Iām not really crying, but I am frustrated. Apparently, everyone I talk to wants me to either have a cosigner (parents wonāt do it) or mail them copies of my last two pay stubs and my W-2ās. (which wouldnāt help, as my last two paychecks had a total of about 20 hours on them).
Iām looking for a private student loan (Stafford loanās already maxed out, and I canāt get Pell grants), for which they donāt want such things. I donāt think that Iām going to find it, though.
Are you already enrolled?
Have you taken previous classes at this school?
If you answered no to the last two questions, I have some painful advice.
Try applying to a school thatās well below the quality of your safety.
They may give you an attractive scholarship offer just to let you help them raise their standards.
I was able to get a full scholarship using my 2.6 high-school GPA and 1300 SAT at a medium-bad state university.
Aside from that, my sympathies. Getting a student loan is a pain the neck, and most students canāt qualify for an adequate one on their own merits. Good luck!
A side note that you probably already knew: student loans are like money owed to the IRS. Student loan originators have enforcement and collection powers outstripping any creditors outside of the worlds of child support and taxes.
If you get behind, they can take a house or garnish wages even in states where state law prohibits garnishments or home seizures. Itās actually harder to discharge student loans in bankruptcy than it is to discharge old back taxes.
But unlike almost any other lenders, Federal Student Loan originators will bend over backwards to work with you - delaying payments, reducing them, working out alternative payback plans, etc.
I donāt understand. If the requirement is simply to furnish two recent paystubs, why does it matter if theyāre not for full work weeks? Why not just send them the paystubs you have? Or did the lenders explicitly say that the paystubs had to be for full-time employment?
Well, Iām already enrolled - Iām a junior. Yes, Iāve taken classes previously.
Why do I not just send them my last 2 paystubs? 2 reasons.
I feel that it would hurt my chances of getting money.
Because those are at home, and I, well, donāt necessarily want to keep my loan a secret from my parents, but I donāt necessarily want to go parading it around. Itās not an issue of āWeāre sending you all this moneyā¦ where are you spending it?!ā, because theyāre not sending me money. Itās that Iām having to work much harder this semester than I had previously foreseen, and I guess I donāt want them to worry about me? Or something? Or maybe Iām ashamed of taking out a private loan when I already have a Stafford?
How is getting a hold of your pay stubs "parading it aroundā?
Hey, this is a great opportunity to take a stand and help your parents realize that youāre an independent person making decisions for yourself.
IIRC, whether your parents agree to assist you financially with your collegiate education or not, TPTB in the student loan world will still consider their ability to assist you (instead of their desire) in determining your eligibility for such a loan.
There is also the issue of making a false statement in regards to applying for such a loan. If you are, in fact, earning money and you donāt declare that on your application, you may be setting yourself up for some rather unfun results.
Because if I go home to get them, questions will be asked about why I would ever need them.
Yes, I know. However, I believe that my parentsā income only applies if weāre talking about federal loans (which weāre not), or if they were to cosign with me on them (which they wonāt.)
On my FAFSA, the form that determines my eligibility for such things, I have my full income reported. Even if I didnāt, my parents still make enough money to where I couldnāt get any federal aid.
Completely true. I should have mentioned that. What I was trying to get across is you CANāT bankrupt out of them unless you basically wind up permanently and completely disabled.
chaoticbear , lying on or omitting relevant information from a loan application is a serious offense.
A businessman in Canton, Ohio got a 10 year sentence in federal prison a couple of years back for failing to mention an outstanding tax debt he had during his application for a business loan.
FAFSA documentation is periodically audited, and you are setting yourself up for trouble. It might not be 10 years, it might not even be active time in prison, but it would be a good way for a young man to wind up with something on his record heād have to disclose to future employers for the rest of his life.
<Mr. T ON>Obey the law. Be good. Stay in school. Donāt use drugs. </Mr. T OFF>
These are soooo not things the student loan people will get heartfelt and mushy about. As in, if you want to be a grownup about this you need to be ready to provide the kind of records a grownup would readily have available. Iāve been down the road of financial aid and uncooperative parents, and it means you really need to step up and take your own initiative if you want to make it work.
That said, your employer should be able to provide you duplicate pay stubs, even duplicate W2s. They may charge you a processing fee for this, since itās not their fault you āmisplacedā them, but things do happen and almost any employer would be able to duplicate these records.
I canāt resist giving a literal GQ answer to the thread title.
A degree (or, in the health area, surgery) is an investment. Rather like an investment in a machine, youād want to borrow to finance an investment if the discounted flow of income generated by the investment exceeds the costs.
What makes investments in human capital difficult is that - unlike a loan for a factory or other tangible asset - the lender cannot repossess the asset in the event of default. This lack of collateral means that relative to other sorts of investments the cost of financing would be (inefficiently) higher in a free market.
Not anything illicit or anything, but my school is technically paid for for the semester. Itās going to be a small loan - 1 or 1.5k because I just canāt fit in working as much as I want into my schedule, and I still have bills to pay.
Looks like the thing to do is to suck it up, go home, and dig out my last two check stubs.
(Side note: Why does everyone think that Iām trying to avoid reporting some income or tax?)