Paying for college: Questions and answers

by Connie Langland, with Samantha Byles

One of the biggest concerns for college students is how to pay for it. The Notebook asked Karen Campbell and Thomas Butler, two college placement experts, to explain how students can finance their post-secondary education without breaking the bank.

What do you suggest in terms of researching the money issue?

Thomas Butler: The starting point is applying for a Stafford loan with the federal Department of Education. You’re going to be eligible for that, and that’s what we call good debt. You don’t have to pay it back until six months after graduation. But – and this is big – if you leave school and stay out for six months, then you’re going to get a bill.

At the same time, it’s increasingly hard to find dollars for students beyond the Stafford loan because many of the families we work with are not able to sign off on a second and third loan. If your parents are in a position to do that, then you can borrow more money from your bank or other institution.

Students themselves have few options, either that Stafford loan or nothing. Any other loan will need a cosigner.

Karen Campbell: Borrowing money for your education is a sound investment. So, it’s not the borrowing itself that’s the problem. It’s borrowing outside of your means and outside of the potential of your earnings. If I want to major in philosophy, and I’m going to borrow $20,000 every year, I have to multiply that by four to understand how much debt I will graduate with. But then I need to consider how much I can realistically earn with a degree in philosophy.

Talk more about taking out non-Stafford loans.

Campbell: Families have to be very careful when it comes to this. So, they can borrow privately above and beyond what they’re getting from the government. But they need to be very careful, and it’s not something that we typically advise because the private loan industry can come up with their own terms for repayment and disbursement and for use. And a lot of times, quite frankly, they are terms that low-income students and families cannot meet and keep up with.

Butler: The technical answer is they can apply for loans in their own name beyond the Stafford loan. The reality of it is if they are a dependent student, more than likely, because they don’t have a credit history, they’re going to need someone to cosign it.

Campbell: So, the governmental loan is really all you can get that is truly yours.

Butler: Yes. Exactly right. Which really gets us to this whole notion of having second, third, fourth-choice schools because we’re going to be ratcheting down on schools you can afford –because realistically you won’t have the kind of money.

I should probably just live at home to save money, right?

Campbell: There are a lot of things that will drive where you live. But you shouldn’t just limit yourself by automatically saying I should live at home. That’s not always a cost-saver because sometimes you end up getting so caught up in things at home, it takes you longer to finish, and you lose financial footing

Butler: And financial aid offices take into account whether you’re living on campus, off campus or at home, so you may be able to borrow enough money to avoid living at home.

My mother and I are having a difficult time discussing money issues.