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hickey · Jun 27, 2006, 02:53 PM

Currently I go to school in Philadelphia, The Art Institute of Philadelphia to be exact, but lately I've been considering transferring to The Art Institute of LA (campus is in Santa Monica). And If I do transfer out there, I will have to take on some student loans under my name, instead of doing a Parent Plus loan, which is what I have right now.

I will hoping to get loaned about 35k-40k, and the 'rents will luckily help with the rest of the tuition.

So for those of you who have dealt with, and are probably still dealing with student loans, I have a few questions:

1. Who did you get your loan through?
2. How was it dealing with them?
3. Did you have to start paying it back while you were still in school, or could you wait until you graduate?
4. How much do you have to payback each month?

Any loan company recommendations and/or tips are greatly appreciated. Thanks.

Gossamer · Jun 27, 2006, 04:00 PM

I got mine through Iowa Student Loan, so that probably won't help you much. Dealing with them isn't too bad. What you pay per month depends on the type of loan. A subsidized loan will defer interest/payments until you graduate. An unsubsidized loan will build interest even while you're in school, but you don't have to pay until you graduate. Luckily, I've made enough during the summer to keep paying off the interest so it doesn't build and get huge.
Don't let railroader hear of this, you should have worked and saved up the thousands of dollars to go to college, so you wouldn't have to go in debt. You are now subject to the devil, aka credit agencies.

Kerrigan · Jun 27, 2006, 04:29 PM

Education loans typically make sense from an economic standpoint, so long as the education is put to good use afterwards. Saving up and then going to college makes no sense because of the high opportunity cost; ie, what it costs you to choose working a low paying job while saving up versus borrowing and then making a higher wage, thereby allowing you to pay off the loan faster.

But is the borrowed money going to be put to good use? Is it really worth spending upwards of $40k just to transfer to a different school? What's wrong with the Art Institute of Philadelphia?

hickey · Jun 28, 2006, 07:36 AM

If I transfer, I will be going into a much better program, and I will be getting a better degree.

production_coordinator · Jun 28, 2006, 09:34 AM

The important thing is... going into debt for college isn't a bad debt. The ROI is very high.

Gossamer · Jun 28, 2006, 10:00 AM

Originally Posted by Railroader

You could do it the same way I did it. Work your ass off in high school and save your money. Work your ass off while going to school. Work even harder in the Summer. I was a Residence Advisor for two years and I got free room and board in the Dorms which was a VERY sizable chuck of the cost of going to school. I also took Summer classes so I could finish earlier and start earning an income. Drank cheap beer (actually, this is when I learned to brew).

Need I go on?

Eh...it's possible

Scotttheking · Jun 28, 2006, 11:14 AM

Originally Posted by hickey

Currently I go to school in Philadelphia, The Art Institute of Philadelphia to be exact, but lately I've been considering transferring to The Art Institute of LA (campus is in Santa Monica). And If I do transfer out there, I will have to take on some student loans under my name, instead of doing a Parent Plus loan, which is what I have right now.

I will hoping to get loaned about 35k-40k, and the 'rents will luckily help with the rest of the tuition.

So for those of you who have dealt with, and are probably still dealing with student loans, I have a few questions:

1. Who did you get your loan through?
2. How was it dealing with them?
3. Did you have to start paying it back while you were still in school, or could you wait until you graduate?
4. How much do you have to payback each month?

Any loan company recommendations and/or tips are greatly appreciated. Thanks.

1. Bank of America (they sold it to AES)
2. Ok. Haven't done much, I'm still in school.
3. All student loans are deferred until six months after graduation.
4. Don't know yet, but I'd figure around $800/month with what I've got and expect to add, maybe $1k. The $5500 stafford loan I have is about $60/month once I start paying it back, if I remember right.

Kerrigan · Jun 28, 2006, 12:16 PM

So to you, this new degree is worth paying in excess of $40,000 a year? Is it that much better than the one you are currently in?

I know that sounds like a rude question but that seems to be the dilema.

iREZ · Jun 28, 2006, 12:18 PM

debt scares the bajesus outta me...

luckily i'll be graduating next quarter with no debt over my head and 7g's in the bank to boot.

i think it's really unfortunate that school tution has come to most students starting their careers in debt for quite some time before they could start saving for the future. to pay off 40k while paying rent for an apt (yet alone a mortgage) and a car with gas prices in LA is an impossible feat if you dont have one of two things...A. large income or B. parents with large incomes.

hickey · Jun 28, 2006, 03:07 PM

Originally Posted by Kerrigan

So to you, this new degree is worth paying in excess of $40,000 a year? Is it that much better than the one you are currently in?

I know that sounds like a rude question but that seems to be the dilema.

yeah it will be a better degree, and I will be able to go farther.

And I know Im going to be poor for a long time, so I might as well do this while I still can, and not put it off.

Oisín · Jun 28, 2006, 03:39 PM

I can’t really add anything of value here (being non-American and all), but I count my blessings for being from a place that doesn’t have tuition fees, and gives students ≈$750 a month just for being students. Personally, I’m quite willing to live with sky-high taxes to provide for such things.

[/off-topic... give or take]

Zeeb · Jun 28, 2006, 03:47 PM

Originally Posted by hickey

yeah it will be a better degree, and I will be able to go farther.

And I know Im going to be poor for a long time, so I might as well do this while I still can, and not put it off.

What type of art degree are you going for and in what? That's a huge loan to start your working life out with. You definately need to determine exactly what your loan payments are going to be when you graduate versus how much income you will expect in the first years of your chosen field. I got my loans through the federal government at a fixed rate of 5% They have a program where they adjust how much you pay according to what you currently make.

If you're gonna make only say $30,000 when you graduate for awhile but are stuck making $400 a month payments to some private loan program--in addition to all your living expenses-- you may be in trouble if you don't have some type of outside financial help.

My niece was gonna go to Parsons where she would have had to take out $41,000 per year in loans. The design degree she was going for was only gonna pay her around $28,000 per year for the first few years without much of a jump after that-so she went somewhere else.

Sadly, a certain tier of higher education is still not financially viable for people of low or moderate means.

Zeeb · Jun 28, 2006, 04:08 PM

Originally Posted by Oisín

I can’t really add anything of value here (being non-American and all), but I count my blessings for being from a place that doesn’t have tuition fees, and gives students ≈$750 a month just for being students. Personally, I’m quite willing to live with sky-high taxes to provide for such things.

[/off-topic... give or take]

I have to say I'm jealous. However, the priority of the United States has been to spend money on the military and give tax breaks to the upper 1% of the population for some time. There's not much left over for unimportant non-military uses like education.

Don't be too smug! I'm sure Copenhagen will be drawn into the empire at some point.

Kerrigan · Jun 28, 2006, 04:17 PM

I totally agree with you Zeeb.

The other side of the coin, though, is that you can get a top tier education for next to nothing if you apply to a good public university. For every obscure private college that charges $45,000 there's always a public university which is better.

Oisín · Jun 28, 2006, 04:32 PM

Originally Posted by Zeeb

Don't be too smug! I'm sure Copenhagen will be drawn into the empire at some point.

Meh, it’s avoided being incorporated into foreign empires throughout its entire history. YOU’LL NEVER TAKE US ALIVE!!!

Kerrigan · Jun 28, 2006, 04:36 PM

Well maybe one day when America becomes a tiny country with an incredibly high ammount of oil reserves per capita, we'll be able to adopt an otherwise unfeasible socialist system.

rickey939 · Jun 28, 2006, 04:38 PM

Luckily, my wife and I had no student loans to pay-off after we got married.

hickey · Jun 28, 2006, 04:41 PM

Im getting a degree in Video Production. And I plan on paying about 350-400 a month to repay loans upon graduation.

BTW, what program did you do through the gov't to pay for your school? Cause that sounds like a swell deal.

Calimus · Jun 28, 2006, 06:14 PM

I would think pretty hard as well about getting such a big loan. I have friends who became doctors and graduated with less debt than that(paying for some their tuition & living expenses by working as they went), and they make more than you probably could make without starting your own business in video work.

Just seems to me that if the job you get from the degree can't pay off the loan in 2-3 years, than it isn't worth it economically.