RetireJapan

Tkydon wrote: ↑Thu May 06, 2021 8:11 am Yes, American Student Loan Terms are very onerous. There is even talk that the current level of US student loan debt poses the next economic threat in the US.
They are the only liabilities that you can never get out of, even by declaring bankruptcy. So they may follow you and your decendants around, similar to indentured servitude. If I were you, I'd avoid them.

In the US debt is not passed down to one's descendants to pay off. In some cases it would go into probate (estate settlement) but most of the major private lenders discharge student debt upon the borrower's death. Of course, if your family member was a cosigner on the loan then yes, they might be on the hook to pay it off.

crew wrote: ↑Wed Apr 21, 2021 7:29 am

TJKansai wrote: ↑Wed Apr 21, 2021 4:07 am A Japanese yen loan would mean you would have foreign exchange risk.

I would be surprised if a Japanese bank would make an educational loan, especially to a non-Japanese (I am assuming you aren't) to study in another country, but I may be wrong. If you have assets here then perhaps.

There are quite a few ryuugaku loans out there, with better rates than the US. I should have mentioned that I have PR status. About forex risk, I didn't think about that but isn't it a factor if I get a US loan and not a Japanese loan? I earn in Yen, and my savings are mostly in Yen.

My advice is to talk to your Academic Advisor about scholarships that your school offers to international students. A lot of times there are specific scholarships offered at individual schools and they're not widely publicized. You can also apply for a merit scholarship in some schools if you have a very high GPA. I paid for about 80% of my undergrad tuition using a combination of scholarships and grants. The rest I borrowed and paid off as quickly as possible.

Another option is to get a job at a company that offers tuition reimbursement and then take your classes online. That way you could continue to work at your full-time job and complete your classes in the evenings or on weekends on a part-time basis. For example, the company where I work has up to $10k per year of tuition reimbursement that almost no one uses.

If you own your own home you might be able to get a home equity loan. You could then convert it to dollars and spend it on tuition.