Paying for college

[Trim]

How did/do you all pay for tuition and all the stuff that comes with college?  I got a regular loan after doing the FAFSA app and the government paid KSU all that money at the beginning of each semester, they'd take their chunk of it for tuition, and refunded me the difficernce that I'd use to pay for rent, books, booze, etc.  So all of the people I bought stuff from got cash and were out of the mix, and I owed to the lender at the end.

I'm getting told there's universities and parts of them are owed money themselves, like students are taking classes and paying the school for them later or getting books and housing on credit.  Is that a thing?  I didn't think you could even get in the class or walk out of the store with books or get a key to the dorm without paying for it up front.

So how is this working now? Are students recently racking up small debts to various parts of or affiliated with universities instead of racking up one giant loan to a big lender?

T-Y.

[Spracne]

My previous experience was similar to yours in that the school took out tuition and fees and cut me a check for booze, TVs, rent, etc. it was free money though, and I didn't owe anything to a lender.  I haven't experienced any cases of the school acting as lender, but I do know at UT you have the option to do a payment plan.  In my view, this isn't radically different than paying upfront, since the first payment is due before classes start and must be at least half of what is owed and the last payment is due before the following semester.  This seems more a convenience for parents who are paying out of pocket for their children.  I have seen where the school is willing to offer an "emergency loan" so students can buy books in cases where their funds are delayed, but at UT it is only up to $500. 

[Trim]

So it wouldn't ever be a large amount owed to the school, because half is paid up front and they can't get more classes on credit if they don't pay up first?

[star seed 7]

k-state has like monthly payments i think, but yeah you can't enroll if have over like $25 balance

[Spracne]

I would assume you would not be allowed to enroll the following semester, yes.  I didn't look at it very closely since I will be taking out fed loans to cover the balance minus scholarships and grants.

[420seriouscat69]

Even if you have monthly payments, about 90% schools make you pay up front before starting classes.

[Spracne]

So, Trim, the short answer is no.

Could you imagine the conflict of interest and predatory practices that could arise from that arrangement? No respectable school would want to be a part of that.

[Trim]

And there's probably similar setups for dorms, books, etc.? I do remember that the bookstore would give people expecting loan refund checks a week or 2 of credit to buy books.

[GoodForAnother]

same for me, fed loans paid KSU and I got the excess from KSU. the wife and I now pay a little under a grand every month in loan payments. I call it our vacation house.

[CopperBowl]

So, Trim, the short answer is no.

Could you imagine the conflict of interest and predatory practices that could arise from that arrangement? No respectable school would want to be a part of that.

But what about KU?

[Tobias]

yeah, loaning entities paid ksu directly each semester for me, and I'd get a books/booze surplus check from ksu.  then started paying those loans 6mo after graduation

[Spracne]

So, Trim, the short answer is no.

Could you imagine the conflict of interest and predatory practices that could arise from that arrangement? No respectable school would want to be a part of that.

But what about KU?

Pardon?

[puniraptor]

I think you guys are performing unpaid paralegal work right now

[KCFDcat]

KSU does monthly payments, at least they did when I was there. If you don't have 100% paid off by the next semester they un-enroll you from classes.

I worked 2-3 part time jobs during the school year and a full time job + a part time job or 2 in the summers to pay for school. Paid for roughly 75% in cash and my parents covered the rest. It sucked a whole lot, but compared to those 4 years life after college has been a total breeze.

[Trim]

So how much are we talking about that's owed when one gets Animal'd for not paying up by the next semester?  25-50% of a semester's tuition?

[KCFDcat]

So how much are we talking about that's owed when one gets Animal'd for not paying up by the next semester?  25-50% of a semester's tuition?

not sure what you mean...In my experience 100% of the previous semester's tuition has to be paid before the start of the next semester...

I didn't have to put a certain % down to start the new semester, just pay the first payment of your payment plan. Which, in my case if my memory is right, was 4 installments throughout the semester.

[Trim]

So how much are we talking about that's owed when one gets Animal'd for not paying up by the next semester?  25-50% of a semester's tuition?

not sure what you mean...In my experience 100% of the previous semester's tuition has to be paid before the start of the next semester...

I didn't have to put a certain % down to start the new semester, just pay the first payment of your payment plan. Which, in my case if my memory is right, was 4 installments throughout the semester.

Spracne had said the first payment had to be at least 50%.  Maybe it's less at other places.  I understand that 100% of one semester's tuition has to be paid before the student can advance to another semester.  If it's less that one has to pay - in your case, 25%? - at the outset of the semester on the payment plan, then yeah, I guess it could be a higher amount that's owed when the student quits paying and thus isn't allowed to advance.

But the bottom line is that nobody's getting bounced and owing more than a semester's worth of tuition less whatever their first payment was, right?

[star seed 7]

probably not

[KCFDcat]

So how much are we talking about that's owed when one gets Animal'd for not paying up by the next semester?  25-50% of a semester's tuition?

not sure what you mean...In my experience 100% of the previous semester's tuition has to be paid before the start of the next semester...

I didn't have to put a certain % down to start the new semester, just pay the first payment of your payment plan. Which, in my case if my memory is right, was 4 installments throughout the semester.

Spracne had said the first payment had to be at least 50%.  Maybe it's less at other places.  I understand that 100% of one semester's tuition has to be paid before the student can advance to another semester.  If it's less that one has to pay - in your case, 25%? - at the outset of the semester on the payment plan, then yeah, I guess it could be a higher amount that's owed when the student quits paying and thus isn't allowed to advance.

But the bottom line is that nobody's getting bounced and owing more than a semester's worth of tuition less whatever their first payment was, right?

Yeah, exactly. I  don't know their exact procedure if someone misses a payment. I'm sure it goes to a collection agency at some point. I think it's a good program as I wouldn't have been able to go through college debt-free without it

[nicname]

Pretty sure it's different options wherever you go. Whoever said it's mostly for parents who are paying Junior's tuition, but don't want to/ can't afford to drop an entire semester's worth of money at once.

I went the traditional route at K-State aka get my EFC of 0000, max out schollies, grants and loans and pocket the rest. When I went back to school at Hutch CC, though, a did take advantage of the monthly payment option. Instead of loans, I had the option to pay upfront, slice the semester's tuition in half or pay by the month. I just took option three and paid accordingly. I had to have the previous semester paid off to take the next semester's classes.

[Spracne]

Pretty sure it's different options wherever you go. Whoever said it's mostly for parents who are paying Junior's tuition, but don't want to/ can't afford to drop an entire semester's worth of money at once.

I went the traditional route at K-State aka get my EFC of 0000, max out schollies, grants and loans and pocket the rest. When I went back to school at Hutch CC, though, a did take advantage of the monthly payment option. Instead of loans, I had the option to pay upfront, slice the semester's tuition in half or pay by the month. I just took option three and paid accordingly. I had to have the previous semester paid off to take the next semester's classes.

Go Blue Dragons.

[nicname]

Pretty sure it's different options wherever you go. Whoever said it's mostly for parents who are paying Junior's tuition, but don't want to/ can't afford to drop an entire semester's worth of money at once.

I went the traditional route at K-State aka get my EFC of 0000, max out schollies, grants and loans and pocket the rest. When I went back to school at Hutch CC, though, a did take advantage of the monthly payment option. Instead of loans, I had the option to pay upfront, slice the semester's tuition in half or pay by the month. I just took option three and paid accordingly. I had to have the previous semester paid off to take the next semester's classes.

Go Blue Dragons.

Huge Cordarrelle Patterson fan.

[hemmy]

My dad paid for it.

[Winters]

Pell grant from FAFSA, Stafford loan, $50 scholarship/year from the old HS 

[DQ12]

how's clams paying?  IIRC, his stepdad is footing the bill?