Student Loans

[StealthSpeed3]

I need some help/suggestions with finding a good student loan that isn't going to F me on interest. I tried Wells F***U but are unable to approve it at this time unless i get a cosigner. I was thinking of trying USBank since that is who i use for my personal accts, but also wondering if that is a good idea.

It's going to run me roughly $23000/yr to go to Brown, give or take depending on what credits transferred down here from my time at Itasca up north. Taking into consideration what grants i will get from the FAFSA, that'll cover maybe $3000/semester if i'm lucky.

[dmention7]

Are you eligible for Federal loans? Those are far and away the best deal--deferred interest till you graduate on the subsidized loans, and deferred payments on both subsidized and unsubsidized until 6 months after you graduate. I was able to fund virtually my entire 4.5 years at the U of M through state grants and federal loans.

Any kind of private loans are going to absolutely RAPE you on interest and likely require quarterly interest-only payments.

[Nekko Noir]

^^^ What he said. :D

[ZoomZoom Diva]

What sorts of financial aid are offered by Brown itself?

[mazdamn02]

Brown Financial Services ought to be helping you secure federal loans.
They're a very shady organization though... be careful. I enjoyed my time there and came out relatively unscathed but get a copy of everything and make sure you know what you're signing. Also, they'll try to increase tuition on you half way through your stay there, I was able to get out of that since I had a document saying they wouldn't do that :D/

[WhiteSpy9]

I can't stand those Brown college commercials.....

What are you going there for...... hopefully not game design...

[StealthSpeed3]

no, i'm not going there for game design. I'm going for digital photography.

i have a list of available lenders from brown for student loans. I was unable to get the loan by myself from wells fart-go with my current credit, and need a co-signer from the sound of it since i have no credit.

[AJ]

I get all mine thought applying for Financial Aid, and then it asked me which provider I wanted to use, I have citi bank for all mine, nice and easy. Don't get the majority of your advice here, get it through your student support services on campus. It will make much more sense when you start talking about min credits for the financial aid amount, deferring payment, the rates, ect ect.

[AJ]

Oh, http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/ /end thread.

[mazdamn02]

Yes, +1 ^^^

You really ought to have good support through the school's financial aid department, if you're not getting that strongly reconsider what you're getting yourself in to.

[MazdaMINI]

Maybe you should check other schools thats seems like a lot of freaking money!!!

[Hot Ice]

FAFSA is the best was to go, in my opinion. I always do that and then see what else they have to offer.

[cosmicspd3]

yup like those above, i went through my schools student affairs office, got a fafsa filled out and got a federal loan and a perkins one. both are rape on interest like 7-9% but Im dumping TONS of money a month at my student loans to pay them off by august...only 1 yr out of school with loans :)

[dmention7]

hehe, my federal loans are locked in at 2.8%. I'm on the 20-year payoff plan, cuz that's the cheapest money I'm ever going to see! lol

[StealthSpeed3]

taya - i would look into some other schools but none offer digital photography. This is something that i want to make a career out of. total for 3 yrs is $67,000, give or take with the transferred credits.

[WhiteSpy9]

and what is the average salary for the field?

[StealthSpeed3]

the average salary for digital photography is around $50,000. if i specialize in a certain area that has an effect as well. Scientific photographers can do anywhere from $31K to $49K.

[Nekko Noir]

The U of M offers custom/personalized degree programs if you're interested in pursuing something they don't have a standard degree program available for...you might want to look into that and see what they can do for you? Just a suggestion. Their tuition is also a lot more reasonable than Brown.

[WhiteSpy9]

Doesn't seem worth it to me....

[MazdaMINI]

Metro State also offers an individual degree program most schools seem to.

[Workdawg]

Doing what you want to do is more important than how much money you make. But since this is in the On Point section...

Do you NEED a degree in digital photography? It seems to me that a degree in something like graphic design might be more useful. What does a degree in photography teach you? IMO the quality of your pictures would say a lot more about how good you are at doing it than some piece of paper from a university.

[StealthSpeed3]

grrr...is there a reason why everyone is trying to sway me to back out of this now? This is something that i want to do because it's something that i can have fun with. I am already committed to BC, i'm not going to look for another college. Part of the reason why i chose brown was because of location, they had the course that i wanted, and it's really not as expensive as some places i considered. I'll be doing evening classes which works out perfectly with the hours i work at JJ, and the first year is only a little higher then usual because of the extras i'm getting with the class (the laptop & 10MP digital camera). I probably won't have to pay the full $67K because i have most of my generals done. But enough of the negativity please.

[mndsm]

I fail to see the negativity. You asked, people answered. They wanted to know the reasons behind it, and the neccesity to pay 70k$ for a school that a lot of people here have had experience with. You ask for an honest opinion, you're going to get it.

[StealthSpeed3]

how many others here have gone to brown out of curiosity? I know Josh has...

[mndsm]

I have three good friends that went there for music something. One works retail, the other two are servers at The Melting Pot. I have a 4th that is currently enrolled in game design there, he tried to leave the school but basically found out he was screwed no matter what he did. I'm not saying you should not pursue whatever you want to pursue, but I have to admit that I have not heard positive things about the school overall. I applaud you for going after what you want to go after, but be careful.

[MazdaMINI]

I have not gone to Brown but have gone to a private college for half of a semester and I wish I would have never done that. I have a $15,000 loan to thank for that and the classes at my state college I was attending prior were just as good. I have also been through my fair share of schools an have realized that you need to enjoy what you do but also need to make sure that there are many opportunities for employment out there. My brother was going to go into Photography at dctc. I understand that Brown has a specific degree that your looking for but you maybe able to get the same types of class somewhere else. I was just recently in the situation where I thought I wanted to go to Argosy because I could finish my degree quickly and the classes were really small I was very impressed with the school. But decided I couldnt pay 20,000 a year for classes. I am so glad that I decided to go to tech school and soon a state school. I think it was one of the best decisions I could have made and love my tech school to death! The tuition being $154 s credit is awesome as well.

[ZoomZoom Diva]

We're not negative about your plan to make photography a career. However, when you're asking about how to pay for it at a very expensive school, questioning the need for that very expensive school, and the possibility of reducing the financial outlay are people really trying to help you.

Asking you questions about what the $67K or whatever is really buying you when compared to other options is not negativity.

I went to an expensive private college for 4 years, and I would not trade it for anything. However, I have also come to realize there are other paths to the same place, and the differences are mostly personal rather than professional.

[WhiteSpy9]

Exactly.... You have to justify the cost of the degree to the pay of the occupation, as well as, the job market.

You can always do what you love on as a hobby if you are able to find something you at least enjoy and pays well.

We are all talking from our experience of having been in your same situation before and have already taken that long ride down that road.

[StealthSpeed3]

i went in for orientation today - 23 credits transferred over, saving me $8000 in tuition. If i take 15 cred in the summer by fall sem i'll be a sophomore. so now taking into consideration i won't be spending the original projected amt, instead 3 yrs of schooling is only going to cost $59K meaning my student loan for my first year is going to be $17K.

[WhiteSpy9]

That sounds a bit better!

[MazdaMINI]

That still sounds like a lot of money to me but the $8,000 less is a definte plus!!!