? on SL's to pay for my MBA

[Deleted]

So I just literally (the day before thanksgiving) got accepted into an MBA program. Now I am wondering how the heck to pay for it.

I got married to my XH at 18 and he never worked the entire time we were married so I got a ton of grants and was easily able to get loans based on my income and I worked and paid for the rest as I went to school PT.

Now I am married, own a home and DH and I both have good jobs. I also know it is harder to get loans for Grad School. I would really like to avoid the private loan route. I don't have any right now and I heard they are bad.

I just filled out the FASFA but what are my chances of getting any substantial amount of Federal aid or Federal loans for an MBA?

[Deleted]

Have you looked up your benefits for any tuition reimbursement through work? As far as I know, a lot of MBAers who have to take out SLs have private ones.

[Deleted]

Nov 26, 2012 11:33:09 GMT -5 @choco said:

Have you looked up your benefits for any tuition reimbursement through work? As far as I know, a lot of MBAers who have to take out SLs have private ones.

Yeah mine has a tiny prog that starts at 5 yrs of employment. I have been there 1 yr.

[h]

Whether you qualify for substantial federal aid will obviously depend heavily on your financial position. Are you planning on working during school? Can you guys pay for any of your tuition outright?

My husband would have had to rely mostly on private loans for his MBA, so we lived very frugally relative to our income and paid cash for his degree. I am very glad we made that choice, but it is obviously not always an option. At the time I had a fairly high income and we lived in a MCOL area and had no kids and minimal fixed expenses, so it was doable.

[brit1017]

The max federal aid is $18500/ year, but that is if you qualify, which it sounds like you might not. Anything over and above that would have to be either OOP or private loans.

[formerlyak]

When I applied for my student loans for my MBA, I was just divorced and my household income was about $70K and I had a dependent who lived with me 75% of the time. This past year when I applied for my last year of loans, I had received a substantial raise. I qualified for the max amount in federal loans with that financial picture both times (just to give you an idea). If you don't get what you need in federal loans, check with your school to see what options you have. TA an undergrad class? Work study in your department? Private loans? Your school's financial aid office should be able to help.

[Deleted]

Nov 26, 2012 12:57:11 GMT -5 formerlyak said:

I qualified for the max amount in federal loans with that financial picture both times (just to give you an idea). If you don't get what you need in federal loans, check with your school to see what options you have. TA an undergrad class? Work study in your department? Private loans? Your school's financial aid office should be able to help.

Thanks for the the "picture" and for telling me that TA'ing is an option. I never heard of this. You have put my mind at ease! 18k per year is way more than I need.

[Deleted]

Nov 26, 2012 12:44:13 GMT -5 @littlemoxie said:

My private loans are at better rates than federal loans. I wouldn't write off the idea without at least checking it out and shopping around.

Hmmm really? I will check into this then but I am nervous about it b/c I have heard 20/20 specials on some unscrupulous things these private SL companies have done that have caused students to owe 2x-3x more than they even borrowed in the first place! I didn't really pay attention too much to the stories since I did not have private loans.

[formerlyak]

Nov 26, 2012 13:08:31 GMT -5 vigurl said:

Nov 26, 2012 12:57:11 GMT -5 formerlyak said:

I qualified for the max amount in federal loans with that financial picture both times (just to give you an idea). If you don't get what you need in federal loans, check with your school to see what options you have. TA an undergrad class? Work study in your department? Private loans? Your school's financial aid office should be able to help.

Thanks for the the "picture" and for telling me that TA'ing is an option. I never heard of this. You have put my mind at ease! 18k per year is way more than I need.

Glad I could help. The financial burden of taking on school loans and not knowing if I would qualify for enough was very stressful for me the first year. It all worked out and I am 6 units away from being finished ... I graduate in May!

Good luck!

[imojoebunny]

I got a grant for about 1/3 of tuition for a private top 20 MBA program when I had little income and about 30k in savings. I got a free ride to my lesser, but still very competitive state school that included a stipend for working 13 hours a week for a professor for living expenses. I gave up the stipend after a semester because it wasn't working with the program/work I was trying to do, but kept the free ride. With my 30k in savings, I graduated with no student loans and had money left over I would shop around as much as possible. I found when I graduated that in the town I am in, Atlanta, the top 20 degree made little difference in my employment options. It would have if I had wanted to go to NYC or something like that, but I didn't. For me, free worked out really well. I applied to the lesser school to take a couple of classes I thought I would have trouble with. When the top 20 school screwed around with what they would give me in grants and aid until the last minute, I was happy to have the fall back, and they were happy to give money to a good student. As a bonus, I could graduate at a higher level in my class, which was good for employment opportunities.

[Deleted]

Nov 26, 2012 12:44:13 GMT -5 @littlemoxie said:

My private loans are at better rates than federal loans. I wouldn't write off the idea without at least checking it out and shopping around.

Who are your private loans through?

[bronxgirl]

I don't have any advice, but congrats on your acceptance.

[Deleted]

Nov 26, 2012 14:07:06 GMT -5 formerlyak said:

Nov 26, 2012 13:08:31 GMT -5 vigurl said:

Thanks for the the "picture" and for telling me that TA'ing is an option. I never heard of this. You have put my mind at ease! 18k per year is way more than I need.

Glad I could help. The financial burden of taking on school loans and not knowing if I would qualify for enough was very stressful for me the first year. It all worked out and I am 6 units away from being finished ... I graduate in May!

Good luck!

Exactly. I am glad I am accepted but then I was freaking out about the $$. You made me feel much better. Congrats on being almost done

[Deleted]

Nov 26, 2012 20:19:25 GMT -5 bronxgirl said:

I don't have any advice, but congrats on your acceptance.

Thanks!

[y4m]

You'll likely qualify to take out the maximum in federal (Unsubsidized Stafford) loans. When DH was in law school, that was $20,500--it may be higher now. We qualified for the unsubsidized federal loans even though I was working and had a good income--I don't think they are income-based.

If you need more than the maximum of unsubsidized stafford loans, there are also Grad Plus loans available at a higher rate.

Private loans do often have better rates than federal loans right now, but they are generally variable rates. So you get a lower rate today in exchange for taking the risk that you'll have a higher one in the future.

[Deleted]

Nov 27, 2012 9:56:57 GMT -5 y4m said:

You'll likely qualify to take out the maximum in federal (Unsubsidized Stafford) loans. When DH was in law school, that was $20,500--it may be higher now.

Thanks! I won't need that much so that is excellent news! I submitted all my FASFA already and some other school required forms. I am biting my nails to find out what if any I will have to pay upfront!

[shortstax]

Graduate students are no longer eligible for subsidized federal loans. Therefore, at bare minimum, if you complete a FAFSA you will be eligible for $20,500/year in unsubsidized fed loans.

They come with a 1% origination fee and a fixed 6.8% interest rate.

Hope this helps!

[Deleted]

Nov 27, 2012 11:14:19 GMT -5 shortstax said:

Hope this helps!

YES!!! Thank you!

[bamboo]

You can at least qualify for Direct Unsibsidized loans and beyond that you can do GradPLUS loans, which will lend up to the cost of attendance. The interest rate for unsub loans is 6.8% and GradPLUS are at 7.9%. In theory, you can get Federal aid for all of your costs. However, you will need to consider the interest rates and your plans for repayment when you are done.

[kaylie]

Nov 26, 2012 12:44:13 GMT -5 @littlemoxie said:

My private loans are at better rates than federal loans. I wouldn't write off the idea without at least checking it out and shopping around.

This, my private loan interest is rate is 1/2 my federal loan rate.