Rigged

Ok so im rapping up my summer vacation soon and i decided to get on that pesky loan stuff. I filed my FAFSA and Grad plus and Stafford loans backed by the US gov't no problem. Of course, it doesn't cover my total living expenses or even my tuition. So like most grad students I need to get a private loan. Lucky for me I had some left from last semester so i used my bursars balance to cover the rest of my tuition.

However, no one can live on the pennies (2k) left over after disbursement of your refund.

So I did what i wanted to last year: take out a private education loan. I figured, no problem I have excellent credit. I found out my school wouldn't ok the loan because i had reached my "limit" because all my tuition was paid for. So I tried a credit based loan, here is the catch. I got rejected from 5 banks. With excellent references, but the issue is i have no income. I can't work as a full-time student, and my internship is unpaid. So i go to the financial aid office in desperation because i am almost broke (and in the middle of moving). They tell me "too bad how sad" and now lending standards have changed so you need "guaranteed income for educational loans." So i ask, well what full-time law student can work a job and go to school? Um...no one? The income requirements are insane. So i needed to find a co-signer, unfortunately i have a family of deadbeats with bankruptcy up the wazzoo.

So now i am forced to choose between going to school and getting a job to save to go back to school...nice country we live in huh?

When my parents were going to school ALL of their expenses were paid by the gov't backed program. If your white, middle-class, and a grad student you can forget it. Your lucky to get anything. The money you get is based on a "projected" income you file when you do your FAFSA. The money you actually receive is no where near that. Educational loans (private and public) are the biggest farce ever. In a way it makes me sad because it really does reflect that fact that all of us in the middle, no one gives a shit about. Middle-class people struggle but all anyone seems to give two-shits about is the poorest or the richest. We are the backbone of this society and our needs are just cast to the winds. This experience has been a major eye opener to me, about how out of touch our federal govt really is...to steal a favored phrase "with the situation on the ground."

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Cookie

It is a difficult situation you are in, to be sure. What did you do this summer? Did you have a job or was it down time from school pressures? Were you living at home?

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Corgi butts drive me nuts.

Rigged

I have my own place, my parents live in a different state from me. I had an internship (not paying), and i was taking a class.

New lending practices:

At least 20k income "guaranteed" meaning you can't be self employed
must have credit score of at least 660
if you dont met those standards

cosigner must have those PLUS at least 50% of income available


ya...

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Cookie

Why are you working in an unpaid internship? Will this continue throughout the fall semester? Dartmouth must have some work study programs where you work 20 hours a week in your major and get paid.

Also, contact some law firms, see if they would have scholarship $$$ available if you work for them part-time. Contact the bar association - ask about scholarship money or grants available.

How about getting a roommate and sharing expenses? YOu have $2000, which would go farther if you share expenses.

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Corgi butts drive me nuts.

DanS.

Find a cheaper school.

Rigged

If only it were that easy. The rules of transfer are strict and difficult for most people to understand.

I am very happy where I am but education at a private institution is very pricey. The recent changes in lending laws have made it near impossible for full-time students to afford to attend professional school. A full-time schedule is a 40+ hour a week job.

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DanS.

As long as it's not a private college you should be alright....most universities allow transfers with little hassel.

Heretic

Save us that head hunter klansman bullshit. It's not because you're white. You might be onto something about grad students getting fucked, based on the bad presumption they should already have well paying work based on their degree.

It's not being out of touch that's the problem. Many in the federal government know we're suffering, but they're loyalty is to whomever bought their campaign. The ugly fact is we're being financially attacked by our own government and their corporate criminal friends.

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"In space no one can hear you scream. in D.C. it won't matter..." -Clinton Resurrection: The Alien Queen lives!

Malkavian

I feel your pain. Ran into the same problem in undergrad... That's why i spent so much time hanging out at community colleges... Anyway, since you are a grad student, have you tried getting a TA position? I dunno about your school, but at my uni if you are a teaching (or a research) assistant, your tuition is waived. My friend is getting her chemistry PhD, she is not paying for it..

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Woof!

Rigged

I'm in law school-- at Roger Williams which is not a public university and does not have a work study program.

Its an entirely different situation. I can't just up and get a job. I have hours of class everyday then I spend the rest of the day studying and preping for the next day. My JOB is school--and i assure you its a 50 + hour a week one. When I was getting my MA i was able to hold down a job because it wasn't as intensive.

My point in sharing this experience was not to get solutions but to show how difficult it is as a middle-class individual to get a education past basic undergraduate experience.

It is against the policy of the law school for me to hold employment as a student. So jobs are out of the question for the moment.

I'm gunna be fine I'll just be living on ramen and rc cola for the year

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