not taking out the full loan Forum

[anjmissy]

I hear its never good to agree to take out a loan for the full cost of living, because in most instances you never need that much anyway..does anyone have anything to say on the matter..since there are no more interest free loans i really don't want to take out money and not need it

[bk1]

Well if you can figure out how much it will cost you to live then just take that out.

The CoA's listed by schools are just a guideline. Obviously use your own judgment. If it's going to cost you the full amount then take that amount. Different people require different amounts. Some people have kids, some are not willing to give up a certain standard of living, some have mortgages, etc.

[rinkrat19]

If you're going to be living in an entirely new place, you may not have a perfect idea of how much COL will be there. I, personally, plan on taking out full COA the first year, and if it happens to be too much, then I just have extra money left over to reduce the next year's loan. Maybe not the perfect solution in terms of interest compounding, but I'd hate to get to May and realize I have to live on ramen and tap water for the rest of the year because I underestimated how much it costs to live in Chicago.

[stewie27]

Check with your financial aid office. At my school the counselor said I could go talk to him and apply for another loan afterwards if I didn't take enough, but obviously that's not a great situation to be in. If you already know where you'll be living/rent and have experience buying your own food/books in undergrad, I think it's fairly easy to figure out a budget. I ended up taking out far less than COA and I should have extra left over this semester. Although I did have some savings and I live like a pauper, so this might not be the case for you.

[anjmissy]

If you're going to be living in an entirely new place, you may not have a perfect idea of how much COL will be there. I, personally, plan on taking out full COA the first year, and if it happens to be too much, then I just have extra money left over to reduce the next year's loan. Maybe not the perfect solution in terms of interest compounding, but I'd hate to get to May and realize I have to live on ramen and tap water for the rest of the year because I underestimated how much it costs to live in Chicago.

this sounds like a great plan..thanks a lot..i was on fin aid for undergrad and do my own grocery shopping and pay my own rent and the works and the school i will be attending budgets about 8k a semester for COL but I doubt I will need that much since living in Lexington, VA isnt much at all, but it does sound doable to just take out the full thing and compare that to the next year.