• Hi Guest - Come check out all of the new CP Merch Shop! Now you can support CigarPass buy purchasing hats, apparel, and more...
    Click here to visit! here...

Just got the bill for tuition yesturday...

C

Coinguy89

New Grower
Joined
Jan 15, 2007
Messages
87
I'm an in state student attending a 4 year state university with a 3.25 GPA and my bill is $9,288 for the first semester! This is of course including room and board. The worst part, they make it due in 10 days. I now enter the world of loans and paying for the next ten years on a monthly basis. I know what you're thinking; scholarships. I'm working on it, but there are very few for someone coming from a white, middleclass, non-union, non-disibility average student. Any suggestions or experience guys? Sorry for the rant, this pretty much depleted my nice little summer job collection.
 
Prostitution

I'll let you decide if it's a suggestion or from experience! :laugh:

Alright...how about getting a job in with the school? There a benefits in that.

The other thing is dope...nah, just kidding. :whistling:

It looks like you'll have to tough it out...I remember the Kraft Mac and Cheese days...and nights...and mornings...and days and nights...and mornings!

Good luck!
 
Sorry man, there are no scholarships for regular folk anymore... you're either genius, or a minority of any kind (race, class, left handed, anything). Do well in school, find an internship that pays well, and you'll be payin off those loans in no time with the job they offer you while your diploma is still hot.
 
If your parents disown you on taxes, you may qualify for Pell grants. I was always a ramen guy, it cooks quicker than mac and cheese plus you get triple you allotted sodium intake. There are some undergrad awards for junior and senior level science majors. It won't help out right away but could cut down the number of years you have loaned out.
 
Are you hoping for need based financial aid or a merit based scholarship? My school does not offer scholarships as a rule, regardless of academic excellence or athletic prowess. However, need based financial aid is extensive.

My tuition is a great deal more than double yours, so I understand your trouble. Have you considered attending a less selective school, which would offer you an academic scholarship as incentive to attend, versus paying full price at the best school from which you received an acceptance?
 
No simple answer. Tuition relative to my income was better in my day. I had the REAL GI Bill and a job that meshed well with 12-16 hours per semester. Would I rack up $40K for a liberal arts "would you like fries with that" degree? Hell no. If you have hope of reasonable employment after you graduate, do the debt. I would.
 
I was in the same boat as you, I qualified for nothing. I couldn't get grants or scholarships. I do have good credit though and in the long run that helped me.

First and foremost get your SUBSIDIZED loans setup. My student loans are under 2% after I graduated and consolidated. I blow that out of the water with my 401k alone.

Second, if you have generous parents get Sallie Mae (or other provider) parent loans for your tuition, they have excellent rates as well.

Third, work... Work and save, don't drive, bike everywhere. Seriously though, ever little thing you pay for now by working (books, rent, food). Without having put it on credit will save you world of hurt later. I knew people that were on four year vacations. EVERYTHING went on a loan or a credit card. They are paying for it now.

Fourth, this is very situational. In my senior year I took an internship with a aerospace company. One of their benefits, which I qualified for given the hours I worked was reimbursement for tuition and books while I was working. I busted my ass that summer and got my managers to turn that sumer internship into a year long haul to get a huge chunk of my tuition paid. There are plenty of companies that offer help on tuition, if you work hard and make it known you plan on sticking around for a while they often will extend some great benefits.


Woooo! 600th post!
 
Yeah, I really don't think there is an easy way to apprach this scenario. Unfortunately, tuition has gone off the deep end in the last four years. In my case, I have seen it nearly double.

I really admire the guys that say, "don't get sucked in by lenders like Sallie Mae! Work while you go to school to pay for it." Unfortuately, when you are taking 12 - 15 demanding hours of coursework, its tough to work long hours, none the less doing anything that will pay more than $8 an hour. Yeah... thats really getting ahead.

Now, I'm not suggesting you become a slave to Sallie Mae like I have. ??? I think my payment plan is through 2030 at something like $400 a month... but at least I'm edumacated!

Good luck with all of this. See about Pell Grants. Once my mom and dad divorced me, I started getting a ton of free dough. See about SUBSIDIZED loans, as already mentioned above. Find a job. Eat lots of beans and rice, and most importantly, drink really cheap bear. You'll make it...

mac
 
hoshnasi said:
mr.mac said:
Eat lots of beans and rice, and most importantly, drink really cheap bear. You'll make it...

mac
Click to expand...

I loved drinking the BEAR in college :)
Click to expand...

meristerbrau.gif


Got the job done... :blush:

mac
 
Join the National Guard. It'll be at least a year before you MIGHT have to go somewhere.
 
The one piece of advice I can offer from my own experience is to only borrow what you need to pay for classes, room and board, and books. I borrowed the maximum each semester so that I had about $1200 left over to live off of. Looking back I wish I had worked a job for spending money instead. When you get out of school, and you are paying more in loan payments than you are for car payments it sucks.

On the bright side, I'm 7 payments away from having my education paid for, and that my friend is going to be one happy day. The wife don't know yet, but that means the cigar budget increases a little.
 
I managed to knock out 7,000 in college grants/scholarships, and an additional interest free loan for 4 years... There are several scholarships that give to average white kids... In fact, most of my friends got better scholarships than I had from collegeboard's scholarship list... It is very late to be applying for those now, as they have all been rewarded already. My advice is start much, much earlier.

Also, get involved with work study groups and jobs. These can knock off a lot... Work at the library for 10 hours a week and get 75% off books... Work at housing or filing and get 50% off dorms... Work in the kitchen and get some money off food... These are all real courses that knock off a nice chunk of change that you can put towards cigars!
 
hoshnasi said:
I was in the same boat as you, I qualified for nothing. I couldn't get grants or scholarships. I do have good credit though and in the long run that helped me.

First and foremost get your SUBSIDIZED loans setup. My student loans are under 2% after I graduated and consolidated. I blow that out of the water with my 401k alone.

Second, if you have generous parents get Sallie Mae (or other provider) parent loans for your tuition, they have excellent rates as well.

Third, work... Work and save, don't drive, bike everywhere. Seriously though, ever little thing you pay for now by working (books, rent, food). Without having put it on credit will save you world of hurt later. I knew people that were on four year vacations. EVERYTHING went on a loan or a credit card. They are paying for it now.

Fourth, this is very situational. In my senior year I took an internship with a aerospace company. One of their benefits, which I qualified for given the hours I worked was reimbursement for tuition and books while I was working. I busted my ass that summer and got my managers to turn that sumer internship into a year long haul to get a huge chunk of my tuition paid. There are plenty of companies that offer help on tuition, if you work hard and make it known you plan on sticking around for a while they often will extend some great benefits.

Great advice from someone who obviously has been there,,,done that. Repaying tuition loans is like repaying the devil because while you are busting your hump to get an education you have to sell your soul to get it. Good luck to this guy and all who have to go thru this guantlet of reparations for an education. This is a shame for the greatest nation in the world to charge such a high price for its future countrymen. Education should be a RIGHT not something you have to sell your soul to get.

Woooo! 600th post!
Click to expand...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top