Hey everyone, thanks in advance for voicing your opinions and providing helpful suggestions that Yahoo! Answers always seems to give me.Let my start my story now.
So I am an 18 year old only child Indian boy who is a senior at a college preparatory high school in Chicago, Illinois. I live with both my parents who in my opinion are some of the most hardcore Indian parents out there. They expect the best grades, highest respect, and zero room for error. Lets just say I'm not the cookie cutter outline of a "good' son in most aspects. I don't get into any real trouble, but the things I do really get my parents angry. Let start with my grades first. Coming from a school with a senior graduating class of 43, I'd say everyone is pretty smart. I myself have around a 90% numerical average and a 28 ACT (Everything was above a 30 except science, which was the death of me 3 times). Also I had notably gotten a 5 on my US History AP test and a 4 on my English Language AP. I am very involved in Debate(captain, national semifinalist) and so a variety of other activities associated and not associated with the school. Anyways, I had a pretty clear direction of what I wanted to be when I grew up as of July '08. After watching some surgeries, I knew I wanted to be some kind of doctor. Above other things, I wanted a medical degree. I then went on to find schools that were known for their education, but still provided a fun environment. I narrowed my choices down to a few places. In no particular order: Saint Louis University (10k a year academic scholarship), Loyola University Chicago, Marquette University (11k a year academic scholarship), and the University of Illinois Urbana (deferred early admission, wait listed regular admission). I applied to the Biology/Pre-Med programs of all the choices. Right off the bat U of I was my first choice, but after I got deferred, my parents got really angry and questioned my work ethic and maturity. "If I can't get into a state college, how am I ready for college?" What my parents failed to realize was competitiveness of the Biology program and the sheer multitude of applicants this year. Then they started screaming community college and waved it around me like that was my punishment for not pulling in grades that were acceptable to them. And at first I thought, maybe they were right, but after talking to some of my closest advisers I realized that 2 year at a community college would hinder my chances of later succeeding in a pre-med course at a 4 year college. So now the two school I am looking at are Marquette University and the University of Illinois. Both two schools where I could see myself for four years. It comes down to paying for it. I have the 11k academic scholarship for Marquette and am still waiting on the financial aid. I can be notified about my acceptance to U of I anytime by early June. My question is can I take out loans that will cover the rest of the costs without having my parents cosigning. Because all they say is that "Once you cant pay the loan and we cosign, we are responsible for them if you can't pay them" What loans can I take out by myself. How long do I have to pay them off? Will I have to pay them off before medical school or after. Any thoughts or ideas would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks Again Wow,
As a dependent freshman, you can only borrow 5,500 per YEAR (half in the fall and half in the spring) in federal Stafford loans. Stafford loans require no cosigner and no credit check. If you want/need any more than that your freshman year you will have to get your parents to do a parent PLUS loan (which they pay back, not you) or do a private loan. Private loans WILL require you to have a cosigner. My advice is to avoid them, if possible. The parent loan is the better deal (esp if you are looking to your parents to cosign) because PLUS they have a fixed rate. They will have to pass a credit check.
When you become a sophomore you will be able to borrow a bit more.... 6,500 per year in Stafford loans. Again, half in the fall and half in the spring.
Here is a good book about federal fin aid. Read it cover to cover... it has some great info. |
