Recommend a life insurance company for college age child?

[NHdisneylover]

My DD's best friend some how cobbled together $50,000 in Government loans this academic year. But she is independent from her parents, and her University managed to find all kinds of special loans based on her ethnic background etc.

I will be honest and say that I seriously doubt you have the 100% correct story about your DD's best friend (that all 50K is in loans and all that federal loans for only one year--heck, at that rate, she'll go over the aggregate limit before she finishes her sophomore year. I wonder if grants and scholarships are involved).

But even if that somehow has occurred--as you say this girl has many special things that would not apply to just any generic college kid--- so your blanket statement is misleading at best.

I hope this does not come across as rude--I am not trying to come down on you, just correct information being put out there; I'd hate for families just getting into the confusing college funding issue to see your post and take it at face value and get a nasty surprise later on. If it were a frequent poster who knew you have a journalism background they might well assume you are a trustworthy source and not look as much further as they ought to.

 

[mjkacmom]

Dd19 has loans through Fannie Mae, we co-signed to get a better interest rate. Her in state public tuition is $15000 a year without room and board, and we were not eligible for federal loans. They will not come after us if she dies (I checked into it, thinking we'd have to get life insurance on her).

 

[justgrace]

That's so interesting! I had never heard of this before.

 

[justgrace]

My DD's best friend some how cobbled together $50,000 in Government loans this academic year. But she is independent from her parents, and her University managed to find all kinds of special loans based on her ethnic background etc.

$50,000 in loans - for one year? Holy smokes! What school is she attending where she would need that much in loans?

I would hate to have to repay that!

 

[tvguy]

I think the most important thing any college bound student, and their parents need to remember is, there are hundreds of millions of dollars of money that the Federal Government, State Government, local service groups (Elks, Moose, Masons), cultural groups and big business give out or lend to college students. NEVER EVER give up on getting that money. This story is from last week. I know this family and their son got $100,000 from P-G and E.
http://fox40.com/2016/05/06/rocklin-high-student-awarded-big-pge-scholarship/

 

[tvguy]

Most College Freshman are not Independent Students. Dependent Student Undergraduate Financial Aid is completely different.

I apologize if I am assuming wrong, but I was reading into the OP's post that they were co-signing for their daughter's loans, not borrowing the money as parents. That seems to indicate an Independent Student in this case.

 

[tvguy]

$50,000 in loans - for one year? Holy smokes! What school is she attending where she would need that much in loans?

I would hate to have to repay that!

$42,414 in tuition. Plus books, fees room and board.
http://www.pacific.edu/Campus-Life/Student-Services/Student-Accounts/Tuition-and-Fees-Stockton.html

This will knock your socks off, the estimated cost for next academic year in total, $61,965.
http://www.pacific.edu/About-Pacifi...nancial-Aid/Estimated-Cost-of-Attendance.html

Even Catholic High School is pricey, $12,745

 

[The Mystery Machine]

Earth. My kids are 25 and 29, and I lived it.

I do too and we have to take out Plus Loans.

 

[tvguy]

I do too and we have to take out Plus Loans.

Exactly what we did. And we put aside $5,000 a year per child for 18 years, and used the $1,100 our house payment was each month for tuition (our house was paid off before the oldest hit college). And WE still needed loans.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

Exactly what we did. And we put aside $5,000 a year per child for 18 years, and used the $1,100 our house payment was each month for tuition (our house was paid off before the oldest hit college). And WE still needed loans.

We do not have anything set aside. We are paying OOP and Plus Loans. Thankfully this dd has scholarships and is going to a smaller school with affordable tuition.

 

[verleniahall]

That is false--the maximum amount that a freshman can borrow from the federal government is $5500 per semester ($9500 if she is manages to be legally not dependent on her parents--but that is hard to do assuming she is just out of highschool). Plenty of schools cost much more than that, even with scholarships, etc--especially more expensive private schools or out of state schools. Now, the parents can add to that with Parent PLUS loans if they have good credit and are willing to cosign, but many are not willing, or lack the credit.

https://studentaid.ed.gov/sa/types/loans/subsidized-unsubsidized#eligibility

Not always true - I went to a private christian college and i was able to get 6500 per semister from the federal goverment

OP - this may be a good time for your student to start thinking about their military service and the paycheck and free tuition that comes with that

 

[mom2rtk]

For a dependent student, the limits for loans they can take out on their own (without a parent signature) are: $5500 Freshman, $6500 Sophomore, $7500 junior/senior.

With 3 kids, we told them they needed to make choices that did not require we sign for any loans.

 

[barkley]

just as a heads up-

when you are looking at different quotes make sure to ask for one from whomever insures your home/car AND ask them to additionally tell you what getting that policy does to the rates for your existing insurance through them (I get a multiple policy discount on my home, auto and life because they are all through the same company-other quotes for stand alone life insurance came in a bit lower but the multi policy discounts ended up causing the life insurance portion to be about 50% below the best rates I could find anywhere else).

 

[justgrace]

$42,414 in tuition. Plus books, fees room and board.
http://www.pacific.edu/Campus-Life/Student-Services/Student-Accounts/Tuition-and-Fees-Stockton.html

This will knock your socks off, the estimated cost for next academic year in total, $61,965.
http://www.pacific.edu/About-Pacifi...nancial-Aid/Estimated-Cost-of-Attendance.html

Even Catholic High School is pricey, $12,745

I totally spaced private university cost - I guess that estimate is about on-par. I checked out a private Christian university when I was applying for schools, but quickly passed it up when I decided not to be up to my eyeballs in debt! lol

I'm fine with being a mere peasant and going to a public university!

 

[A_Princess'_Daddy]

$42,414 in tuition. Plus books, fees room and board.
http://www.pacific.edu/Campus-Life/Student-Services/Student-Accounts/Tuition-and-Fees-Stockton.html

This will knock your socks off, the estimated cost for next academic year in total, $61,965.
http://www.pacific.edu/About-Pacifi...nancial-Aid/Estimated-Cost-of-Attendance.html

Even Catholic High School is pricey, $12,745

Yes, but only 10% of undergraduates at University of Pacific pay "sticker price." 90% receive financial aid, and the average discount rate for students receiving financial aid is about 40%, comprised of both significant need-based and merit aid. That brings the average cost down by close to $17,000, and for students like your daughter's friend, with limited financial means, they are likely receiving significantly more in aid than that.

 

[LisaR]

I think the most important thing any college bound student, and their parents need to remember is, there are hundreds of millions of dollars of money that the Federal Government, State Government, local service groups (Elks, Moose, Masons), cultural groups and big business give out or lend to college students. NEVER EVER give up on getting that money. This story is from last week. I know this family and their son got $100,000 from P-G and E.
http://fox40.com/2016/05/06/rocklin-high-student-awarded-big-pge-scholarship/

I read those stories a hundred times while DD was in the college process. She applied for so many of that "unclaimed" money that's floating around out there and all her efforts got her exactly one $100 scholarship. I don't doubt that an occasional person scores a good one once in awhile, but I just don't believe there's a ton of money that companies simply can't give away.

I think that's one of the two biggest myths of college. The other one is that private colleges offer so much money that it makes them cheaper than public schools. DD received some $25,000 to $35,000 a year scholarships which we thought was spectacular until we realized just how ridiculously priced the private colleges were. Factor in the scholarships offered by the public schools and there was no contest.
Sorry, my little rant went OT!

 

[Star Wars Girl]

I too have never heard of such a thing, and I am in college, but after some research, if you are cosigning a private student loan, it is a good idea to read the fine print and if you are liable if a student passes away, life insurance is a good idea

http://www.forbes.com/sites/robertf...urance-for-your-college-student/#1e7cdbda4253

This website also outlines life insurance for college students, and you can compare
https://www.bestlifequote.com/blog/life-insurance-college-students/

 

[sam_gordon]

Assuming she is just starting college, she should be able to get exclusively Government loans

My DD's best friend some how cobbled together $50,000 in Government loans this academic year.

So once again, you take a single example and make a blanket statement. Since you're in television, can we use this one?... "All News people lie. After all, Brian Williams did."

 

[mustlovecats]

OP - this is a very smart thing to do whatever the terms of the loan say. You can probably get a substantial policy for $10/month. Your employer may also offer very cheap life insurance for dependents up to 26, although that would like top out at $15,000 which may not be enough to cover private loans.

Yes, but only 10% of undergraduates at University of Pacific pay "sticker price." 90% receive financial aid, and the average discount rate for students receiving financial aid is about 40%, comprised of both significant need-based and merit aid. That brings the average cost down by close to $17,000, and for students like your daughter's friend, with limited financial means, they are likely receiving significantly more in aid than that.

The statement regarding 90% of students receive financial aid tends to be misleading. "Financial Aid" can include federal loans and work study which doesn't reduce the cost of the school.

What the college cost calculators say families can afford is also often very different than what families can actually afford to pay. If you live in the Northeast and make an average salary, even most $55,000/year schools postulate that you can afford all or almost all of that cost.

I graduated just a few years ago and while I knew very few people who received a bill for the full amount many of those people only saw a lower up front cost because they received some loans and work study.

So once again, you take a single example and make a blanket statement. Since you're in television, can we use this one?... "All News people lie. After all, Brian Williams did."

This made me LOL.

 

[tzolkin]

I think that's one of the two biggest myths of college. The other one is that private colleges offer so much money that it makes them cheaper than public schools. DD received some $25,000 to $35,000 a year scholarships which we thought was spectacular until we realized just how ridiculously priced the private colleges were. Factor in the scholarships offered by the public schools and there was no contest.
Sorry, my little rant went OT!

I don't really think this classifies as a myth because it is absolutely true in certain circumstances.

The school I attended was a highly ranked and extremely expensive private school. My decision was based on the fact that it was the cheapest by far after all aid was factored in-- I really just paid for books. It was technically the most expensive school I applied to (over $50k/yr back then) but offered more aid.

You can't really lump all private schools together. Some have significantly more funds to pull from and are able to offer more aid than others. Some (like mine) are not need-blind in their admissions process. That means it's more difficult for a poor student to be accepted (they may only take a certain number), but those students then receive all the aid. That makes for a completely different scenario than a school where all the students have financial need and there's still only the same dollar amount to go around.

I know Davidson College has a trust where 100% of financial need is met through grants (no loans).

My DD is a HS senior and two of the private schools she received offers from would be cheaper to attend than the public state schools. (This certainly wasn't the case for all the private schools. One was still going to cost around $30k after financial aid)