandparent, aunt or uncle? If there is nobody willing/able to do this, are there any less expensive college options in your area? If my kids didn't maintain a high enough GPA to keep their scholarships, they'd have to transfer to state schools or community colleges as private university would no longer be within reach financially. Good luck. I hope things work out for you to stay in school.

I am on a full scholarship at a state school, so I'm no help. However, RUN to financial aid and see what they have to say. If there is any way, they will know it. Good luck!

My kids and I have done it in a combination of ways. One was almost exclusively loans for a private university, but she was older and able to file FAFSA independently. The second was scholarships combined with me paying half and him living at home and commuting to a nearby reasonably priced state university. The third is going to junior college with me paying and she also has a job. She'll be transferring to her brother's university next fall and will undoubtedly get some scholarships also. Also, she'll still be living at home. I'll be paying the rest. My recent cause was able to file independently this year as he had a guardianship growing up and those kids are able to file independently at 19. As such, he was eligible for a ton of grants. Yay! Free money.

I so dislike the school offices who act like yours, "oop, too bad, so sorry." Grr! NO!! Do not take that answer. Tell them you need help. Demand to know what your options are. Have you checked into short term loans?

Also, I agree about going to the school you can afford. Although if it's costing you $2500 total for a fulltime semester, I'm guessing you are. That's a fairly reasonable sum for one semester of university.

Have you checked for scholarships? Do you work? Can you make payments at your university? And I agree about asking someone else to co-sign for you. There is a way! Don't give up!

kk~

I go to a public unversity. It's rather cheap and the cheapest in the state as far as my major goes. It's about $5,000 a semester.

My mom won't co-sign a loan for me because is back in college to further a degree she already has. She did get me a parent plus loan last year and the year before for about $2,500 each time. The only issue is payment is due as soon as the loan is taken out so I've been making payments for two years on the one and she is paying $50 a month on the other.

My parents are divorced and my mom is remarried and my stepdad would never help me.

My dad already told me in the past not to ask him to ever co-sign anything because he wouldn't do it.

I have hardly any family so there is no one else to ask. My aunt is living in poverty and my mom is always helping them with finances. I have one set of living grandparents that I could never ask because they would never ever agree to it.

I did a scholarship my first year but I do not have it anymore because my grades weren't high enough. Thank you Organic Chemistry and Human Physiology. Our scholarships also require you to be full time.

I have a job serving at a restaurant and I make decent money most of the time but it's been hard to save lately because I've had car repairs, medical bills, medication, dental work, and etc. I do have insurance but it's awful and barely covers anything so I pay a ton just with that alone.

Did you know you can differ the Parent Plus loan each year? My mom pulled one for me for two years and she differs it at my school each February.

^ I think you meant defer. I was really confused at first. Anyway, I agree with seeing if they will let you make payments. There really should be some sort of option, you need to speak with someone else in your financial aid office. You might not have qualified for many loans when you first entered college, but that might not be true right now, you will need to push and pester them until you find something that works.

^ LOL. Yes, sorry! Defer! I was trying to watch the presidential debate and type at the same time. Sorry about that.

I'm not too much of a help because I go to a state school (luckily we have GREAT public universities in my state) plus I have a scholarship that pays for most of it. Have you done a lot of looking into scholarships? There are a ton of really random ones out there. A lot of them aren't worth too much but you might be able to lighten the load a little by applying for a few.

Also, I just want to say that I think it's awful that colleges take parents' income into account even if they aren't contributing a cent to your education. That just seems unfair. Not everyone's parents help pay for their kids' college!

My mom doesn't want us to defer the parent plus loan it's just the only legit loan I've been able to get and I could technically receive it again but my mom is dead set against it.

I agree that is stupid that colleges look at your parent's finances and determine your loans based on that.

The financial aid office and student accounts office both told me that there is nothing I can do but pay for the amount with cash which I don't have.

Do you have any credit to your name at all? Is your name on the parent plus loan or just your mom's? Do you have a credit card that you make payments on? If you've done anything to build credit in your life, then I would go talk to a bank about taking out a loan, bipassing the financial aid offices. If you have a high enough credit score, you should be able to get the 2,500 to register for next semester. Do you usually work during the summer? When your not going to school full time you might be able to make enough money to make payments on the loan and save for the next semester. Also about all the medical bills you've had, are you using your parents insurance? If so, you might want to see if your school's insurance is better and how much that costs. It might end up saving you money in the long run to switch if any of the health problems continue. Of course that'll vary from company to company and school to school.

Not really helpful for you, but since you asked my parents have paid for most of my schooling and the rest I have taken out in loans. I'm working on an MA now and I'm hoping that I'll be able to get a job that helps pay back student loans, but we'll see.

I'm basically in the same situation as you are with parents making above average and not co-signing or paying.

I work part-time throughout the year and it covers all my tuition (I have no loans). I live at home and pay minimal housing costs ($300/month). Basically I thank my lucky stars that I have two very well paying jobs (well for a student). However, I have a friend who works at McDonalds part time all year and full time in the summer and pays for everything herself as well without loans.

I guess what I'm saying is get a job. I also have maturing investments from my high school retail job coming up to pay for my last year of school.

I go to a public school and live in BC, tuition is around $3000/semester and I go to school year round. I may have to take a semester off to work, but that is just what I have to do. I refuse to go to school knowing I can't pay for it by the deadline-- it would cause me too much stress!

As well, in my province (and I would assume this applies in just in a different way to you) once you are out of high school or turn a certain age you are no longer on your parent's support in terms of financial aid. I know it would suck, but you could always do only what you can afford then get your own student loans at a later date.

ballerinatwirler wrote:

My mom doesn't want us to defer the parent plus loan it's just the only legit loan I've been able to get and I could technically receive it again but my mom is dead set against it.

That's sad. Honestly, if my mom didn't defer my parent plus loan, I wouldn't be able to make it. What is her reasoning for that? The interest? I understand the interest stinks, but it's something you worry about after you graduate when you can afford it. You could possibly afford your tuition bill now if not for that.

I work in financial aid, and I am out of suggestions, sadly. I wish you the best of luck. Please follow up and let us know what happens.

Do you really need a co-signer for every single student and/or bank loan out there? That can't possibly be.

An alternative that would help you in the future would be to legally empancipate yourself. That way, you can file for financial aid on your own tax return instead of your parents'. My mom considered doing that for my brother after having paid for all of my undergrad degree and knowing he wouldn't qualify for much due to my dad's $500,000+ income, of which, we dont see a dime. Thankfully, he got into school on a full scholarship.

I don't have many other ideas for the short term. My mother and grandmother paid for my bachelors degree. I'm paying for my masters degree, but I don't make much money at my job, so my mother pays my bill at the beginning of the semester and I pay her back in managable increments monthly. I'll be able to file independently for financial aid next semester, so that'll be nice.

Right now my parents pay, although I get 30% off tuition through my mom's job and I have a pretty hefty scholarship from my school so it's not costing nearly the full cost. I might transfer though to a school where I would need to take out loans.

I pay my own school costs again in BC at a fairly small public school full time and depending on the number of credits I'm taking it ranges from $1500-$2000. I work all summer and save that for touition as well as work part time during the school year, and save as much as I can for books. I have no scholarships and my parents do not pay any of my school expenses.

I feel you. I needed a loan for a semester of school and tried to get it from a bank because financial aid was being annoying...the bank expected me to have an equivalent amount in another account somewhere. I asked why I would need the loan if I had the money and the guy said he didn't have an answer; that's just how lending is these days - completely insane.

That said, a friend of mine went through some crazy paperwork to be able to file as independent before the age where you're automatically put in that category. You have to really and truly be on your own to do that though...I don't know your full situation but the parent loan thing might be a conflict.

If you're going part time you should definitely be working. If you have to take a semester off you can at least work, save up some money, and have that going when you start back up.

I pay for it myself for the most part. I work two part time jobs to afford school and bills.

Um... why don't you get a private loan yourself? That seems like a pretty easy fix.

I got a loan through Sallie Mae (I forget which one, I could check if you'd like) to put myself through 2 years of school. I didn't have any co-signers. It was completely in my own name.

I also had the tiny sum that Federal Stafford loans gave me.

$2500 is NOTHING in terms of student debt, unless you have done something really stupid with your credit in the past that should be a really easy sum to come up with in a private loan.

You do not need your parents to co-sign in order to take out a loan. If you are a legal adult, you can get a loan from a private company yourself. These are student loans so your lack of a credit history isn't a problem, the company expects that.

The interest won't be pretty, but again, that is not a large sum. You're young, that's just the nature of student loans. They're viewed as an investment and "good debt."

$2500 wouldn't even cover one class at my school!

1) Scholarships: Apply everywhere. Ask your parents if they have any through work because a lot of companies/unions offer small ones but even $500 would be a big help to you! School often have a bunch you can apply for too and depending on your major, there might be woman specific organizations to help people afford college. I've even seen scholarships for people from certain places or other totally random requirements.

2) Summer Internships: It depends on your major and where you work, but they generally pay more than minimum wage, you get experience in your field and have regular 40 hour work week so you can work 2 jobs in the summer. Sometimes you can get internships that last into the school year and go in 2 days a week or something. It might not help with the semester coming up, but it could help you out quite a bit next year.

3) Loans: I don't think people should take out massive loans for school, especially when its disproportional to the amount that they will earn, but even if you had to do the three remaining semesters at $2500 on loans, your payment would be about the same as a cell phone bill and totally manageable. I'd talk to the Sallie Mae people and maybe a credit union or your bank to see what rates you can get.

So I talked with my mom and she has agreed to co-sign a loan through the bank. I use a credit union as a bank so hopefully I can get a decent rate. She wants me to do that instead of taking out a Sallie Mae loan. A loan payment would be manageable for me.

I do have a job that I work 15-30 hours a week as a waitress and I do make decent money but we've been a little slower on the weekends due to the weather changing.

I'm so glad you found a solution! Best wishes to you!

kk~

The bank denied us. Sigh.

Just curious; why does she prefer a bank loan to a Sallie Mae loan? Sorry the bank loan didn't work out. Maybe now she would agree to the Sallie Mae loan?