private law loans

[StevePirates]

Anyone had any experience getting cost of living loans?  My school gave me a full ride, but not enough to actually live in San Diego.  Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[jillibean]

did you fill out a FAFSA? If so, you school should have sent you an award letter by now. You may want to go online to your account and check it out or call the fin aid office. You can take out Stafford and Grad Plus loans to cover cost of living, since you got a full ride you probably only need stanford loans.

[StevePirates]

did you fill out a FAFSA? If so, you school should have sent you an award letter by now. You may want to go online to your account and check it out or call the fin aid office. You can take out Stafford and Grad Plus loans to cover cost of living, since you got a full ride you probably only need stanford loans.

I have my award letter already, the loans they gave me don't cover my true cost of living, though it is close.  I am an older student (late twenties) who is coming off of a paralegal career so my cost of living is a bit on the higher side.  My school does this "student budget" thing to make sure that students don't take out more than they can afford to repay.

They are being inflexible on raising it.  I just need about an extra 5K per year to live.  I'd need an extra 12K a year to make up the difference between what they are offering and what I earn now.  So, I'm looking for any type of additional financial aid I can to make up the difference.

But thank you very much for the suggestion, I definitely appreciate the help!

[verbal]

You can take out an education maximizer loan through chase or bank of america. I did that to pay off all of my old debt befor law school started. The rates are ok but not great. Its about a 3 percent origination fee and then about 8.5 percent interest a year. You can take out up to 40,000 dollars. I hope this helps.

[Dr. Balsenschaft]

did you fill out a FAFSA? If so, you school should have sent you an award letter by now. You may want to go online to your account and check it out or call the fin aid office. You can take out Stafford and Grad Plus loans to cover cost of living, since you got a full ride you probably only need stanford loans.

I have my award letter already, the loans they gave me don't cover my true cost of living, though it is close.  I am an older student (late twenties) who is coming off of a paralegal career so my cost of living is a bit on the higher side.  My school does this "student budget" thing to make sure that students don't take out more than they can afford to repay.

They are being inflexible on raising it.  I just need about an extra 5K per year to live.  I'd need an extra 12K a year to make up the difference between what they are offering and what I earn now.  So, I'm looking for any type of additional financial aid I can to make up the difference.

But thank you very much for the suggestion, I definitely appreciate the help!

I'm 30 and I cut my cost of living in more than half to attend law school. I suggest you do the same. You get used to it after a couple months.

[StevePirates]

How'd your wife feel about that?

....see my problem?

did you fill out a FAFSA? If so, you school should have sent you an award letter by now. You may want to go online to your account and check it out or call the fin aid office. You can take out Stafford and Grad Plus loans to cover cost of living, since you got a full ride you probably only need stanford loans.

I have my award letter already, the loans they gave me don't cover my true cost of living, though it is close.  I am an older student (late twenties) who is coming off of a paralegal career so my cost of living is a bit on the higher side.  My school does this "student budget" thing to make sure that students don't take out more than they can afford to repay.

They are being inflexible on raising it.  I just need about an extra 5K per year to live.  I'd need an extra 12K a year to make up the difference between what they are offering and what I earn now.  So, I'm looking for any type of additional financial aid I can to make up the difference.

But thank you very much for the suggestion, I definitely appreciate the help!

I'm 30 and I cut my cost of living in more than half to attend law school. I suggest you do the same. You get used to it after a couple months.

[jacy85]

I'm 30 and I cut my cost of living in more than half to attend law school. I suggest you do the same. You get used to it after a couple months.

Ditto (not about being 30, but about cutting my budget.  It's entirely possible to live within the budget you're given in most cases (not all cases though; having children is one good exception).

And if your wife has a problem with it, my thought is that you might have a problem with more than the student budget.  For spouses and significant others, law school is nothing but a 3 year compromise/sacrifice in just about every area of your relationship.  For it to work, the SO really has to be on board 150% (at least from my own experience and that of my friends)

[lawchick09]

my school is ridiculous when it comes to the amount we're allowed to take out- essentially every semester (5 months), I'm given $4000... only $4,000!!!!!! Maybe I'm nuts, but does that seem a little on the low side for anyone? I'm not married with children, so it's just me, but are you guys capable of living on $800 a month??? There is just no way to budget that without having to give up something like eating for a week here and there. So if you all have found a private loan that will provide money without the permission of the school, any info would be greatly appreciated.

[Gwiz]

What school is that?  What is the cost of living there.   You may want to consider coupon clipping, or changing your diet.  Sam's club is a place that was suggested to me to buy some of the non-perishable goods.  If you by grains like rice place them in sealed containers.

Change your transportation plan, try carpools instead of driving.  Is there public transit?  In the winter reduce you gas bill by lowering the temp during the day, and using thicker blankets at night. study at the library at night and save your electricity.

It may be easier to find ways to cut your budget than to have to deal with loan interest and payback.  I know youl'll need the xtra loan but I just hope you cover all of your bases.  Everyone (most) is making a sacrifice for future returns.  You won't be the only one. 

[StevePirates]

Thanks to everyone for the suggestions.  We're definitely cutting back on our expenses, but there are only so many places you can cut back.  We both own our cars outright, we don't really go out for dinner that often, and she's a vegetarian, so we don't even have very high food costs.

San Diego has no real public transportation, and I live about 12 miles from campus.  Fortunately the weather is always perfect so no AC/heater bills, and we use florescent lights so our power bill is just about $20 a month.  It's our rent that kills it.  $1350.00 for a one bedroom apartment,  welcome to paradise, eh?

I took the LSAT's on a whim, I never really thought much about going to law school, I was perfectly happy being a paralegal.  But my scores got me in for free, so no reason not to go, plus when I'm out, I am looking forward to the promotion.  I just need slightly more money to live in that time period than the school thinks I do.

And since my loans will be so low for tuition, I'd rather take our additional loans, since even with the additional loans, I'll still end up owing less than the rest of my classmates.