Paying for College...

[Cheeze-It]

This sucks. I'm having a real difficult time
finding money for school.

Anybody know how these government student-loans
work? Right now I'm looking into the Unsubsidized
Stafford Loan, and something called the William
D. Ford Unsubsidized Direct loan...

How exactly do these things work? What is a
lender? Isn't the government the lender? Can
these be applied to any type of school? The school
I'm planning on attending is a 4 year tech school;
but I don't think it is accredited. Anybody ever
use any of those loans?

All of you who had trouble paying for school, how
did you eventually work it out? I am not smart,
and I am not part of a minority; no schlarship for
me. I've applied for private bank-loans, but
because I'm not "credit worthy," I was rejected.

I currently work full time, but my school is out
of state. I won't be able to keep my job. I may
be able to find another job after I start school,
but the tuition payment is due before I move...

[DISGUISED]

I have been through all the loans on Earth and still do not quite understand it. Check this out. http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/ This site should be able to answer all of your eligibility questions about Federal loans.

[blight2c]

don't sweat it, things will kinda work them selves out. Fill out the forms on line, or download the instructions. Student loans are really just bank with a low intrest and insured by the gov. The lender is a bank that conforms to the standards set by the gov.

For fed loans, six things will increase the amount of money you get: relative poverty (meaning you could emancipate or have em&pee shift assests), married (that's what my wife and I did for money), over 26, military service, disabilty, and something else . . . I forget.

Call your school's finad dept. Cajole the woman who answers the dept phone, she's the one who will be helping you the most (btw, i've never heard a man answer this phone, it's always an older woman who's either very bitter or like the grandma you wish you had). To her, be as nice as apple pie after harvest; because if hates you, you'll go no where. When you finally talk to someone who knows what their doing, don't let them think you're completely helpless and don't bug them constantly, ask for the faq webpage first, next asked to be mailed a list of in-uni scholarships, grants and loans (if you're serious about school don't waste your time with workstudy (it's a pre-clinton rip-off)).

Next, call your planed major's dept and ask for ibid (again, get friendly with the student aid who answers the phone). Your major's dept won't usally help out much until you're at least a shophmore, but try anyway. (I knew a guy who got scholarships from departments that wern't even related to his major--try that, I never had any luck though).

You don't have to be smart to get scholarships, you have to be a sycophant (for the letters of rec) and a good writer (for the essay). Don't go to a bank for God's sake, your last resort should be em&pee (or sally may, I suppose).

Lastly, while fed finad may be rigid, almost everything else in the system if fluid. You don't have to pay until the you need to enroll for the next semester, and you only need to do that in order to save a seat in the class, let them float the bill for the term. People make a lot of difference: if the lady in bursar likes you, she'll tell you things she won't tell others. Residency is easily forged. Professors will pass you out of required classes if they like you. Campus orgs are a good place to find money with various strings attached. In the end, if you're a good student and a kiss-ass, money shouldn't be a problem.

Good luck.

[DrakkenKorin]

Just rememer one important thing:
Subsidized - Govt pays interest while you're in school.
Un-Subsidized - YOU pay interest while you're in school.

I go for subsidized to cover the remainder that my scholoarship and/or my pell grant can't cover.

Also, it helps to know if your Financia Aid office is helpful. At our FA office, you basically have to threaten them w/physical violence to get them to look up your info so you can ask them a question. Sometimes I feel sorry for them because they have to deal with all these disgruntled students, but then I recall how the treated me...