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What You Need to Know About Paying For College

随着大学学费的飙升——学生贷款唾手可得——年轻人毕业时很容易不知道他们到底借了多少钱,也不知道他们预计的贷款还款额是多少. Exhibit A: America’s current student loan debt crisis

High school graduate

据统计,2022年,大学毕业生平均要贷款3.48万美元才能获得学士学位 educationdata.org. Then, there’s mom and dad’s portion. Some 3.7 million parents owe a collective $108.5 billion in Parent PLUS loans.

Borrowing isn’t a bad thing. After all, an education is an investment in your future. It’s when you borrow too much学生贷款让你不堪重负,事情会变得很棘手. 以下是你在支付大学费用时需要考虑的问题,以确保教育之旅对家庭中的每个人都是尽可能积极的.

Less Debt Is Better

As we noted, borrowing isn’t bad. But borrowing less is better. 保持最低限度借贷的最好方法是明智地选择你的学校. 正如《沙巴买球》专栏作家、《新沙巴体育网》一书的作者罗恩·利伯所说 explains in this interview在美国,大学通常会根据他们希望你的学生参加的程度提供巨大的奖学金折扣. 撒一张大网是关键,因为不要过早地在这个过程中承诺一个“最喜欢的”. Also, 在转到你最终毕业的四年制大学之前,先在社区大学新沙巴体育网两年,这样可以把学费降低一半. (Yes, half!)

What Income Level Is Expected After Graduation?

“如果学生的收入不足以轻松偿还贷款,那么为教育借入大笔资金是没有意义的,” says Patti Hughes, owner of Lake Life Wealth Advisory Group in Chicago. 经济援助专家马克·坎特罗维茨建议,将借款金额保持在或低于学生毕业第一年的预期工资水平.

If your student knows what career field they are interested in, you can try to predict a starting salary with a site like the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Outlook Handbook. But even if they don’t, 可以肯定的是,stem和新沙巴体育网领域的薪水会比基础教育和文科高, for example. 即使你的学生并不确切地知道“他们长大后想做什么”,他们也有可能被某一领域所吸引. 

Federal Student Loans Come First

If you’re borrowing for college, 你应该先申请联邦学生贷款,然后再申请私人贷款. 不仅是联邦学生贷款的利率通常较低, 还款选项要好得多(只有联邦贷款提供基于收入的还款和公共服务贷款减免).)

That said, 许多家庭没有意识到,他们的学生无法通过联邦学生贷款借到支付大学费用所需的一切. There are thresholds. If you’re an undergraduate, 你在一学年可借入的直接资助贷款和直接非资助贷款的最高总额为5元,500 and $12,500, depending on the year in school and a student’s dependency status, according to the U.S. Department of Education. Graduate students can borrow up to $20,500 in Direct Unsubsidized Loans each academic year.

When That’s Not Enough

If you need more, 有两种主要的选择:私人学生贷款(通常需要家长共同签署)和联邦家长PLUS贷款(家长直接贷款)。. 虽然PLUS贷款与其他联邦学生贷款共享一些方便的还款条款, you should compare both types. 私人学生贷款的利率可能会更高或更低,这取决于你的信用. 但是,PLUS贷款的初始费用超过4%,这是私人贷款所没有的. The most important thing is — once again — not to overborrow. 即使你不知道你的学生最后的大学费用,直到他们高中最后一年, 你仍然可以提前计算一下你和你的学生可以支付多少贷款. 要了解贷款偿还情况,请查看这个 student loan simulator from studentaid.gov.

What’s The Expectation With Your Debt?

最后,在你借钱之前,最好讨论一下偿还债务的问题. 许多家庭共同签署私人学生贷款,他们明白贷款将成为他们学生的责任,父母的名字最终将被取消作为共同签署人. (注:家长PLUS贷款属于家长,不能转交给学生. 即使学生计划帮助支付,贷款也将永远在父母的名下.)尽管从私人贷款中去掉父母的名字最终可能会对一些家庭起作用, according to Luanne Lee, a college planner and owner of Your College Planning Coach, 超过50%的学生在申请解除父母作为共同签署人的身份时被拒绝.

“That’s because they’re not making enough, they haven’t been in the workplace long enough, or their credit-to-debt ratio is too high,” she says. That means the loan remains attached to the parent, 它还会影响父母为其他孩子或购买汽车等东西借钱的能力. And as with any loan on which you co-sign, the parents would be liable for payments if a student misses them.

At the end of the day, 要想控制你的债务,最好的经验法则是Kantrowitz的建议:不要在大学毕业的第一年借钱超过你的预期工资.