I'm a poor college student, and my financial resources are limited! Help!?
My mom makes under $25,000 a year. She's a single mother, trying to support my brother and I. My parents are divorced and my dad doesn't pay child support. I was accepted to an excellent university that costs $25,000/yr. I have a Pell grant from the federal government, a nice scholarship from a local organization, and some merit aid. Problem is, I've had a rough first year and my merit aid may run out because I'm ending this semester which under a 3.0 GPA (2.7). I feel like I'm drowning. Next year I may be an RA, which will eliminate housing- but I'm still short nearly 8k and to the extent I can go with federal loans. My mom says it'd be a good idea if I claim myself next year as a legal independent on our tax return. Is this a good idea? Is there anyone out there with a similar background? How am I going to survive the next 3 years and overcome the burden of poverty?
Does the airforce pay for college?
I'm in the hunt for college, and I was wondering if the air force would pay. If so, do they pay for all of it, part of it, do I have to pay them back, does it have to be in certain fields or certain colleges, etc. Any information anyone has on the subject would be much appreciated.
Should a student aim to attend an Ivy League college?
Of course not. That’s ridiculous. There’s nothing special about the eight members of this sports league as a whole. Sure, some of the schools in this league are great (my alma mater Harvard springs to mind), but plenty of other schools around the country and the world are also great. What if you don’t particularly want to live in the Northeast of the US for four years? What if you want a tiny college or a huge college? What if you want to stay close to your family? Some of these schools have great academics, but plenty of other schools have great academics too. Of course, if you’re an athlete and you really want to compete against the likes of UPenn and Columbia (or play for one of those schools’ teams), then sure, join this sports league. Otherwise, forget that this league exists. It’s not special. It’s just a league.Furthermore, I’d bet you that most people who haven’t gone to an Ivy League school don’t even know which schools are in the league. Can you name all eight without looking them up? The only plausible benefit to going to an Ivy League school in particular is so that you can tell people you had an Ivy League education, which they won’t be able to figure out for themselves unless you went to Harvard, Princeton, or (ugh) Yale. So you went to Cornell. Great. Where’s that, again? (No offense meant to Cornell students and alums, of course.) Most people couldn’t tell you the difference between Brown and Tufts or between UPitt and UPenn (which is the one with that huge tower of a building?). And people who do know what the Ivy League is won’t find it particularly impressive that you went to a member of the league. There are only two types of people in the world who care about going to schools in this sports league: high school students who are self-declared experts at applying to college and parents of high school students who are self-declared experts at applying to college. Everyone else chooses a school based on its merits instead of the name of its sports league.
Is it possible to attend college for free?
Yes, be a high level student applying to a lower rated college. My son was offered a free ride including room, board, books, tuition and some payments to go to Georgia Tech which is a very good school. He attended MIT where he received virtually no financial support except Stafford loans. I paid the rest. My ex-wife, a pediatrician refused to pay a dime because he could have "gotten his education for free" and that "all schools are the same." She even refused to split the cost of his coming home for holidays. When she learned that he would therefore spend the entire holiday with me she decided to help with airline tickets. I know my son would have done very well at GA tech and gotten a good job, but the MIT name means more. He will receive his BS and MEng in 4 years on June 5. He starts at Apple at $150k plus tremendous benefits in July. I think the benefits are worth $25,000-$50,000 alone. Stock, options, free transportation, free meals, gyms, insurance, life insurance etc.So I paid it forward to him. He worked hard and got his face squarely in front of the MIT fire hose. I had the money though it cost me my retirement. If I hadn't he could have gone to school for free at a huge number of schools, but he is a brilliant kid. I hate to admit it, but he may be smarter than I am.
How do I get a full scholarship to the top US universities?
As others have already said, financial aid at the schools you listed is based on need. Each school calculates an Expected Family Contribution (EFC) and deducts it form the Cost of Attendance (COA). These schools make up the difference with grants and work study. They don’t expect families to take out loans to pay off the difference.Keep in mind that a family’s expected contribution to the cost of their child’s education includes household assets. The students assets are expected to be applied to the cost of an education at Harvard, Stanford, Wharton and Yale. Typically a student is expected to contribute 20% of his or her assets each year to the cost of his or her education. So if a student has a trust, a savings account, a educational savings plan in his or her name, then 20% of this asset will be used in the calculation of the family’s EFC. In addition, the parents of the child, whether married or not, are expected to contribute 5% of their assets to their child’s COA. Schools like Harvard, etc. include a wide range of assets such as home and business equity, cash on hand, stocks and bonds, real estate equity, trusts, and retirement accounts.If a family has less than $65,000 but a significant amount of assets, it will not get a free ride. And a family with $150,000 in income may only be expected to apply 10% of its income to their child’s education at Stanford, but if it has a house worth $500,000 to $600,000, several hundreds of thousands of dollars in savings and another couple hundreds of thousands in stocks and bonds along with a vacation home valued at $250,000, the family’s Expected Family Contribution can quickly approach $60,000 to $70,000 and there goes any thought of financial aid.
I don't think I can continue studying. My parents wont let me quit and I'm having suicidal thoughts. Help?
I'm afraid to tell my parents that I want to quit college (I've told them about it before) because they want me to "try my best to fight off the negative thoughts", because previously I was an excellent student in high school. When I entered college, I just don't have the confidence anymore. Problem is, I don't know how to get rid of those pessimistic thoughts. I just want to QUIT, I want an EXIT, NOW. But I dunno who else I can turn to...my parents said I have to go on with my studies, and my counselor said I have to give it a try... My head says, "I don't wanna try, I can't do it. Let's find an exit." Help meeeeeeeee...
What are few good mutual funds to invest in for kids' college in 20 years, and what amount should be invested per month?
With a monthly investment of Rs 11,300 for 20 years you can get educate your child in one of the top colleges in the US.Education is a major expense as school and college fees are skyrocketing. Gone are the days when you could manage your child’s school and college fees with your monthly income. You need to be well prepared in advance to be able to pay for them. There are a number of child education plans that you can choose from, which not only helps you build up a corpus but is also insured.Plan your kid’s education expense well in advance. Setup a kid’s education goal so that you can maximize the opportunity to make your money do your work for you. Start investing early to enjoy the benefits of compounding.A variety of options are available to choose from for Under Graduation, Post Graduation, MBA either in India or Foreign.Illustration for kids’ education goalBelow is a scenario build using the goal for an IVY League Under Graduation.Age: 33Gender: MaleMarital Status: Married + KidsAnnual Income : Rs 20,00,000Spouse Employment: Not workingKid’s age - 6 yearIf you’re planning to educate your children in one of the top colleges in the US. It costs Rs 31,28,000 per year for a 4-year course today.With just a monthly investment of Rs 11,300 for a period of 20 years, you can aim to educate your child in IVY League colleges without having to worry about the sky-rocketing fees.Here’s how a Balance Portfolio looks like:A quick snapshot of returns when compared to an FD investment helps you understand how well your Portfolio is performing.The above illustration is based on assumptions of investor’s profile, therefore, I suggest you try out the feature yourself to get the right suggestions for your profile.Saving up for your kid’s education is a big decision and you would be cutting back on spending your wealth today to achieve this and you should be sure of what you’re doing before jumping in.Nicholas A. Ferroni said “Education is not the problem, it’s the solution. Education is not an expense, it’s an investment.” Don’t make your child lose out on good opportunities only because you can’t afford it then. “Investment in knowledge pays the best interest” – Benjamin Franklin. Invest now, for you never know one day their quotes would be noteworthy like the ones we use today.Happy Investing!
How can I take an education loan for studying abroad?
We are totally 5 people who tried for education loan and finally only I got the loan sanctioned after a struggle.Any loan you get from any bank it is completely based on the regional manager, general managers acceptance. They prefer to give business, personal or industrial loans because those loans have high interest rates and also the repayment starts immediately.First thing we've to understand is banks will never prefer to sanction education loan, as its repayment starts after our education period i.e, 2years or 5 years .If you go ask for a loan without collateral, every bank will reject and ask for a collateral property, if you have a collateral property then they'll dig all your past loans and your income using your income tax return statements and pan card number.They always try to find a reason to not to sanction education loan as it's not beneficial to the bank.So, if the regional and general managers are convinced or if you are able to arrange some high recommendations, then you have a chance of getting an education loan.Points to remember,Bank pays only 75% of your required amount and 25% will be your margin. (If your total requirement is ₹50 lakhs then you should take ₹37.5 lakhs and when you have to pay your semester fee, assume your semester fee is 10 lakhs you make a margin deposit of 2.5 lakhs into your loan account only then bank releases 7.5 lakhs and pays your semester fee).Your collateral value is decreased to 40%. ( If your collateral property value is ₹1 crore, government value will be around ₹75 lakhs and banks valuation will become ₹50 lakhs and you'll not be sanctioned more than 40 lakhs).Plan to start your loan process at least 60 days before your admission date, because we cannot guess how long it takes to get your loan sanctioned.Never loose hopes and always be confident, smart in every step of this process. Always be ready to bribe or to throw a dinner treat to the bank employees. Sometimes also these things will help you.India is a land of highly corrupted individuals that's the reason behind a common man's struggle. So, struggle to the core and strive hard to get out of this country. Break the boundaries and become a man for the world.
U.S University tuition fee differences?
Hi, I'm a British student currently in my last year of high school (A-Levels) and It is my dream to attend a U.S university (study Business or Law) I understand with the grades I am predicted (A*AAB) I am not exactly going to be getting into a competitive Ivy League, of course. But I have looked at other, still very reputable but lower ranked universities such as UCLA, Berkeley, and Virginia. Thing is, these are 'Public' universities which favor in state students but are often cheaper as well. But not to international students. UCLA apparently has a large percentage of internationals and good acceptance rates, but Looking at UCLA's total tuition fees, it comes out at an affordable $21,000 or so for residents, and about $50,000 for internationals! this is the same as ivy league fees, so it basically eliminates these colleges for me. I would not be comfortable paying the same for UCLA as i would Harvard, just to be an international student. This is because international students have not paid California taxes which is understandable, and Virginia was the same, with different fees. Basically, does this mean that all public universities are too expensive for international students because of this, and i should not consider them?. Looking at 'PRIVATE' colleges such as Harvard, Yale and Penn, i notice there seems to be just one fixed set of fees for everybody. Obviously we cannot receive aid, but does this mean prices are always the same? I would be very happy if this were the case, as it seems more fair and i could look at affordable private colleges to get into instead. So what's the fee difference for international students? Public or Private? With public ones being so expensive, and private ones being hopefully the same for all? If any U.S college students or anybody with experience could make the situation more clear to me, I would really appreciate it as it is my dream to study in America :)
From which Indian bank did you take an education loan for an MS in US studies? If you have re-paid the loan amount, in how much time did you do it? Was there any pre-payment penalty?
I am student who is trying for fall '15. I am sharing the knowledge of over seas education loan.1) State Bank of India - provides loan up to 30L. Interest rate is 12.5% per annum. The repayment of loan starts after 6 months of completing MS or after getting job whichever is earlier. You have to repay the loan within 7 to 7.5 years after MS. This loan repayment strategy is same for all types of "State Banks", what is different is the interest rate and loan amount is 20L.2) State Bank of Hyderabad - provides Max loan up to 20L with ROI of 12.7%.3) Canara Bank - Provides loan up to 20L with interest rate of 11.6% per annum, but the repayment period is just 5 years after completing MS.4) HDFC Bank - CREDILA is the scheme under which educational loan is given. There are two cases:a) They provide loan up to 25L (property need not be shown if the loan amount required is 25L). Interest rate is 12.9% per annum. b) If the loan amount needed us more than 25L, then property needs to be evaluated and interest rate is 13.5%. For the both cases above, you will have same period of 7 to 7.5 years for repayment.I don't know about other banks.Of the above 4 banks, HDFC educational loan gets approved very soon.If you have plans of working in US after MS then you can repay it easily in 2 to 3 years.If you cone back to India after MS and if u think if repaying, it will take more than 6 years