Is 13k in Parent plus loans a lot?

Question

So I need housing and my dorm is $6,913 per semester. I received $14,458 in Financial aid funding (Full pell grant, a small sub and unsub loan), covering all my tuition. My mom applied for a second plus loan (because she took one out for 3k two years ago and deferred it until after I graduate) and got approved for a $10,500 PPP loan to put towards my housing. I had to cancel my meal plan to be able to cover the remaining cost of my housing this semester. But here is the problem: my mom walks up to me a couple days after I tell her I received my keys to say she will be going to my school to remove the plus loan. She’s worried about being in more debt, and wants me to stay home for one semester and stay in my dorm for the following semester. I disagreed, and this is mainly because I requested housing due to the toxic environment I have at home and I am worried being in an environment like that will affect my mental health further from how bad it is now and my schooling. I understand being in debt is not ideal, but this is not the only thing she has on her credit and her wanting to just opt out out of the blue and not consider my feelings in the situation as well. If she removes the pell grant, it will put my student account in a -6k debt and I tried to explain that to her, but she is the type of parent that hard to talk to. She’s worried about not being able to get her house next year and applying for different things because of this “plus loan”. I have tried to apply for private loans and other loans but my credit hasn’t as great either which was why i convinced her to take out the plus loan. What should I do?

WindAtMyBack · Answer

We don't know her financial situation. If she says she can't afford it, then she probably can't. I suspect she is telling the truth. Other than her simply saying it, there is one clue in what you wrote:

"she took one out for 3k two years ago and deferred it until after I graduate"

if she is deferring a 3K loan, it tells me she is not swimming in money. The numbers you mention are not trivial amounts. For the average person that is a lot of money. For some people it's a huge amount of money. Only a small percentage of the population could throw that kind of money around without blinking an eye.

You are NOT entitled to her money. You are NOT entitled to a loan. You are NOT entitled to go to college. If you can't find a way to make it work, then consider getting a full time job and start saving your money. You can delay college for a few years then reevaluate things. By then you might have a better picture of what you want to do (which will almost certainly change over the years).

MrOracle · Answer

Here's the bottom line: you aren't entitled to her money or her credit. The reasons why don't really matter - it's completely up to her whether or not she will do that, and if she won't, there's nothing you can do but seek alternative funding.

This is none of my business, so you don't need to answer if you don't want to, but do you have a career plan that both absolutely requires college AND has a high likelihood of paying a high enough salary to repay your loans? And have you double-checked that lately?

in my opinion, more than half the people who go to college gain no benefit from their degree once they enter the workforce. Businesses have stopped requiring degrees in many fields and instead are looking for EXPERIENCE - so staying at home and working a low-paid internship may well be far better for your career than a degree - and many professions will actually pay you to go to school (usually you have to take night classes) after you've worked there a while and if a degree would be relevant to your position.

Don't just assume that going to college and getting some random degree is going to guarantee you a good job. Starbucks and McDonalds and Home Depot are FULL of workers with degrees who can't get a job in their desired field. So if you ARE going to college, you'd better be DAMN sure you're likely to get a job. For example, a nursing degree would be useful - going to law school probably would not (there's a huge glut of JDs who can't get work as a lawyer because law schools have been cranking out far more than there is demand).

Again, you don't have to answer these questions to me, but you'd better have answers for yourself. Going to college for 4 (or more) years means delaying the start of your career AND going into debt - unless you are absolutely 100% positive you will use that degree in your career, and that career will pay well enough to pay off the debt easily - then you should reconsider college and go right to work.

Anonymous · Answer

If she’s that toxic, she might not be willing to take out a loan so you can live somewhere else

Is 13k in Parent plus loans a lot?

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Is 13k in Parent plus loans a lot?

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Do you think $13.50 is a good pay for someone that's trying to save up to get their own place?

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