This is for all the students who want to go to college and think student loans are the only way to pay for it. Well, for many of us who are not independently wealthy, it IS practically the only way to pay for it! Here’s a little advice before signing on the dotted line.
-Know Who You Are Dealing With.
Despite HESAA’s history as a state agency with (often rude) employees paid by your tax dollars to dole out TAG grants and other awards, the NJCLASS student loans side of HESAA is run just like any other business, arguably worse. They don’t care about your ambitions to go to school, despite what their propaganda filled with happy students claim. They care first and foremost about making a buck from you the “consumer” aka average person who wants to better your life. Call HESAA and ask about interest rates, find out how they will make you pay. As such the first thing they will want from you, no matter what your actual financial status or credit worthiness is a cosigner.
This isn’t like your phone bill where the worst thing that can happen is they turn your phone off, this is potentially a financial rip off so monumental that you could be stuck paying your loans off – and a shit-ton of interest – well into your adult life. So I advise think twice before you take these loans (as my whole blog should really help you see.)
I was going to make this an enormous rant but I need to hear from more of you. Send your own rant to me, Mark, at hesaahell@gmail.com