I just filled out a FAFSA- and I feel like the government knows waaaay

[taxidriver]

more about me than i'd prefer. all i want is a small (truthfully, small) loan for my college and they want shit like my parents income, investments, maiden names, SSN's....damn. this, combined with all the gun talk around here lately, is going to turn me into a libertarian.

[JDPriestly]

1. You have my sympathy.

This is another way that the poor and middle class are disadvantaged. We had three family members in school at the same time. It was utter torture to fill out all those nosy forms.

Also, the loans themselves are a rip-off. With the exception of a few of them, the interest rates are nothing to write home about, and, unless you earn a lot of money, you keep paying for them -- on an on. My oldest daughter went to medical school and I went to law school on loans. We start out with a terrible disadvantage compared with students whose parents can afford to pay their way. Student loans create an illusion of equal opportunity, but they don't give equal opportunity. No one should have to pay the kinds of tuition we pay to go to school. In Europe and elsewhere, tuition is very very low or nothing. If you have the ability, you get the opportunity. We are way behind on this.

[Blue Wally]

2. Nothing new

In 1957, I was the top finisher in my high school on the National Merit Scholarship exam. Even though you "won" the scholarship, the amount was based on "need". After plowing through all of the qustions, my father threw the voluminous forms in the trash and siad he would take a second job before he would answer all of those questions as to what he owned in terms of make, model, and year of car and how much was owed on the car loan.

[ucmike]

3. student loans-sharks feeding fish

since graduating college with $35k worth of loans i have been imploring high school grads to do whatever they can to avoid that trap. higher education in this country is just another corporate feeding frenzy. there may still be some integrity in academia, but the college accounting offices get to the students first.

we have a system in place where the only real option presented to many kids is college. in high school now thats all they talk about. i never heard of trade schools, union opportunities, or any other option. (in my school, if you were a real dumbass they might suggest the military). so we have a culture where you are not going to get help out of hs unless you are interested in college. with high schools pipelining kids into colleges, and the gov't pimping loans its no surprise the price of education is climbing faster than anything else.

they dangle these great "low/no interest, short term, education and assistance loans" with no real education as to the effect of the loans after college, and no explanation of the obligations or implications of it.

basically they take kids who may have never signed a binding contract in their lives, tell them there's no other option but college-which is getting more expensive as we speak-then dangle loan papers in front of them. they offer loans to kids and families who have no idea of the costs associated when the loans come due. eventually you graduate (in an average of 5-6 years last time i looked-so much for a 4 year degree) and are faced with hundreds of dollars a month in payments. hopefully your 5 year bachelors degree lands you a decent job, and mom lets you move back home, and you really don't want to do much else beside pay back your education. most college freshmen have no idea of the effect of compound interest rates.

whenever someone mentions student loans i tell them to get 2 or 3 jobs in college-its easier to work your ass off for 4-5 years than to work for the gov't for 10 years. then i point at the 87 vw in my drive way and tell them the payment on the new car i always wanted goes to the federal gov't (or one of their subsidiaries) every month.

i can't believe i write a check to the fed gov't for $400 a month. its almost as much as my mortgage and i know its nothing compared to people who financed much more serious education than i did.

AVOID THOSE CHEERY SOUNDING STUDENT LOANS AT ALL COSTS, EDUCATION SEEKERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Heddi]

12. Strange

When I went to college the first time, which was paid totally by federal aid (a bit of grants but mostly loans), I had a bill of nearly $7,000 owed to the gov't.

My monthly payment was only $50 a month...and I had 10 years to pay it back....not hundreds of dollars a month.....

Of course, if one gets out of law school, or med school and pretty much has a job lined up straight after graduation to pay a nice salary, I see no reason that a $100, or even $300 a month bill is something to cry over.

Especially for people in Med School---how can one work a job when you're doing rotations and internships at the rate of 80+ hours a week, plus class time?

Everyone who gets Financial Aid through the govt has to go through mandatory aid counceling. My councelors worked for the school---not the gov't, and did an astounding job of explaining what the difference is between a LOAN and a GRANT, the payback methods, time to pay, etc.

No bank does that if you want a loan. And no bank is willing to hold your loan through the time you go through school, plus a little time after graduation to get on your feet, and THEN give you 10 years to pay it off at astoundingly low interest rates.

I'm sorry---if an 18 year old can't conceive the rather simple concepts of educational loans, and that a loan needs to be paid off, then I have few hopes for that 18 year old ever successfully finishing school to begin with, because the concepts aren't that difficult.

Hell---Dept of Education even sends you a little note every 2 months (or begining of the semester) showing you how much aid was awarded, what you have to pay off, what the interest rates are, and if you were to pay now, what the payoff amount would be.

So they're quite upfront with the information. I can't feel sorry for anyone who chooses to ignore it, or feels put upon to pay it back once they get an education.

[Iris]

4. Go ahead. Become a libertartian.

And if enough people do the same, then your opportunity to go to college will become even more reduced. In fact, you might not even be able to afford to go through the 8th grade.

Most state schools are subsidized by tax payers. If that weren't true, tuition at these schools could increase by 50-100%.

The reason they want your parents information is to determine if you are poor enough to received grants, like the Pell Grant, which you would not have to pay back. Would you really want someone who doesn't need that kind of assistance to get it?


I just filled out the damn thing myself. In fact, one of the schools I am accepted to sent me a letter saying I need to show proof I registered for the draft even though I'm a woman. I' m not planning to attend that school, so I'm just ignoring it. Who knows what that will bring, but if I can get through grad school in 1.5 years rather than going part-time 5-6 years, well, then I'll just deal with whatever comes up.

[taxidriver]

8. im not trying to get needs based- i already got it approved by nellie mae.

[taxidriver]

9. i just have to do the fafsa so that my state school will accept the nellie

loan. or something like that.

[Iris]

13. I understand.

Sometimes you just have to jump through the hoops.

But as other posters have said, be careful with the loan programs. It's some of the easiest money you can get and can be a big burden after you are out of school.

[cheezus]

5. Federal Aid is based on need

so what's wrong with proving you need it?

...besides, you think you can get a PRIVATE loan without divulging just as much or not more?

[Heddi]

6. Thank You. My thoughts exactly

See, both my husband and I are college students, and we're both relying on financial aid, and we've both been living on less than 1 salary for the past year so that we can go to school full-time and get our 2-year degree in 'gasp' TWO YEARS instead of the 4 that we'd have to take should be both go to school part time and work full time.

And I have to disagree with you about the interest rates. Right now, my interest rates are at around 3.15% or lower. What bank can go to and get a loan at that percentage rate? A loan that also doesn't rely on my credit score? A loan that also, I don't have to pay back until I'm out of school?

See, I, and many millions of other people in this country rely on federal financial aid, in the forms of loans and grants, in order to go to college.

I'm willing to give them all the info if it means that I'm qualified for need-based grants and loans and some rich fuck whose parents want to get out of paying $30k a year for college don't get the same grants that I do. And believe it or not, there are PLENTY of affluent people who could very easily send their kids to college on their own dime, but choose not to, or at least "wish the system were changed" so that (like always) the rich are given more of a consideration than the poor in this country. Because, you know, it's SO hard to make it on $250k a year income :eyes:

Also---having to give your parents info---I don't know how old you are, but once you turn 23 or get married, you don't have to provide that info anymore.

Also, if you haven't lived with your parents and they're not contributing in any way to your livelihood (meaning that you don't live with them, they don't give you $$, pay the rent, etc), you can get a form from your student aid office and both you and your parents fill it out and basically attest that you are emancipated from your parents financially. You get it notarized, send to Fed Aid and voila! No more parental information.

[sendero]

7. Wait just a second....

... don't go off the deep end! The reason they do all that is that they have so many defaults and problems with loans of all kinds. Seems like a lot of people don't feel the need to repay loans from the government.

[taxidriver]

11. i'm better now. i posted that after 10 pages of questions.

lol.

[Iris]

14. yeah and the number one group is physicians!

But then again, they have pretty huge malpractice premiums they also have to pay.

[trof]

10. In my dentist's office just now.

Hadn't been in in a couple of years and had to fill out some new forms. One wanted my s/s AND driver's license numbers.
Meant to ask why, but forgot.
:tinfoilhat:?