THE SECRET TO GETTING FINANCIAL AID FOR SCHOOL - by Episkopos-Princess Kaousuu.

[Suu]

Ya'll wanna know the secret to getting financial aid? Here it is.

There isn't one, motherfuckers. Follow your princess's advice:

1: File your FAFSA yourself. Don't let an advisor, or worse, someone you PAY at a "college planning center" to do it for you. It's a free application, and paying for it guarantees that someone is banking off of something going wrong and misleading you as to what you can get.

2: Do not bitch to me that you didn't get enough money. You're one of 8 million college students in America. Shut your piehole.

3: Fastweb.com. Live it. Learn it. Love it. Or, do what we had to do 10 years ago, and that's get your fucking ass off of the computer and go to the library, find the big book of grants I know they still publish, sit yourself down, and start writing letters until your pen runs out of ink. You can't win scholarships and grants if you don't fucking apply for them.

4: KEEP YOUR FUCKING GPA UP, MORON. If you got below a 2.5 last semester, you don't deserve anything. If you got below a 1.5, why are you even in my office? Seriously. You're PAYING to go to school now, and if you want more money to continue this education, you need to be competitive with your grades. I had a 4.0 my first semester back in college. Not because I'm a genius, but because I FUCKING KNOW BETTER.  It's not rocket science, it's school, do the required work and you'll be surprised how well you do. If you're seriously struggling, get help. It's there. Those professors are more approachable than you think.

5: LOANS ARE FINANCIAL AID. Do not come to me and tell me that you didn't get any because you weren't offered a Pell Grant or University Grant. Fact: Those are for us po' kids, and if you're from a family that you're still dependent on that makes above the mark, you're not getting them. Plain and simple. There is no way around this. Keep your grades up, take the low-interest federal loans, and see #3.

6: LOANS CAN BE MANAGED. Federal programs are FANTASTIC. Private loans are GHASTLY, but there are a wealth of programs out there to assist in the repayment of scary student loans. Yes, loans are fucking horrible, but they can be taken care of. If you want more info, let me know.

7: DON'T TAKE ANYTHING AT FACE VALUE. If you don't get enough aid to cover the cost of attendance, and you know you won't be able to pay the balance, talk to your financial aid department. Did you know that Brown University gives a free ride to almost 60% of their undergrads on merit alone if they fall below a certain income? I didn't until I was already enrolled at URI. Check with your university, keep the pressure on, there's always something. State schools may not have this, but private schools have a larger endowment and a lot more programs to keep the smart kids in their ranks so their graduation numbers stay high.

8: DON'T BUY A CAR OR OTHER OPTIONAL INCIDENTAL WITH YOUR REFUND. I hate you people. Live on campus, it's cheaper in the long run.

9: IF YOU ARE A VETERAN, DISABLED, OR UNEMPLOYED...Don't let them give you the runaround. You're going to school for free or almost free. Get in touch with the right people right now to get your vouchers.

10: MY WORD IS THAT OF GOD. Do not question this. I am a goddamn industry professional.

[Suu]

I will answer any question that is thrown at me in this thread. This is free advice to anyone that wants to know, without having to do any sort of research or making an appointment at your school.

I will do my best to answer what I can without knowing your personal situation. Ask away, even if you think they're stupid questions. This is your money and your future, no question is stupid.

[Eater of Clowns]

Tell me more about #6 Suu.  I've got a bunch of Sallie Mae loans with an interest rate that's somehow not legally recognized as usury.  Paying more in student loans a month than car insurance, rent, gas, electric, internet, and cell phone combined!  Oh, and I will be until I'm 38.

[Suu]

Tell me more about #6 Suu.  I've got a bunch of Sallie Mae loans with an interest rate that's somehow not legally recognized as usury.  Paying more in student loans a month than car insurance, rent, gas, electric, internet, and cell phone combined!  Oh, and I will be until I'm 38.

Federal or private? And have you consolidated?

[Eater of Clowns]

Tell me more about #6 Suu.  I've got a bunch of Sallie Mae loans with an interest rate that's somehow not legally recognized as usury.  Paying more in student loans a month than car insurance, rent, gas, electric, internet, and cell phone combined!  Oh, and I will be until I'm 38.

Federal or private? And have you consolidated?

Private.  Saving consolidation because I was under the impression you can only do it once, and I'm keeping the idea of grad school open, which would mean more loans.

[Suu]

Tell me more about #6 Suu.  I've got a bunch of Sallie Mae loans with an interest rate that's somehow not legally recognized as usury.  Paying more in student loans a month than car insurance, rent, gas, electric, internet, and cell phone combined!  Oh, and I will be until I'm 38.

Federal or private? And have you consolidated?

Private.  Saving consolidation because I was under the impression you can only do it once, and I'm keeping the idea of grad school open, which would mean more loans.

Okay. This is where shit get's tricky.

*IF* you consolidate, you get one payment with one interest rate. Good.
Private consolidation loans are based on your credit.....bad.

If you do choose to take that route, I'd advise GETTING THE FUCK OUT OF SALLIE MAE. There are other servicers out there that will gladly take your money. SLMA will look like the better deal, but they really aren't, and right now they have their dick so far up Johnny Boehner's ass, the ride with them is going to get rougher. I'd actually recommend getting a private bank loan, like a personal line of credit, to annihilate them if your credit allows. You'll probably get a better interest rate, too. Watch for Sallie buying out competitors this year. I have a really bad feeling that Congress is going to let them.

As for grad school, the plus side is that your loans will go into deferment as long as you keep them serviced with SLMA or another academic loan servicer. If you go the bank route, you won't have that option.

For grad borrowing options, I'd recommend seeing what you can get with the Stafford program FIRST, and then supplement what you need to with a Graduate PLUS Loan, in which you can borrow up to the cost of attendance from the federal government, rather than hitting another private source. The rate will be low and fixed, and you can consolidate all of your federal loans together. You unfortunately cannot combine federal with private funds unless you do so under a private loan, and then shit can get expensive. It's actually cheaper to have multiple payments in that respect.

I hope this helps.

[Suu]

Oh, I forgot to add, SLMA does have Select Step options to lower your monthly payments. They don't make them blatantly visible to apply for, but I can walk you through the process if you don't already have the option in place.

[Vaud]

Very useful info, Suu.  The only thing I would add is that, in my experience, one has a much better chance of landing scholarships and grants at the University level, so I would apply for those first.  If you've declared your major, talk to the department faculty about local/institutional scholarships; and if you still need more help, try to get on as an RA, a TA, or any other assistant type position.  This provides the opportunity to both make money, and start getting professional experience in your field.

If you put the time into it, there's plenty of money available.  When I find myself struggling financially, I'm typically kicking myself in the ass for not writing more essays, rather than complaining about the lack of funding available.  Today, I'm finishing a one page essay, which may land me an extra 3k next semester, in my pocket.  There are maybe 20 to 30 other applicants, at most.   

[Suu]

Assistantships are only available to graduate students. By the time you're a grad student, you should have this game played out. My information is geared toward the undergrads I deal with daily.

Work study and student employment are also 2 different things. Anyone can be a student employee, but not everyone is eligible for work study, that's a federal program in which your pay comes directly from the government for the student to put toward their bill.

At my school, you can't apply for university grants and scholarships, those are automatically awarded based on merit and need within individual departments, that's why I said to keep your GPA up.

[Eater of Clowns]

Thanks, Suu!

Sallie Mae, I hates them.

Grad school is a ways off, if at all.  I just don't like to think of that door as closed if it should ever come up.  But yes, I will go through federal loans this time.  I am not a naive 17 year old being fed gross misinformation.

[Suu]

I really should start an advice blog on this stuff...


Yeah, the main reason why private loans sell is because advisors (who often get kickbacks from SLMA and banks like Citi or BofA) tell students that it's "more convenient" to take one loan instead of a possible 3 (sub, unsub, and private) without breaking down the numbers and showing them exactly what they are getting into. Kids are so dazzled with the promise of going to that big university that they will do anything to pay. And unfortunately, it usually comes out of their soul in the end.

[Vaud]

Assistantships are only available to graduate students.

Not true.  ISU has many undergrad researchers and TA's.  I imagine it varies from dept. to dept., but I'm an RA, and most of my wage is paid by the NSF.  Also, at ISU, you CAN apply for university grants and scholarships, and as I said, when available, I'd highly recommend prioritizing these when applying.  So, apparently, some of these details vary from institution to institution, but it's worth checking into when available, and landing an assistant-ship will certainly benefit the efforts of anyone interested in grad school.

[Freeky]

Yeah, the main reason why private loans sell is because advisors (who often get kickbacks from SLMA and banks like Citi or BofA) tell students that it's "more convenient" to take one loan instead of a possible 3 (sub, unsub, and private) without breaking down the numbers and showing them exactly what they are getting into. Kids are so dazzled with the promise of going to that big university that they will do anything to pay. And unfortunately, it usually comes out of their soul in the end.

This is truth, especially the bolded part.  It doesn't even necessarily be kids, it could be some young single mom who's trying to find a path to follow in her normally directionless and bleak life at home.

Freeky,
Nearly ended up borrowing 50k a year to do something that could be learned for pay.

[Suu]

Assistantships are only available to graduate students.

Not true.  ISU has many undergrad researchers and TA's.  I imagine it varies from dept. to dept., but I'm an RA, and most of my wage is paid by the NSF.  Also, at ISU, you CAN apply for university grants and scholarships, and as I said, when available, I'd highly recommend prioritizing these when applying.  So, apparently, some of these details vary from institution to institution, but it's worth checking into when available, and landing an assistant-ship will certainly benefit the efforts of anyone interested in grad school.

RA as in Research Assistant or Resident Assistant? Resident Assistants can definitely be undergrads, but Research assistants...not so much. If your school allows undergrads assistantships, more power to them, but I can assure you that not all of them do, in fact, most probably don't. Those positions are typically reserved for graduate students only because of the amount of work involved.

I get paid to help students get money. You get paid through a program that was referred to you by someone in my field. See also, #10.

[Suu]

Yeah, the main reason why private loans sell is because advisors (who often get kickbacks from SLMA and banks like Citi or BofA) tell students that it's "more convenient" to take one loan instead of a possible 3 (sub, unsub, and private) without breaking down the numbers and showing them exactly what they are getting into. Kids are so dazzled with the promise of going to that big university that they will do anything to pay. And unfortunately, it usually comes out of their soul in the end.

This is truth, especially the bolded part.  It doesn't even necessarily be kids, it could be some young single mom who's trying to find a path to follow in her normally directionless and bleak life at home.

Freeky,
Nearly ended up borrowing 50k a year to do something that could be learned for pay.

Good for you. That means there ARE people that listen to me.

Private loans = The absolute be all, end all, last resort for college financing.