Need help with loan situation

So I will be looking for an internship about 6 months-1.5 years in the future. I have no idea what the price will be because some internships are short (9 months) and others are long (about 2 years) but they have you get a master's degree in that time, as well.

Obviously, the master's degree internship combo would be a lot more expensive. An internship without a master's degree could be as low as like $3000. An internship with a master's degree could be as high as $30,000 or higher.

I don't know which internship I will get into. Since I will have to get a private loan and not a school loan, I have been told that I need to look into getting the loan at least 6 months ahead of time before my internship. 

So what do I take out? o.O

I'm sorry if this post is confusing, but I'm confused as hell myself. If I take out a $30,000 loan "just in case" I get an expensive internship with a master's, but end up getting/choosing a cheaper internship that only costs $3,000, what would I do with the extra money? Pay it back immediately? Would it already create a ****-ton of interest?

Please help a sad, confused loan-tard. :(

Can you get a line of credit? Then you only pay on what you use.

Original Post by mgettinghealthy:

Can you get a line of credit? Then you only pay on what you use.

You mean like a credit card?

I wouldn't be able to pay it back right away. Most of the internships are full-time, so I wouldn't have time for a job. :/ I would try to work weedends, but I don't think that would pay it off.

Would the interest rate be less than a loan if I did it this way?

does your school have a financial aid adviser?  You should talk to them.  I think the federal loans are usually pretty low interest.

A line of credit is not a credit card.  The bank okays you to borrow a certain amount but you only take what you use and you don't need to take it all at once.  I might not be that clear but if you google it I'm sure you can find out lots.  I had a line of credit for law school.  I was allowed to take up to 75,000 over three years, but never needed that much.  I would just transfer X amount to my chequing account when an expense was coming up - and thats how much you pay interest on - ie) I wasn't paying interest on 75,000 ever.  

Original Post by dove2424:

does your school have a financial aid adviser?  You should talk to them.  I think the federal loans are usually pretty low interest.

I think there is a financial aid adviser. I will find out and see if I can make an appointment.

I currently don't qualify for any financial aid. I think that is untrue if I go for my master's, though, and I would get a pell grant. I definitely need to find these things out.

Wait... are you PAYING for an internship? That doesn't sound right to me. Or are you taking a loan to pay for your living expenses while you intern?

Original Post by alibsam:

Wait... are you PAYING for an internship? That doesn't sound right to me. Or are you taking a loan to pay for your living expenses while you intern?

Paying for internships is the latest "feature" of the marketplace.

Ugh. That's horrible. I had no idea since I've been in Korea so long. I guess it's a good idea for me to start my NGO job hunt overseas rather than the US. Thanks for the heads-up.

Original Post by alibsam:

Wait... are you PAYING for an internship? That doesn't sound right to me. Or are you taking a loan to pay for your living expenses while you intern?

I think it's the most retarded thing in the world, but yeah, I have to pay to be someone's ****.

Here are the choices of internships I have, so you can get an idea of how much they cost.

I want to shoot myself in the face. :c

It sounds like a line of credit is the way to go for you.  The way they work is that you'll have a maximum of $30,000, and can draw on the line when you need to.  So, if you only end up needing $3,000, you draw out that amount and NEVER touch the rest (if you're smart)...although it would remain avaiable to you until your loan is paid off and/or matures. 

Do you have collateral? If so, maybe you can take a 2nd deed on your house (the loan would then be called a HECL).  I'd advise that you not tell the bank that the loan is for school/internship and tell them it's for home repairs instead.  Banks typically don't make student loans (the government does though).  Also, do get the loan approved well before you need the money (months).    

I work at a bank, and there's NO WAY we would lend that kind of money without collateral at a 80% LTV.  We would lend $3,000 unsecured if you have good credit and a stable source of income for repayment.