foncia wrote:
EggWhitesOnly wrote:
I think when discussing scholarship award amounts and what people think they should receive, we should be considerate and sensitive to those who did not receive anything.
If you have received a scholarship, you are lucky and should be grateful for the discounted tuition. It is a wonderful gift.
Also, let's just suffice it to say that living standards and bank interest rates are going to vary across the board. US interest rates are also quite high, in my opinion, at 6.8% for Stafford and going all the way up to 12.5% for private loans. Although US salaries may be high, there are always other costs each person bears. In my situation, I own property and will have to fork over property tax and HOA fees for the entire duration of the program. I live in a very expensive area (Silicon Valley) and although housing has not dipped quite as low here, it won't be practical for me to sell in the near future. So that, on top of no scholarship, makes my financial situation a little sticky as well.
It's all relative. But I have confidence I will recoup the costs later on.
having gone to school in socal, i thought there d be more than just stafford or private loans you can take out... (i m not saying the 24.99% credit card rate is an option). perhaps something on the subsidized side (or is that just for undergrad degrees).
also, what about HSBC loans. do you or anyone know if HEC students can take this loan like LBS? if not, are there similar schemes for BNP or other banks like SG (without a French guarantor that is)?
I, along with many of the admitted Americans, have discussed and looked into all possible options at great lengths. The Stafford is comprised of subsidized and unsubsidized, but this still only amounts to $20k at the previous rate I listed. Smart Option, the private
Sallie Mae loan, is the only other federal loan that HEC qualifies for, but this is credit-based. To my knowledge, there is no other student loan scheme out there for HEC (meaning no HSBC loan).
BNP, SG, and the other big French banks have loans available at low interest rates but you must have a French guarantor or a home bank guarantee. And no US bank will provide you with that guarantee.
So your other options are to consider a home-equity line, if that's available to you (if you have both a home and equity in it), borrowing from family (if they have money and are willing to lend it to you), or borrowing from retirement. The last one is probably the most practical, but there are still some rules around it.
If anyone else has come up with other financial solutions, I would certainly love to hear them.