NFT: NFT - student loan interest - variable or fixed?

But you should go through this discussion with your child.
Its a major life lesson, getting a loan. Well, money management isnot something taught in school

think long and hard about taking private student loans for undergrad unless it's an ivy league school or an equivalent. These loans aren't subject to income-based repayment options and can ruin credit for both student and co-signor for life. I'd recommend taking a look at state schools because I wouldn't suspect the job opportunities would be that different and having less debt will make a big difference.

As to your question, it's impossible to give advice from the information given. All the particulars of how/when/why/how much the variable rate adjusts have to be considered.

start at a community college first to save a little money, and make sure that he definitely has the mindset to making it through to complete his degree.

Private loans are very tricky, and will be expensive no matter what option you decide on. With most financial institutions the safe play is usually to go with the fixed rate. If you have a variable rate, there is no question that it will go up every year.

Before you make a decision, you should read the small print of the loan details. Find out under the variable rate plan what is the maximum that the rate can increase each year, and do a little math to figure out what would be the maximum interest your son might be paying on the loan after about 10 years. It's possible the variable rate plan might be better.

has an acceptance of 82%.... any private school that has such a high acceptance is not worth the money... Someone was smart enough to tell me to go to Public school over a better private college... The difference of 100K+ in price is not worth it.. I'd tell my kid to look into a state college even if its not highly ranked..

Stony Brook, Binghamton, etc are top notch public schools.

being buried in school loan debt... i like the community college/technical school option first, which are expensive as well, but not quite as expensive as a 4-year.

If it were me I would lock them in while they are basically historically low.

Wow that is high. I don't think I would lock that in.

If able I would take a home equity loan instead of this.

My wife and I are both products of state schools and have done fairly well... I tried my best to "persuade" her to go in that direction..

That being said, we have some math to do to make the best choices going forward.

She did get a decent scholarship from the school 15,500/yr which helps. Me and the Misses are chipping in 40k+ (we cant commit to much more that this because her sister is only 2 years behind so whatever we commit to one we have to have for the other).

I do have plenty of equity in the house and can "loan her" her portion from there but I want her to have skin in the game with her name on the loans. I think it will have a positive effect.

as far as the "worth" of going to college.... this is something I have been wrestling with for some time. I have always been a believer in education but the prices have really skyrocketed with no relief in site. A state school in Ma is almost 20k a year (all included)... 80 - 90k is a lot for a state school in my opinion.

thanks again all.... heading out now to do a little SCUBA diving for lobsters! go Giants!

I think you're making a mistake borrowing money for that caliber of undergraduate degree. Debt for a top notch school is a debatable burden for an undergraduate. But for anything below the top 20 or so colleges, especially in this day and age, debt is almost certainly an unforgiving mistake.

Two years of community college and then transferring into your home state public university for BA/BS is where the smart money is going. Take on debt for a graduate degree, and even that should be on your kids shoulders.

Remember too, you're daughter may want to go to graduate school. And you and your wife will want to retire. That won't be a viable option if your saddled with tens of thousands of dollars paying off a relatively low value undergraduate degree.

Again, all due respect, I get the kids want to go to a particular school. But, its a serious decision that needs to made based on financial reality and long term planning.

it is a lot of money for that school. In the end, a degree is a degree. Your grades do not even matter. What matters most to employers is whether you can do the job and if you have related job experience in that field.

Would recommend any kid to go to a less expensive school that can afford you the time to work part time with companies in the field of choice. That way, the kid graduates with a full resume and immediately is more marketable than all of the other graduates even from more prestigious schools.

Now, about the financing which is really what you wanted to hear about. Suggest looking into a home equity line of credit which is much less expensive and the interest may be tax deductible. Your kid can make the payments. Would be cheaper.