Im supporting 3 college students through college. Im the guardian of all 3 at this time.
Student #1:
Super Senior as of right now, intended graduation Fall 2027 or earlier, if he can complete class requirements in the summer. OBBA'd so no more Parent Plus loans, which was the plan.
Did not meet SAP for his school this semester, so school required a personal loan payment (would not take private loans) Did a 25,000 loan with Citibank, payments are 570/mo for 5 years at 12.99APR.
It is likely that he WILL meet SAP for next semester, in which case COA will go down by at least 5,000 as he will be eligible for a grant for that amount. However if he does not, cost will be about 21,000 for the semester Spring 2027, and more for Summer/Fall 2027 (as needed).
Housing: Paying out of pocket 950/month. Previous years I used Parent Plus refund from the school to pay for housing. If SAP is met in January, housing costs can be covered in a private student loan that he can apply for at that time.
Food: Paying out of pocket 480/month
Student #2:
Super Senior as of right now, intended graduation Fall 2027 or earlier, if he can complete class requirements in the summer. OBBA'd so no more Parent Plus loans, which was the plan.
DID meet SAP for his school this semester, so school SHOULD accept a personal loan payment (application is in progress.) I am not sure if the loan, once accepted, will cover both semesters, or just the one. Its not likely that I will need to do a personal loan for Spring 2027/forward, but...it is a possibility. Its hard for me to estimate how much he will need to finish schooling at this time, because of the loan.
It is likely that he WILL meet SAP for next year, in which case COA will go down by at least 5,000 as he will be eligible for a grant for that amount. However if he does not, cost will be about 21,000 for the semester Spring 2027, and more for Summer/Fall 2027 (as needed).
Housing: Student housing, cost incorporated into his financial aid package, which included a grant of 5k for this semester and Spring 2027. So no out of pocket costs for me for now or for spring. (possibly for summer)
Food: Paying out of pocket 275/month
Student #3:
Junior as of right now, intended graduation Spring 2028 or earlier, if he can complete class requirements in the summer. No OBBA, Parent Plus and grants in play.
Housing: Paying out of pocket 1050/month. However I just got 12,000 refund from school to pay for housing and food/etc. for this semester, and should get 12,000 for next semester sometime in April.
Food: Was paying out of pocket 275/month, but now will use part of the 12,000 for that.
Here is where I need help.
Debt Management:
25,000 Citibank - 580/mo at 12.99%
17,000 CC debt at 0% till July 2027
I also took out a 30,000 personal loan at 18.99% from Sofi, Right now the 30,000 is just sitting in my account, as I've used the Citibank loan to pay for this semester.
However I don't know whether to just pay off/cancel the Sofi loan, as I don't know if I'll need the funds in January? Applying tanked my credit and I wont have enough time (I feel) for it to recover by January
In the meantime, I now have the 12,000 for student #3 sitting in my account, and am trying to figure out how best to utilize that money to save me money this year/next spring. I wont need at least 6000 till next year, so I feel like I should do something with it rather than just let it sit.
But I also wont need the SoFi 30,000 till next year (and maybe not at all!), but scared to pay back the loan in case I do.
Should I pay 6K on the 17,000 CC debt?