subscribe to feed

Danielle, Class of 2006

How did you initially plan to pay for your PSU education?
Loans, loans and more loans. I knew my parents could not afford to pay out of pocket for my out of state tuition.

If you borrowed money…how easy was it to borrow?
It was somewhat easy because my parents have very good credit so starting out applying for loans with them as co-signers made it very easy to get approval to get loans.

What did you think about repaying your student loans, when you were borrowing them?
It was always a thought in the back of mind so when I took out loans I tried to get them in the lowest amounts possible so it would be less to pay back and that meant less interest. I also paid a lot of attention to consolidation and the rates as they were rising and lowering. My father is very financially savvy so he kept me up to date on what I should be doing and looking out for, I would have been lost without him. It also helped me a lot because he made sure I was apart of the process so I learned along with it as well.

Did you use your student loan money for things other than your cost of education?
I took out student loans from my credit union for educational purposes so just for tuition and books but that is it and any other educational costs that came up, never for personal use. the thought that I always had to pay it back was always in my head so I never bit off more than I could chew and it has worked out very well for me.

What is your experience with credit card usage and credit card debt?
I actually have been able to avoid getting a credit card so I have never had the joy and pain of using one and paying them off.

When you were a PSU student did you budget?
Yes! I do not think I could have made it through college without budgeting out my money. I worked a lot and knew roughly how much each pay check would be and some would go to cell phone bills and car payments and groceries. whatever I had left was used for a savings account I kept for saving and emergencies that come up like my car breaking down. The rest was for personal use like going to the movies.

Did you have a summer job or a job during the school year to help with your expenses?
I worked every summer during high school and my work ethic followed me through college and I worked every summer all during my undergraduate career. I knew I would need a job to support myself through school so I applied to the HUB during my first year orientation and have been working in the HUB ever since (going on 5 years).

Explain your financial situation now.
My financial situation now is a paycheck by paycheck type of gig. I live on my own so have rent and bills and own my own car so payments and insurance come along with that. Luckily I do not pay student loans yet because I decided to continue my education and work towards my masters degree here at PSU.

Is there financial information you wish you had known as a student that would help you now?
I feel if I had not had my father guiding me I would have been clueless because a lot of my friends were. I feel a lot of information especially during orientation is geared towards parents not students. I just think a finical aid session geared towards students would be just as helpful and effective.

Knowing what you know now about finances...would you have done anything different? I do not think so, I mean it is tempting to take more money out in a loan so I do become financially secure in some ways but I rather have little now and have to pay less later and I just keep telling myself that.

What do you think would be the most effective way(s) to provide information to students about personal finance?
Programming designed for students, power points online, seminars, lectures, etc...