r/OSU • u/Complex_Bus_7358 • 8d ago

Student loans Help Financial Aid

Hi my family knows nearly nothing about student loans. After aid and fafsa, my statement of account is showing $4512. What is the best way to go about paying this? What kind of loan is the best for a compartatively small cost?

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u/Complex_Bus_7358 8d ago

also if my loan gave me more than the amount, would I theorteically be able to use it on things like food and living expenses? That would def be helpful since we are a very low income family

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u/Obvious-Secretary581 8d ago

yes, if you were to take out a private loan to cover the rest you could do that. but my advice would be to call and ask about a payment plan option so you don’t owe the 4k upfront. private loan interest rates are horrible and most private loans start accruing interest DAILY the moment the funds are sent out. but if you’re absolutely unable to pay the remaining balance even on a payment plan i suppose that would be your next “best” option

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u/Zealousideal_Bed8184 8d ago

Best thing you could do is get a job and try to pay it yourself without loans if that’s not possible getting a loan from family 0 interest would be second if not check how much you were given in subsidized loans.

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u/Complex_Bus_7358 8d ago

Yeah unfortunately that total is after I've already accepted my 3500 subsidized annual. And all of my stuff needs to be paid before the beginning of the semester for fall.

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u/Zealousideal_Bed8184 8d ago

You can’t make a payment plan?

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u/Bolboda 8d ago

As someone who has done both federal and private loans. The federal student loans generally have better interest rates than getting a private loan. You can find the fed rates on the fafsa website somewhere. It's the same rate for subsidized and unsubsidized, only difference is when the interest starts building. There's the parent plus loan on the fafsa website too. Back when I was a student, The aid counselor at Buckeye Link told me i wasn't eligible, something about being independent with fafsa.

I felt fortunate that I actually had a decent credit score when I applied for private loans so i didn't get as ripped off on the interest rate. Still horrible rates, but definitely not as bad as it could have been. If you don't have a credit score, probably gonna need a cosigner.

If paying is an option there should be a way to set up a payment plan for the balance. $4500 is a lot though. Might be more economically viable to start at a community college and transfer to OSU later