My child was accepted to an elite east coast school of their dreams, however they were not offered any grants or scholarships and it costs $95k a year. They were offered very generous scholarships to regionally esteemed private colleges meaning that all four years at one of these schools would cost less than one year of the dream school. We obviously can’t afford $95k a year.
The child wants to choose the stupid option. I have made it clear that I will not be helping them do something so dumb. I will not co-sign any student loans. They can have what is currently in their college savings (about $50k) but I will not continue to save as they are in college since they have no appreciation for the sacrifices I made to save that money to attempt to help alleviate the burden of massive student loans (if they chose one of these affordable schools I could probably save enough to get them through debt free or very close to it over the next four years).
Could my child even get student loans to the tune of $400,000 if there is no co-signer, they have no income and no credit score? Any advice on how to get their head out of the clouds? My child knows I’m extremely debt adverse so I’m surprised that this is the route they want to take.
Kid wants to do something stupid. Can it even be done?
byu/Tia_Baggs inStudentLoans
Posted by Tia_Baggs
6 Comments
do you even like your kid?
No, they won’t be successful in scoring that much funding for an undergraduate degree. I had to have very special circumstances and perfect credit to even score that much for my medical degree, and that included all cost of living. And that was under the old rules. There’s a new sheriff in town and it’s called borrowing caps.
You are doing the right thing. Hold your ground and find a good support system that will remind you your job is to parent and lead by good example, not be your child’s doormat, ATM, or even their bestie. Don’t cosign bad behavior. Love without enabling. Good luck!
Your kid definitely can’t get $400k in loans without a cosigner – federal limits are way lower and private lenders won’t touch someone with no income or credit. They’d hit a wall after maybe $30k-40k in federal loans.
The math should wake them up pretty quick when they realize they literally cannot finance this dream, even if they wanted to make terrible financial decision. Sometimes reality is the best teacher.
What school is 95 grand a year???
No they can’t and they really, really, REALLY shouldn’t. I passed on a full ride to a state school in favor of a more prestigious private school and I regret it!
Ok 1 you decided to have them so saving for their college is the least a parent can do but 2 I agree they’re making a choice they may regret later. Have them read through this student loan thread. Sometimes it’s better to show and have it come from someone other than parents.