student loans for leisurely usage

Printable View

10-01-2003
Terrance

student loans for leisurely usage

I was just talking to one of the advisors for the PLUS! loan (http://www.financialaid.com), and he told me that you're allowed to take out money for "leisurlely usage," i.e. you can add expenses to your loans for things like clothes, laundary, travel, etc. (not leisurely, but things in the budget that you really need).

Anyways, since school is pretty much a full-time job, (I'm balancing full time school with 30 hours of work a week and I don't have much money to spare), and I would like to know if anyone here has taken out loans where they're allowed to count such expenses(as mentioned above).

Please tell me your experiences with the plus loan or other loans.

Thanks.
10-01-2003
joshdick

The PLUS loan and private loans will allow you to add money to your loan for books and such. The catch there is that you need to be approved for those, and you need to pay them back. It may seem like free money now, but you'll have to buy for it later--with unsubsidized interest.
10-01-2003
Terrance

Quote:

Originally posted by joshdick
The PLUS loan and private loans will allow you to add money to your loan for books and such. The catch there is that you need to be approved for those, and you need to pay them back. It may seem like free money now, but you'll have to buy for it later--with unsubsidized interest.

Cool, thanks :)

I have no problem paying them back later, I don't plan on taking out too much. But the money I make per month working 30 hours a week just doesn't cut it while I'm still in school full time.
10-01-2003
Terrance

just curious,

what are some other good private loans?

Thanks,
Terrance
10-02-2003
Jeremy G

I get $2000 grant money per semester. After books and tuition, I generally have $1100 that i do what i want with.
10-02-2003
axon

Quote:

Originally posted by dbgt goten
I get $2000 grant money per semester. After books and tuition, I generally have $1100 that i do what i want with.

You pay only $900 a semester?! books included?! damn, that is nice. If I bought my books at school this term I would spend close to $600 plus tuition, which isn't much as it is a state school, but my bill with books comes to around $4500 a semester...thank goodness for scholarships.
10-02-2003
Jeremy G

Im at a community college taking a lot of my core-requiset classes. Everything is much cheaper here. Students who transfer from community college to university spend a considerably Less chunk of money for degrees then most who go strait to universities. It's an excellent tactic for getting an education.
10-02-2003
axon

Quote:

Originally posted by dbgt goten
Im at a community college taking a lot of my core-requiset classes. Everything is much cheaper here. Students who transfer from community college to university spend a considerably Less chunk of money for degrees then most who go strait to universities. It's an excellent tactic for getting an education.

I agree to a point thought...a lot of people I know, who finished two years at a community college, and then transferred to a 4 year university went through "study shock". They say that the community college was a lot like high school, and to be thrown right into junior standing classes in a university is a huge transition. A lot of them got thrown out their first year. But I guess if you sttudy ethic is strong enough it shouldn't make a difference.

edit::Over this summer I took two classes in my community college: Calculus 3, and geography...both of these were a joke compared to any of my UofI, both normal term and summer.