dad won't co-sign my student loan and I have been declined (again) :(

I just found out that my loan for living expenses has been declined. This is the second one that I have been denied in the last couple weeks; apparently it is something to do with the amount of loans that I have taken out (TERI claim that my cumulative education debt exceeds their "program guidelines" which it doesn't, and GRADLOANS say they might accept me with a co-signer but not on my own). I was given the option of reapplying with a co-signer, which would mean that the loan would be approved. However, when I broached the topic with my father he said that people are hesitant to be co-signers, that it was something he did in the past. Has anyone else been in this situation?

What would you suggest? I only have 2 years left of my PhD. Stafford is fine with providing the money for the tuition, which it barely covers, but then there is the question of how I'm going to meet living expenses ... 

I don't really know what I would do other than sit down and have a serious discussion with my dad about it. Maybe if you let him know that you would consolidate all your loans into only your name after your PhD is finished? I thought technically you didn't have to repay loans until you're done with school, so this isn't exactly like co-signing on an auto-loan. You're not going to miss any payments in his name if you refinance the loan into only your name after you graduate, therefore the only thing it would do to his credit would be to increase his debt to income ratio a little. So in a way, it's a temporary and pretty insignificant impact on his credit.

Anyone else have thoughts?

do you have any other family?

do you have any other family?

I was thinking about my godfather. However, I am not in contact with him that much and the whole idea of asking someone else is freaking me out.

SomedayintheUK, you make a great point; that is what my husband told me as well. I am still humiliated from talking to my dad so I am not sure if I would explain that to him right away, but I would if the issue is brought up again.

I am going to apply for a part-time job at the university. There is one I know about right now that would be great. I would be very happy if that worked out. Even if that meant cancelling my plane tickets to see my family in Oct/Nov for a couple weeks.

Tomorrow I am going in to talk to Craig, the man dealing with my loans at my uni. I will also try to speak to the International Student Officer if that is helpful.

I must admit I am half tempted to quit and get a full-time research/teaching/admin job after getting FLR, but that is probably the stress and pain speaking.

Thanks again for the comments.

Definitely don't quit! You are so close, if you can just squeeze through these two more years you will be SO happy you did! Hang in there, and definitely have a chat with Craig. A part time job will help, and you never know, he may have more information on how you can get a few grants here and there. Good luck!

Definitely don't quit! You are so close, if you can just squeeze through these two more years you will be SO happy you did! Hang in there, and definitely have a chat with Craig. A part time job will help, and you never know, he may have more information on how you can get a few grants here and there. Good luck!

Thanks for being so lovely! I'll see what connections and suggestions that he has for me.

I'm not sure I  understand your dad's response. Was he a definite no? He says, "people are hesitant to do this" and "it's something he's done in the past". Does this mean HE'S hesitant and he's been burned in the past?? I can understand this as I know some people who have been burned by co-signing loans for acquaintances, but that's because they were in college at the time and barely knew the people. They weren't other family members. Good luck. I don't have any advice, other than can you consider a personal loan (perhaps one here in the UK), rather than getting another US loan?

Hi Zingy

Damn that PhD is so close. FFS DON'T QUIT NOW. You're in the groove, keep going! Yea you could resume your studies in the future but it is much harder to get back into the swing of things later, specially once you start working. Not impossible, just really hard. I know.

But I have to ask, what living expenses do you require? I know a lot of people here that eke by on just one salary. I am assuming your husband works and you have a roof over your head already.

BUT don't even think of stopping. It'll be worth it in the end.

Yes, take it from someone who had to stop. It's very hard to get back into the groove once you've stopped. ESPECIALLY if kids are in the picture!

I don't know what your relationship with your Dad is, but like Bmore suggests, I'd go have another chat with him. What are you studying again? What are your job prospects once finished? Can you go to jobs.ac.uk to show him how employable you'll be once finished?

I'm also not getting this loan limit. I have huge amounts of debt having had some small loans in undergrad and then 2 masters and 2 years of a PhD. I just hit the limit. Have you made a list of your debt and asked TERI and GRADLOANS to show you how theirs differ?

Hope you can get this sorted out as you'll have one more year to fund after this!

Thanks so much for your comments! I appreciate your encouragement so much. My husband, Saj, spent an hour and a half talking to my dad about the loan situation. We both didn't get to sleep until around 2AM. Apparently, my dad wanted more information, especially about how he wouldn't have his name on it after I consolidated in a couple years. He is going to ask around the family and see if anyone else would co-sign. I wish he would just do it himself right now and save me some stress, but first he wants to see whether I absolutely need him to do it; I am waiting for him to get my credit report and send it here so I know why the loan companies are denying me. That will probably take at least a few weeks because I just ordered my credit report a couple days ago. In the meantime, I wonder if the TERI representative at my uni will offer me any hope about sorting out the situation. I normally really get on with my dad, but money is obviously a stressful topic for him. I just felt insulted when he denied me and seemed to discourage me from approaching my godfather. I have to hope things will improve.

Applying for jobs will make me feel more in control of the situation as well. I was going to attend a postgrad summer school as a tutor and student in Italy 24 Aug- 8 Sept (I have a grant that covers tuition, accommodation, so I would need to pay for food, the travel expenses get reimburses at 75% later), however in between my TMJ and my present situation, I am not sure about going anymore, especially if it was between starting a part-time job in the beginning of September or going to Italy.

balmerhon, you make a good point about the difficulty of getting back into the groove once you've stopped. I really want to have a child in the future and would have more stability if I complete this PhD.

Sorry your having so much trouble with your loans!  I would also suggest talking to your dad again. Theres nothing to be 'humiliated' about.. hes your father.. and hopefully he will come around and help you out. 

I dont know what your current financial situation is with your husband.. but if you have the Stafford loan to cover your tuition, and work part time... can your husband take over the cost of some of your living expenses while you finish your degree? Like, you buy the groceries and contribute what you can towards the bills and he pays the rent.. or is this just not at all possible?

I hope you sort everything out Candace.

Take care,
Chrissy

I don't have any advice about the loan situation, which sounds really crummy, but I also want to encourage you to not quit now just because of money problems. My husband and I got by on my stipend through the 6 years of my PhD and have a fair amount of credit card debt to pay off as a result, but I don't really regret that--in a year or two the debt will be gone and I'll still have the PhD. 

I get pretty anxious about money, too, so I know it's difficult, but it's important to look at the long term and not focus on the current problems. If you're looking to get a full-time research or teaching position you'll almost certainly have better prospects and better pay with the PhD finished. Also, from the long-term point of view the summer school in Italy sounds like a great CV builder and networking opportunity--if you want an academic career that's exactly the sort of thing to jump on.

One idea might be to sign up with some temp agencies to see if you can get some jobs that would bring in some immediate income while leaving you with the flexibility to go to Italy.

I really hope things work out for you. I'm convinced that the actual work is just about the easiest bit of a PhD. The personal and social factors can be so difficult, but if it's what you truly want to do, it is worth it in the end. Hang in there!

Sorry your having so much trouble with your loans!  I would also suggest talking to your dad again. Theres nothing to be 'humiliated' about.. hes your father.. and hopefully he will come around and help you out. 

I dont know what your current financial situation is with your husband.. but if you have the Stafford loan to cover your tuition, and work part time... can your husband take over the cost of some of your living expenses while you finish your degree? Like, you buy the groceries and contribute what you can towards the bills and he pays the rent.. or is this just not at all possible?

I hope you sort everything out Candace.

Take care,
Chrissy

Hi,


As the aforementioned hubby, I pay for most of the bills and the rent being in two semi-permanent part-time jobs that add up to 37.5hrs/week, but my income barely covers it all (even after a pared-down budget which I very fastidiously maintain), and I have student loan debt/ and a bank student loan debt to repay on a regular basis as well - I'm in the process of sorting out my financial situation, and ideally I would like to cover all the living costs from my wage packet alone, but then there does need to be some money allocated for things like books/conferences and my wife's one flight a year back to the states to visit her folks, as well as for things like medical bills that aren't covered by the NHS, which I guess even if zingyscholar got a little bit towards, it would mean that the budget wasn't so squeezed; it is not an impossible situation by any means, but obviously it is quite upsetting to have this uncertainty on top of my missus's ill-health about how much she could get - however she has been very successful in getting part-time work before, so I'm sure that will be an option that will help as well ... I will pull out all the stops to make sure she completes her PhD, regardless as she has a lot of potential and I am sure the long-term future is bright, despite the financial difficulties right now ...

Hi Sajadhoffhussain

Awwwe, your such a wonderful husband. Shes very lucky to have someone so supportive.

I didnt mean to pry into your financial status at all and i hope it didnt come across that way, i just was wondering because although it isnt the case for me & DH, some couples split everything completely down the middle (bills, rent, etc) and if that was the case, finances could have been re-assessed... although, its clear that isnt the case for you and your wife.

You and zingyscholar make a good team and its important to see the light at the end of the tunnel.  I hope you work everything out and get a co-signer.

Take care,
Chrissy

I've always accessed my credit reports online. Its immediate. http://www.experian.com/ (you can get one with info from all 3 credit bureaus on this site). You're entitled to one free one every year and you're able to get it from this site (or should be able to): https://www.annualcreditreport.com/cra/index.jsp