can someone tell me...

[iluvyou3638]

how the fuck to get a student loan without a co-signer!?

why's it hafta be so damn hard??? hep me please, i'll bake you cookies.

 

[desertslave]

I'm not an expert on this, but there are loans out there. You have to be able to prove that you're on your own, though. I don't know how old you are, so no insult intended, but if your parents are claiming you as an independent on their taxes, they have to NOT do that.

Go to your financial aid office, they know all the angles.

Start doing your own research here: http://www.finaid.org/loans/

 

[HornyNJGeek]

I know for me, in order to even apply for a loan as being independent, you have to be 24. fafsa won't even allow it until then. There may be other qualifications that can over ride this, but as far as I know 24 is the key. Other banks may give you an independent student loan if you have good credit and everything.

like ds said, your parent's also can't claim you on there tax returns, but at this point may already be too late if they or anyone else claimed you for 07.

 

[fire_breeze]

It depends on where you live, on your age, if you are claimed as a dependent, etc. Your best bet is to talk with your university's financial office NOW (before the madness begins). They know all the tricks, and if they like you (i.e. you're exceedingly polite, etc) they will bend over backwards to help you.

Good luck.

 

[coastal-boy]

This is a reflection of the housing loan fiasco. I have heard that this year is next to impossible to get new loans by yourself if you do not have a well established credit history. Alot of this will depend on the instituition you are attending.

 

[iluvyou3638]

oh this fucking sucks. i'm 18 and my mommy claims me on her taxes, and i have no established credit. great. now how am i supposed to pay for my books? *fuck*

 

[fire_breeze]

oh this fucking sucks. i'm 18 and my mommy claims me on her taxes, and i have no established credit. great. now how am i supposed to pay for my books? *fuck*

Have you checked out bursaries and university financial aid? A lot of universities offer mini-loans (no more than 300$) precisely for that reason.

 

[SweetErika]

oh this fucking sucks. i'm 18 and my mommy claims me on her taxes, and i have no established credit. great. now how am i supposed to pay for my books? *fuck*

Do you have a job? Is there some way you could make that money before you have to buy the books?

Are you able to get that small loan from a family member, then do work study or a small job and pay it back immediately?

Do you know which books you need? Have you checked out alternative sources for the books? For instance, perhaps a library, prior student still has some of the books and would lend them to you for a few weeks, or maybe your instructors have some extra copies for students in dire need. You also might be able to find other students who are willing to share their books for a short time and/or form a study group so you have access to the books at times.

Whatever you do, avoid private student loans (the rates are very high, a lot of the lenders are predatory, and it can be impossible to pay them back), payday advances and racking up credit card debt. Even with the credit crunch, there will no doubt be CC companies on campus trying to suck students into their 20%+ interest rates and high fees.

That said, DO get one or two CC's and start making very small purchases with them consistently (ONLY what you can pay off on time each month). When you are ready to get a loan, you will be glad you started building your credit responsibly early, as many companies offer the best rates only to people with a minimum history of 5 years and a spotless record. As soon as I got to college, I got a credit card and charged my tuition and books to it every semester (my mom paid the bill instead of sending her check to the school, so it never carried a balance month-to-month). That one simple thing was a huge help when we rented apartments in college and needed car and home loans down the road. A solid credit history is essentially free money, given how much it saves on interest rates and such!

 

[Monazwx]

how the fuck to get a student loan without a co-signer!?

I truly feel your pain. I wanted to get my Masters degree; applied, got accepted and everything; only to have the bank tell me that since I recently switched jobs, i.e making less money, that they having "trouble" with the approval. I was even willing to give them my land papers, (which are worth more than the damn loan), to make it happen. Now, I'm going to have to put it off for another year. Banks suck @ss!!!

Edit - I didn't realize that this was about your books. Seriously, like SweetErica says GET A CREDIT CARD, just a secured one for the momemt, while you're getting established. People on campus will bombard you to sign up with them. Choose carefully and selectively, and you only need ONE card, with a relatively low limit to start with. (Do not get carried away with the credit, it is not free money).

That being said, keep asking around. For the amount that you're asking, there has to a some program or someone willing to help you out. Good luck with this and the upcoming semester!

 

[desertslave]

Ditto what Erika said about books. There are several websites that offer discounted textbooks, even Amazon. Make sure you shop around for each book, because sites can vary from book to book. (I'm in the middle of working this with DD right now.)

If you must get a credit card, make sure you budget to start paying it down IMMEDIATELY. And don't put another blessed thing on the card until it's paid off.

 

[Kit08]

I had a hard time finding a loan this year too. I live in Iowa and because of the loan shenanigans that are going on this year we were allowed to take out more in federal stafford loans than usual. So that's what I did.

Definetly get your books at Amazon.com or a similar site since if your school is anything like mine the campus bookstore prices things outragously high. I hope things work out for you!

 

[iluvyou3638]

Ditto what Erika said about books. There are several websites that offer discounted textbooks, even Amazon. Make sure you shop around for each book, because sites can vary from book to book. (I'm in the middle of working this with DD right now.)

If you must get a credit card, make sure you budget to start paying it down IMMEDIATELY. And don't put another blessed thing on the card until it's paid off.

jesus christ. i don't know if i can trust myself with a credit card. plus i have no job. but i'm quickly running out of options. i found all 6 of the books i need on amazon for around $150 which isn't bad, but i need them SOON and i've got nothing...

 

[amy711]

I don't know how many classes I have taken already that I didn't even use my books. Talk to people who have taken the prof before to see if they are really necessary. Borrow from a friend, or buy one between two of you and share. I typically don't buy many of my books at all and I am a senior with all A's...

 

[Mr.G]

Geeez

In CANADA that's EASY. What ya do is KILL a couple of teenagers in a bizarre sex / torture ritual, get caught, testify against the person who helped you and then negotiate an 8 - 10 yr sentence for your participation. While doing your time you get three meals a day and you can pick up as many University Degrees as you can manage - ALL paid for by .... ME, a lowly taxpayer!!

In the USA that may be more problematic. Some places even have the Death Penalty for multiple sex murders. How barbaric is THAT? Everybody KNOWS you place inmates like that in cottages, give them a golf course or two, a vegetable plot and they'll see the error of their ways, find Jesus and within a couple of weeks rejoin society, fully rehabilitated. So in the end, in the USA, if they ZAP yo a$$, having a university degree or three will mean not much.

 

[iluvyou3638]

okay this is going to sound dumb cuz i've never had a credit card, but how much do you have to pay off every month?? all of it, or just installments?

 

[coastal-boy]

okay this is going to sound dumb cuz i've never had a credit card, but how much do you have to pay off every month?? all of it, or just installments?

If you make minimum payments, all you are paying is the interest...that means you never pay it off. Credit cards should be a last choice only.

 

[iluvyou3638]

If you make minimum payments, all you are paying is the interest...that means you never pay it off. Credit cards should be a last choice only.

well cuz i can afford to make like $20-40 payments, but i just can't afford to pay the whole thing off at once.

 

[coastal-boy]

I heard a great idea about credit cards. You can take the card and put it in a baggie filled w/ water and freeze it. It doesn't hurt the magnetic strip and then it isn't immediately available for use. Really, they should only be used for emergencies, and Xmas is not one of them. If you end up going this route...use it ONLY for the books and then do not use it again til it is paid off. The only way a maxed out credit card gets paid off is by a sugar daddy or parents.

 

[iluvyou3638]

I heard a great idea about credit cards. You can take the card and put it in a baggie filled w/ water and freeze it. It doesn't hurt the magnetic strip and then it isn't immediately available for use. Really, they should only be used for emergencies, and Xmas is not one of them. If you end up going this route...use it ONLY for the books and then do not use it again til it is paid off. The only way a maxed out credit card gets paid off is by a sugar daddy or parents.

omfg. you're genius. i may do that. use it JUST for books and then fucking freeze it. there's no way i'd keep it in my wallet. i have no self control. plus then i can build my credit.

 

[coastal-boy]

well cuz i can afford to make like $20-40 payments, but i just can't afford to pay the whole thing off at once.

for say a $300 charge, at $40/ month and 25% interest you could pay off the loan in 9 months and pay a total of $175.78 in interest (over 50%).

 

[coastal-boy]

do a search for credit card payment calculator...they usually give you an option of figuring out how long it takes to pay off a debt for a given fixed monthly amt over and above the std 2.5% of the total owed.

 

[iluvyou3638]

for say a $300 charge, at $40/ month and 25% interest you could pay off the loan in 9 months and pay a total of $175.78 in interest (over 50%).

wait....why so much interest?

 

[coastal-boy]

wait....why so much interest?

interest is compounded daily...that is how it works sweetie...that is why I said only as a last resort. Credit cards are not a good thing unless you can pay them off. Sometimes, you need to use them to get by. But if you max out a card at $1500 (a common first card credit limit) and pay $40 a month, it will take you 74 months to pay it off and you will have paid $1448.38 in interest (for a $1500 "loan").

It would take you 404 months to pay off the loan if you ONLY made minimum payments and that is where you would have paid $5968.20 in interest

 

[coastal-boy]

wait....why so much interest?

welcome to why we go to school...so we don't have use a credit card to survive

 

[SweetErika]

okay this is going to sound dumb cuz i've never had a credit card, but how much do you have to pay off every month?? all of it, or just installments?

There is a minimum payment you have to pay every month. However, if you just pay that minimum, it'll take forever to pay the balance because most or all of the money you're sending them is just going to the interest.

The minimum payment is usually about 4% of the balance (most cc companies recently raised it to this from 2%). So, if you charge $150, and pay a $10 minimum payment monthly, at a 20% interest rate, it'd take you EIGHTEEN MONTHS to pay off that $150 bill. In addition to that, some cc companies charge steep fees for paying the minimum balance and other common mistakes. See how it's easy to get in trouble if you don't pay it off in full each month?

Here's a fantastic "minimum balance" calculator: http://www.bankrate.com/brm/calc/MinPayment.asp

And do read up on CC's on Bankrate - it's a fantastic, informative site with lots of great articles, tools, and credit card comparisons.

Before you go charging anything you can't pay off in full at the end of the month, go talk to your professors about the book situation and get yourself a small job that will just cover your expenses like books. Tell your profs that you don't want to get into CC debt over this, and ask them if they can help you figure out your options. In some cases, the books aren't really necessary for a while (or at all), or they might let you copy the first few chapters or something. It'll show them you're responsible and solution-oriented, instead of an excuse-maker, too.

If all else fails, and you have a job that will get you at half or more of the book money by the time the bill comes, you could probably charge it and pay everything you can, just this once. As soon as you get more money, pay the bill again. Get the lowest interest rate card you can, watch the fees and don't allow yourself to make a habit of doing this (consider it a one-time only "start up" loan).

Stay away from store-branded cards (Target, Walmart, Macy's, Best Buy, etc.). Even though the discount for signing up seems like a good idea, the fees on those things are totally outrageous and they'll often send your account to collections as soon as your payment is late (and that fucks up your credit score!).

Start figuring out how you can manage a credit card wisely. Set strict rules for yourself (like charging no more than $10/month and paying the bill as soon as it comes), and stick to them. Teach yourself that you CAN be responsible enough to use a CC wisely and not accrue bad debt. Use CC's like your debit card or checking account, meaning if the money's not there (and won't be there for sure, when the bill comes), don't charge it. This is a life skill you need to learn.