Student Loan Limit,can anyone give me some advices?
I have made one heck of a mess for myself in regards to student loans.
Here is my situation:
as a Junior (with 86 hours), I have borrowed:
$22,831 subsisized Stafford Loans
$ 9,224 unsubsidized Stafford Loans
$ 1,500 Perkins Loans
*The limits, as I am sure most of you are aware, for Stafford Loans is
a TOTAL of $46,000 for both the subsidized and unsubsidized Stafford
Loan programs. I am "borrowed out" with the Subsidized Stafford.
I have withdrawn from a good number of classes, and that has not
helped.
Some classses I have taken will NOT even count toward the degree that
my academic advisor wants me to get. It will take me 60 MORE hours to
get that degree.
I could get a different degree at a different university if I put in
39 more hours, but I am so close to completely borrowing out that I am
beginning to think I should locate a school that DOES participate in
the Perkins Loan. For some reason, at least 1/2 of the public
colleges and universities in this state don't participate in the
Perkins Loan at all.
Why I don't know.
Is there some solution here that I am missing or have I just about
really messed myself over?
The answer, I suspect, is that even smart people make
mistakes. But what is that mistake, in this case? As I read you, it seems
to be that you suddenly fear you will not be able to borrow enough to
graduate. I would suggest, rather, that your mistake has more to do with
the willingness to borrow a limitless amount if necessary. I cannot say
that would be an unsound decision in every case, but developments in the
U.S. economy over the past year remind us that even a supposedly
job-oriented degree can leave the holder unemployed when the market changes
its tune. At such times, some who gambled on student loans to leverage
themselves into a better life will rue it.
That doesn't answer your question, but newsgroups do allow us some license
to respond as we see best. The closest I can get to your actual question is
as follows:
1. I had the impression that Perkins loans tend to be in smallish amounts.
I assume you qualified for this much Stafford debt because your costs of
attending school are high. In that case, Perkins loans may not carry you
through.
2. Some schools are much less expensive than others. I assume you would
bear that in mind when considering some other school, although your message
does not actually say whether that would be a factor.
3. Does your school not have any internal grant or scholarship programs
that they can bring to bear upon situations like yours? If tuition at that
school is as high as you seem to indicate, surely you are not the only
student who has reached the end of his/her student loan leash.