Housing and potential loans problems lurking, how to procede?

[budgiepie]

I was accepted into a MS program and was planning to live with relatives who lived 7mi away from the school. They agreed but they now (might) want to move due to a family crisis that popped up last month. This might leave me without housing in a high cost area, most grads/undergrads house hunted a few months ago or applied for campus housing back in March.

 

Another issue is with my student loans, I have issues getting my new student loan servicer to process an unemployment deferrement (they say they haven't processed a form I sent back in Feb). I worry how this will affect and delay new loans I have to get for the MS. I have a small amount of fin aid and a teaching assistanceship but its way too little to support me alone in this area.

 

I spent most of sophomore year of college homeless but I doubt I can handle the same stresses in an unfamilar city as a grad student with a heavier load and all that.

 

So how should I procede from here? Most offices on this particular campus are closed/on limited time for the next few weeks.

[nugget]

My sympathies. This sounds like a rough spot to be in. Your situation reminds me of this guy in a story I read on the internet. While it's far from ideal, would this solution be an option for you at all? (You can scroll down towards the end of the article if you like).

 

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/duke-grad-student-secretly-lived-in-a-van-to-escape-loan-debt-194021112.html

 

 

Naturally, the above can also be done more comfortably with a camper, trailer or motor home, if you have a access to a patch of grass or driveway.

 

Otherwise, you might need to try to defer your offer for a year and use the extra year to find additional sources of funding in addition to working and saving all the money you possibly can. Is a deferral a possibility? An extra year would also allow you to apply to other schools next year and try to get into a cheaper school or one that offers more funding. For instance, international tuition fees in Canada are quite low and we have some good schools with a strong international reputation, such as U of Toronto and McGill University.   

 

Best of luck!!

Edited July 5, 2013 by jenste

[budgiepie]

Couldn't live in car, don't have one and never learned to drive. I might be able to defer, (I'll have to wait until Mon to try to contact anyone) I do worry how this will look to other schools if I apply elsewhere.

[IRToni]

Would taking out loans be enough to live on in the region? If so, I wouldn't give up just yet. Call your loan provider and tell them that it's urgent, if you call directly, they're often able to make sure things go through a sort-of sped-up process. In addition, try looking through craigslist etc. for sublents. Sometimes, a student will spend a semester abroad and sublet their place for just a couple of months, giving you the option of staying there until you find something permanent/can apply to uni housing. When will your relatives move? Depending on when they move, there might be the possibility of staying with them, and looking for a permanent place while there, which is bound to be easier than looking for a place from far away.

 

I wouldn't give up just yet, try to get the process sped up, get some definitive answers, and look for private housing.

[budgiepie]

For a new update seems the school knows what's up (didn't even contact them) and is offering me a chance to withdraw my acceptance because of the loan delay issue. My non loan fin aid wouldn't be enough to even split an apartment with some other students (need 800/mo for a room split then transport costs and food). To make things even worse my relatives are moving the 20th of this month, so no help there.

 

Before I give up I'll call fin aid, that terrible loan provider and then tell the dean/housing if they have any help. If it doesn't work, oh well now for round three but at least I got accepted a few places instead of pure rejection.

[michigan girl]

If you haven't done this already, apply for the GradPLUS loans. It will cover up to your cost of attendance. It's better than private loans.

[nugget]

I hope your loan request works out. Did they give you the option of deferring?

 

If it doesn't end up working out in your favour this year, just spend the upcoming months making your application even stronger so that you will get a better offer next year with more funding.

 

Best of luck!

[budgiepie]

This school doesn't do deferrments, only withdrawls. If it does come to that I'll just refuse to fill out my student health program forms.

 

Anyway least the financial aid situation has been cleared up (loan provider finally finished processing paperwork). I just hope loans can cover trying to find a place on short notice. I won't know an exact amount for a few more weeks.

[budgiepie]

Looking at it now the loans+aid won't be able to cover a split with a roomie (need 7-800/mo and 7-1k deposit which will either drain 100% of the money or be too much not to mention hotel and bus fees while hunting).

 

I applied to a MS since I very much doubt I can improve my application on my own in my location/situation, so I'll basically spend another year not doing much aside from some tutoring.

[MsDarjeeling]

Budgiepie I'm sorry about your situation and I totally understand as a fellow Cali resident.  If you haven't withdrawn yet and still want to try to make it work you could check craigslist for jobs that provide room and/or board.  I sometimes see posts requesting paid roommates for someone with disabilities and since they have some independence they're usually open to students.  The wage is often not much more than minimum wage, but rent and utilities are covered.  I've also occasionally seen posts for live in housesitters or housekeepers.  Sometimes they pay a small salary and waive rent/utilities and other times they just waive rent/utilities.

 

Oh and does your school offer work study/teaching assistant/research assistant jobs?  If they do and there are still positions available that could certainly give your budget a small boost.

Edited July 17, 2013 by MsDarjeeling

[nugget]

Sorry to hear about that. If all else fails and you do end up applying again next year, try to work and save as much money as you can (even if you have to be a bartender or work in a factory, whatever, to supplement your income from tutoring). If you can manage to put away $1000 per month between now and next September, that should cover most of your rent for grad school for about 2 years, in case you run into a similar issue next year.

 

I've heard of students living in a 1 bedroom or 2 bedroom apartment with a living room that has a door/door frame and renting out the living room as a bedroom to another student. Your rent would be extremely cheap if you did this.

 

Then again, maybe you'll end up getting a really good scholarship next year and none of this will even be an issue.

 

Best of luck!

Edited July 17, 2013 by jenste