Hi all i’m about to graduate my undergrad from a private college and am having post- grad guilt and anxiety about the amount of debt i accrued from school. For context I am a first generation student my parents didn’t go to college nor uncles, aunts, anyone really. When I got my acceptance to schools my senior year of highschool I had acceptances with scholarships from state, public, and private universities. I went with my cheapest option which suprisingly was the private college because of the amount of scholarships they offered me. It even ended up being less or equal than the state schools I applied to. Now since I am first gen my parents said they would pay for my undergrad, but they also can not afford it. They took out loans instead of me for a couple reasons. 1. None of us quite understood the average costs for colleges and what taking out school loan looks like. 2. I am still claimed on my parents taxes therefore FASFA only gives me aid based on my parents income. Now that i’m getting close to graduating i’m hearing and reading that a lot of people don’t accrue much debt in undergrad. I’m feel confused and anxious by this as it seemed as my only option when picking a 4 year university. I even have tried to appeal my aid each year asking for more and got denied. Our loans are through FASFA not private (parent plus loans) but i’m still feeling like I messed up somehow because none of us have had prior experience or information on the college system and loan system. Can anyone relate to this? How much debt is typical for undergrad?
Student Loan Debt for those who didn’t receive good financial aid
byu/Fun_Environment_7186 inStudentLoans
Posted by Fun_Environment_7186
3 Comments
real
You should def check your own FSA account because you have to use student issued loans BEFORE you can use parent plus loans. You don’t mention your loans so I want to make sure you understand that you most likely have loans in your name only and that your parent would then have their own, legally binding, loans in their name. I know it’s not what you asked but putting it out there.
Step zero is to find the most affordable path to earn your degree. This may have entailed starting at your local community college.
And yes, it was a mistake to avoid borrowing federal student loans in your own name. These have the lower interest rates than their parent plus counter parts. Plus income driven repayment plans are based on your income, and would qualify if you did PSLF.
The option to put parent plus loans on an income driven repayment plan is closing as of July 1. Note that consolidation will force loans into repayment. Moreover, they won’t qualify for in school deferment based on you the student’s enrollment status. And keep in mind parent plus loans are legally the responsibility of the parent to repay… it’s not possible to change the borrower on federal loans.