Feb 02, 07
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Student Loans
After seeing the other thread in the lounge "Fnk's biggest debtors" I decided to post a thread to get some information on student loans.
I haven't had to apply for one yet because I was able to pay for my first two years at Cap by working 30 hours a week while in school full-time and paying my parents back. Unfortunately, that really cut into my study time and I wasn't able to do nearly as well as I could have. So I've decided i'm going to apply for a loan for the program I plan on going into in September. I'm pretty clueless all around when it comes to student loans so if you guys you could give me some general information that would be awesome. Anything regarding how to apply, when to apply by, what the requirements are, how much to expect, when I need to start making payments, what the payments will be like, etc. Also whether you can work part-time while you're receiving a loan - any advice really. Thanks 
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Feb 02, 07
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if could do it all over again.. i would apply for the student loan, use the amount they give me and pay my tuition and everything that is left i would return it back to either the bc/canada loan place. and living costs, i would continue to work part time to feed/shelter/entertain myself. i owe a lot of money to them and after calculating my monthly im a lil freaked out..but i know it will all work out. i found that they always gave me way too much money and i somehow ended up spending it on unnessesary things. if i could really do it all over again..i wouldnt take the student loan. work my ass off til i had enough money to go to school. i know it was my responsiblty and all, but i wish they would go over more clearly how student loans work in highschool or something.. when i was 16 and money magically apeared in my bank account it felt like my birthday.. more like a birthday with a life long consequence.
you need at least 80% course load to get a student loan.. u can find tonsss of info on www.bcsap.bc.ca.
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Feb 02, 07
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I definately agree with bebu
Any 'extra' money they give you..put it away and pay it all back as soon as its time to start paying back your loans. You have six months to start paying your student loans back after you finish school. I also always use my tax refund to pay off a big chunk every year! Just make sure to pay them on time..I paid it 2 days off one month and it dinged my credit.
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Feb 02, 07
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my student loan goes right to my parents' pockets, cuz they were kind enough to pay my tuition :)
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Feb 02, 07
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Try best to use as little student loans as you can.
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Feb 03, 07
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i owe student loans 16G's ... that was for 3 years of school.. i worked part time for spending money and i used as little as possible from my loans for rent/living expenses... ect ect.... like people have mentioned they give u way more than you need... plus i ended up getting grants (yay for free money!) ... but i just took all that extra money and put it into investments.. i should be able to pay off my whole student loan in full in another year or 2.. mind u im allready making $175/mo. payments allready... so i will have extra money left over to do what i want with .....
im going back to school in sept... i dont think ill be taking out another student loan again... ill just be bustin my ass this sumer so i can pay for it all myself.
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Feb 03, 07
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Yeah i'm doing the whole student loan thing too, i still have about 2 years left and now i see you guys talking about makes me scared!!!! There quite evil!!!! Its hard though cause you work but when you work you have less time to study then your gpa goes down then when you take time off and live off you loan you only have a certain amount of money but then you have lots of time to study but then you rely on student loans which you have to pay back, fucking government sucks !!!!
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Feb 03, 07
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when you apply for your student loan, you must say that you will have "$0.00 in your bank account" and make sure you take out all your money out of your account steadily before the "start of classes". Otherwise you will not get a full student loan sum. I learnt that by mistake, and now I am coughing up my own living expense income from my savings.
If you have a car, go to the nearest car dealer to appraise, and they will give you a real quick online free appraisal, how much your car is worth. Tell them you need the cheapest value possible. My $10,000 car is now worth only $2,800 somehow?! hahahah suckers! to reach full-time student status, it is a total of 9 credits, or 3 courses. Basically, 60% is where you are aiming for minimum f/t eligability. Another note, to say you are living at home or something and "not paying rent" even if you do. Tell the truth about your day-to-day expenses including food and transportation costs. These are REAL EXPENSES and would be covered in part by your loan. There is, of course, an appeal to transportation costs document not on BCSAP that you can get from the financial station at your school. Go to financial aid and ask for it. Trust me, I wish I knew about that before travelling to chilliwack from Langley everyday. *karma* Last edited by Antenna_Boy; Feb 03, 07 at 01:02 PM.
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Feb 03, 07
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I owe'd just about 6G when I moved out here. Ive been working my ass off and Im down to around 3Gs. Not bad for about 2 month of work/payments.
But its still fucking annoying. I wish I never had taken out student loans.
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Feb 03, 07
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I am up to 3,700 in tuition debt, but I paid off 2000 from my own pocket. Yeah, tuition these days is definitely not cheap. I also have about 5 years left or so in my schooling, if not 6!
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Feb 05, 07
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it's a lot faster to apply online at that bcsap website. that application takes care of the federal and provincial student loan (they each give you a different sum of money that should equal out to what you've requested for)
i didn't ask for much, but they gave me what i wanted. they take owning a vehicle, living on your own, and your parents income into account which can be tricky. (they give you shit if you have a car, live at home and your parents make a decent amount.) i finished school in october and i've got half of it paid off. they didn't send me any sort of notice or info on how to start my payments, you have to take the initiative in doing. for the interest i heard you can write it off on your taxes, but i'm not sure i'm trying to pay things off within my 6 month grace period or whatever the fuck it is, it's not much of a grace period because i'm already being charged interest and it's been 4 months.
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Feb 05, 07
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Quote:
Cheers to all those on student loans! :)
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Feb 05, 07
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I got about 15G's of student loans to payback. I've payed my monthly amount for the last 2 years and 2/3's of the payment go towards interest alone.
It's so ridiculous, but that's the government's way of screwing students. Unlike our parents, we can't just walk away from these loans either. Defaulting on a loan sound easy in theory, but there are some serious consequences to deal with if you choose that path.
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Feb 05, 07
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Quote:
Good for her! =)
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Feb 05, 07
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you actually can't do that anymore. too many people were doing that, and so they've changed the rules. even if you declare bankruptcy, they won't dismiss your student loans anymore.
student loans = ass. i dread the fact that i have mine, and they are part of the reason why i won't be returning to school in september. ah well. i only owe about $6000 at the moment, which isn't too bad. could be worse (if i had gotten the full amount i'd be at $12,500 for one year).
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Feb 06, 07
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I am still trying to figure things out with the loans...part of me wants to say "fuck it" and forget about college. But then again, life is about risks when we are still young. Therefore, I said "fuck it" but I went to school instead because I realize that once you get a piece of $25,000 paper that says you have a profession, you will be able to pay off your whole student loan in a year or so...and that depends on your drive to work hard. If you don't work those hours that are given to you, then how on earth are you going to be paying off your debts, let alone interest, as fast as possible? You might as well sit on the can and waste time by shitting your life away. :mexitoke:
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Feb 09, 07
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I've been meaning to post in this thread for a while now, just haven't found the time.
There has been a lot of bashing of student loans here, and what I'd like to offer is a defense of them, showing why they are actually a good thing. For starters, ask yourself 'What are student loans are meant to do?' They are to provide students with relief from working much (if at all) so they can focus on school life and do well in their studies. They provide opportunities for those who can't afford it to attend school. They ease or completely remove the daunting cash factor associated with post-secondary studies, if even temporarily. In this sense, they are good. They provide opportunity for someone to try out school, without having to work massive hours during a week, or having to take entire semesters off to work and save up. For those of you who have done so (me included), without a decent paying job (ie. the type that most students have), and without student loans, you will have to work massive hours a week or do the 'semester on/semester off' technique just to stay afloat with tuition + things such as food and entertainment, which for most people will detract heavily from their studies, or will get tiresome. I would like to address some of the concerns brought up by various people on this thread. The government gave you too much money? Unless they are in error, they give you an amount based on how much you tell them that you will need. And the fact that any excess they give you has been whittled away on non-essential items isn't really their fault, is it. Loans do have high interest, but that's the risk you take when you take one out (not being able to pay it off in a timely fashion). Not everyone finds their job via. studying at university for instance, but a) Universities are so much more than just step-ups to jobs (I'll save that for another discussion) and b) You'll never know what it can give you unless you try it out. These loans allow you that opportunity. So in short, student loans allow one to experience post-secondary studies in a decent manner, who would be otherwise unable to do so. I ask, how is this bad? Student loans can get exorbitantly high, but that's not the fault of the student loan program. The real enemy is high tuition fees. It's the high tuition fees that cause student loans to run high, not the loans themselves. I think you people should aim your WMD's at tuition fees, not the student loan program. baby-phat: Take out that student loan, and go experience post-secondary. Give it your all, and it will be worth it. What's $5,000, $10,000, even $50,000 or more for a shot at having potentially life-changing experiences that will probably only happen once a lifetime. Don't let the high price of education scare you. *** Here are some fun facts about me! - I have about 1.5 - 2 years left in my studies. - I owe around $12,000 in loans. - I expect my loans to at least double before I finish my studies. - I have no idea right now what I'm going to do after I leave university. - I would not have been able to attend university without student loans. - I would not be the person I am today without attending university. EDIT: Spelling and all that other BS Last edited by Magi; Feb 09, 07 at 04:37 AM.
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Feb 09, 07
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I think some people in this thread are kind of in the dark regarding how difficult it REALLY is to pay off loans.
Mine are not student loans, but I owe approx 17k and I pay $410 every two weeks. For the next three years. To think that you're going to come straight out of college and make enough money to pay off 25k worth of student loans in 1/2 years is wishful thinking. In some professions it's definitely possible, but it's unrealistic in most situations.
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