Sallie Mae

[tattooed]

I agree with HG03 100%.

 

And have you looked at other lenders? There is life beyond SM. I used TERI. They work with many banks to fit your needs. I was easily able to get the loan I needed for the amount I asked for, and they asked ME when I wanted to end the deferral, and they asked ME what amount I wanted. They also said that if I can't complete my training with them amount I req'd, I can ask for add'l (credit approval required, of course).

 

I'd try them. They work with several flight schools. My school was on their list.

I had my loan the next day.

They mail disbursement checks directly to my school periodically, and that $$ is put into my personal school acct. Flights/ground deducted from acct as they are incurred. Very easy.

[VEGA_HELICOPTERS]

...

Edited February 23, 2008 by VEGA_HELICOPTERS

[rotor_head_spencer]

I agree with HG03 100%.

 

And have you looked at other lenders? There is life beyond SM. I used TERI. They work with many banks to fit your needs. I was easily able to get the loan I needed for the amount I asked for, and they asked ME when I wanted to end the deferral, and they asked ME what amount I wanted. They also said that if I can't complete my training with them amount I req'd, I can ask for add'l (credit approval required, of course).

 

I'd try them. They work with several flight schools. My school was on their list.

I had my loan the next day.

They mail disbursement checks directly to my school periodically, and that $$ is put into my personal school acct. Flights/ground deducted from acct as they are incurred. Very easy.

 

 

TERI huh.... I have never heard of them til now. I went to their website and it seemed to me like your helicopter school had to be accredited. What school did you go to and how much did you request? if you don't mind I would really like to know. PM me.

[TXLonghorn]

I got some money from Sallie Mae, but not enough.

 

I have been looking into going to flight school for 2.5 years and I finally made the decision to move to a new city close to the school of choice only to find out that after applying to SLM I was only given $20k. I was under the impression that I would get the full amount on my own with out a co-signer. This now seems to be a pipe dream. At 27 I am 100% debt free but have "not enough credit history" to get the full amount I asked for, $70k.

 

The $20k is enough to get started and complete my private license, but my thought is only "then what?" I see that most are suggesting taking what I have and get started and figure it out later. I'm just worried that I'll finish and have my PPL, $20k of debt; work to pay it off praying I get the rest of the cash needed.

 

My brother works at a large national, investment company and his comment was that with the current market, this is the worst time to be asking anyone for money. I can only wonder that if I had started 2-4 months sooner, I wouldn't be in this situation. I don't have anyone at the current time to be a co-signer.

 

I saw the post regarding TERI loans and will look into that as well at the AOPA option.

[Gomer Pylot]

$80k/year is not common. It takes a lot of years at the same employer to make that, and even then it's not a sure thing. At my company, that's the top pay, needing about 20 years to reach. Joel Alexander is full of crap. There is nothing sucking on the other side, and there never will be. There are some jobs, sometimes available, but there are usually more pilots available than jobs available, even if the qualifications are high. And every time you change jobs, no matter what your qualifications, you start near the bottom. That's the way it is, and wishing won't make it better. There are always pilots willing to work for little or nothing, lowering the pay for the entire industry. That won't change next week, or next year, or next decade.

[Yingers]

Good question, I've been wondering the same about people getting SLM loans in the past month. All the school's I've talked to say nothing has changed with it though. Personally, I'm looking for a school that uses another vendor. Some of the big schools do use other private loans than SLM. Particularly, I know Bristow - New Iberia has a loan available through their affiliation with Louisiana Technical College, a Nelnet(Teri) loan. Also, any of the accredited colleges with aviation programs are a good place to look. I just talked to Palm Beach Community College and know that they use regular student loans for the flight training as well.

hth

 

I'm signed up to start flight school at Bristow-New Iberia on March 10th. I'm 37 and got approved for a SLM loan for 20k two weeks ago. (seems to be their going offer) I had applied for 50k w/ no co-signer. My credit scores w/ the three main credit bureaus ranged from 720-794. SLM pulles from Equifax. I also applied with Nelnet(Teri), but turned them down because they wanted a 9.5% origination fee. But they did make me an offer. I was surprised at the high rates since all my others loans had been between 0-5.75%. But then again those were not unsecured. I cleared up a inaccuracy on Equifax that brought my score w/ them to 760, and reapplied to see if I could get better than prime +3. We shall see since D-to-I and credit longevity is the same.

 

The SSH fiasco has concerned me, in that, I will be relying on future students to being able to aquire funding for future instructors to be able to teach.

 

So, yes they are still offering loans. I as somewhat happy w/ 20k since I've saved about 45k for training.

 

Anyway, I'm excited about my new career change and have benefited from the insight of others on this site.

 

Thanks

[TXLonghorn]

There is nothing sucking on the other side, and there never will be. There are some jobs, sometimes available, but there are usually more pilots available than jobs available, even if the qualifications are high.

 

Why then, do I keep hearing in various news reports and so on that there has been and will be a pilot shortage and that there are places constatnly looking for pilots? Have we all been misslead? All this time I have been going on this fact that I'd be able to find something, somewhere once I hit at least 1000 hours.

 

Can someone briefly explain the reality to someone that is about to pour lots of time, effort and cash into something such as flight school?

 

I really want to do this, but I also have to look at the realistic future.

[VEGA_HELICOPTERS]

...

Edited February 23, 2008 by VEGA_HELICOPTERS

[Paisley]

l

Edited February 3, 2009 by Paisley

[VEGA_HELICOPTERS]

...

Edited February 23, 2008 by VEGA_HELICOPTERS

[bladeslapped]

VEGA, IT SEEMS THAT MANY PEOPLE ON THIS SITE HAVE TRIED TO HELP YOU WITH ADVICE AND YOU SCOFF. TO ME, IT SOUNDS LIKE YOU ARE GOING TO HAVE A REPUTATION THAT PRECEDES YOU AND IN THIS INDUSTRY, UNLESS IT IS A GOOD REPUTATION YOU ARE WASTING YOUR MONEY. ITS LIKE PAISLEY SAID "DONT DRINK THE KOOL-AID", BY THE WAY I PROMISE YOU THAT GOMER KNOWS A BIT MORE THAN YOUR NEGATIVE HOUR LOG BOOK @SS DOES.

[Paisley]

l

Edited February 3, 2009 by Paisley

[VEGA_HELICOPTERS]

...

Edited February 23, 2008 by VEGA_HELICOPTERS

[spencer]

Thats what I figured. So making 80K as a comercial pilot is not very common then? I think a more round about figure for yearly income would be 40-50K for helicopter pilots. Unless that is, if you have 3000+ pic hours, your instrument rating, mountain time and a whole bunch of other sh*t too. I am still not discouraged though. This is what I love so I am going to do it even if I am not making a good income. The good news for me is that I can still do what I am doing now. Buy and sell cars on my own and bartend. I will get over this hump, even if I have to get a co-signer or become a male prostitute. Just kidding about the prostitute part.

 

 

I sat down with Joel Alexander (a helicopter pilot/ news reporter for WJR News, Detroit) a few days ago. He makes great money as a pilot. He even told me of oppertunities overseas in the middle east where heli pilots can make $200,000.00 a year! Joel made one comment that really stuck in my mind. He stated that becoming a helicopter pilot is like using your hands to break through a 2 foot thick brick wall. Once you are through, its like a suction portal on the other side. People will be begging you to fly for them because there is a huge demand for pilots. Look at all the job postings for cryin out loud!

 

 

 

 

Lee

 

 

I wish someone had an alternative to this problem.

 

Lee i have never met joel which is funny becuase this area is so small (related to helicopters) that i know most of the pilots. WJR is operating an interesting contract because the news station actually owns the helicopter( i am almost postiitive this is true). If he is making over 100k flying news then good for him because that is not the case everywhere. There are two helicopters Incorporated contracts in detroit flying for WDIV and WJBK. I know for a fact that the one contract the pilot is making half of what joel is, for flying the same type of helicopter in the same area. His analogy on the brick wall might be a little flawed. Once you get the hours i highly doubt your phone will be ringing of the hook for a company wanting you to come fly for them. Look at the website below and go through each operator and see what the starting pay is. This way you will at least be able to see for yourselve what the pay is. This forum is a great oppurutnity learn from other people's experiences. You will find that a lot of people have different opinions on the industry. Excuse the spelling errors.

 

Helicopter Salaries

 

Regards,

 

Spencer

Edited February 24, 2008 by 67november

[VEGA_HELICOPTERS]

...

Edited February 23, 2008 by VEGA_HELICOPTERS

[VEGA_HELICOPTERS]

...

Edited February 23, 2008 by VEGA_HELICOPTERS

[amrlee21]

I applied through sallie mae at the end of january and got approved for 20k. I had asked for 40k. I have 10 years of credit history and have never once been late on a payment. My credit score is 715. I'm waiting for the loan package in the mail right now. It's taking longer than i thought due to them not recieving my enrollment papers which i faxed to them so i had to re-fax about a week ago and they got them. From my understanding and research no matter what you ask for they will only give you 20k at first. Then as you develope a relationship with them (which means making your payments on time every month) they will lend you more money. I have heard of people applying to them getting 20k then when that starts to get low re-applying and getting another 20k then one more time to cover the cost of training. I sure hope that is true because i would hate to get my ppl start running out of money and have them say no to lending me more.

 

Be safe--- Derek

[LFGuard10]

amrlee21, I am in the same boat. I shot for $50,000 but they countered with only 12K. Considering my age (22), I thought I was lucky to get that. I am more than likely going to accept the 12,000 and hope for the best and they'll give me more when that time comes.

[jehh]

Trust me buddy, I know a lot about how credit works. I was a Mortgage Banker for 2 years and have probably ran through over 3000 credit reports in my time. Trust me when I say, "I have perfect credit".

 

Good for you, go buy a car or house then... Perfect credit doesn't mean you can borrow an unlimited amount of money. It just means that you can borrow at a reasonable interest rate however much money a company wants to lend based on your credit history and income.

 

Each lending company has its own underwriting standards for lending money, Sallie Mae looks hard at your history of unsecured debt and its repayment. They generally do not lend more money than you have borrowed in the past unsecured, regardless of your income or credit. Secured loans such as cars and houses do not count.

 

I did talk to a few schools and i have only heard of one story where someone got approved for the whole amount. The case where this happened, the guy was so well off he didnt even need the loan to begin with. Getting approved for 20K is actually pretty damn good I have come to find out.

 

Thus proving my original post was accurate.

[rotor_head_spencer]

I applied through sallie mae at the end of january and got approved for 20k. I had asked for 40k. I have 10 years of credit history and have never once been late on a payment. My credit score is 715. I'm waiting for the loan package in the mail right now. It's taking longer than i thought due to them not recieving my enrollment papers which i faxed to them so i had to re-fax about a week ago and they got them. From my understanding and research no matter what you ask for they will only give you 20k at first. Then as you develope a relationship with them (which means making your payments on time every month) they will lend you more money. I have heard of people applying to them getting 20k then when that starts to get low re-applying and getting another 20k then one more time to cover the cost of training. I sure hope that is true because i would hate to get my ppl start running out of money and have them say no to lending me more.

 

Be safe--- Derek

 

 

WARNING! Derek, I was told the same thing! The financial counselor at my school told me that it had worked like that in the past and it should work for me! RIGHT? So check this out! I applied with one cosigner and was approved for 20k. tried with another (you can have two cosigners on one loan) and, with my father in law I was approved for 30k! So I thought, well, I will just combine them and get 50k! WRONG! with two cosigners Sallie Mae will allow a MAXIMUM loan of only 40k! WHY? Who freaking knows. So anyways, I took the 40k because some one from Sallie Mae told my financial counselor that if I made all my payments on time (I did) and even make higher payments (I made 100 instead of 10) then when I ran out, I could re-apply and get the rest of the money I needed to finish. Made sense. Well, a month before my money ran dry I applied for another 25k so I could finish. First I just applied with just myself. Nothing. Applied with a cosinger. NOTHING. Applied with TWO COSIGNERS AGAIN! NOTHING! I had to call in and beg and plead and insist that they did something wrong! earlier I was approved for 50k and now nothing?!?!?!??!?! So, turns out that they did make a mistake (suprise suprise) and they countered with 10k leaving me with a total of 50k with every cosigner that was kind enough to sign on my loan. Derek, like you, I have excellent credit and a long history of paying all sorts of loans back with never missing a payment or even being late. I have had TWO unsecured loans prior to starting this whole circus with Sallie Mae. If this is your only way of getting financing, I would suggest you make sure you have ALL of the money you need if you want to be done in a year. Otherwise, take what you can get and prepare for the long haul by paying as you go. You do NOT want to get your PPL and have zero funds.

[Voyager11]

WARNING! Derek, I was told the same thing! The financial counselor at my school told me that it had worked like that in the past and it should work for me! RIGHT? So check this out! I applied with one cosigner and was approved for 20k. tried with another (you can have two cosigners on one loan) and, with my father in law I was approved for 30k! So I thought, well, I will just combine them and get 50k! WRONG! with two cosigners Sallie Mae will allow a MAXIMUM loan of only 40k! WHY? Who freaking knows. So anyways, I took the 40k because some one from Sallie Mae told my financial counselor that if I made all my payments on time (I did) and even make higher payments (I made 100 instead of 10) then when I ran out, I could re-apply and get the rest of the money I needed to finish. Made sense. Well, a month before my money ran dry I applied for another 25k so I could finish. First I just applied with just myself. Nothing. Applied with a cosinger. NOTHING. Applied with TWO COSIGNERS AGAIN! NOTHING! I had to call in and beg and plead and insist that they did something wrong! earlier I was approved for 50k and now nothing?!?!?!??!?! So, turns out that they did make a mistake (suprise suprise) and they countered with 10k leaving me with a total of 50k with every cosigner that was kind enough to sign on my loan. Derek, like you, I have excellent credit and a long history of paying all sorts of loans back with never missing a payment or even being late. I have had TWO unsecured loans prior to starting this whole circus with Sallie Mae. If this is your only way of getting financing, I would suggest you make sure you have ALL of the money you need if you want to be done in a year. Otherwise, take what you can get and prepare for the long haul by paying as you go. You do NOT want to get your PPL and have zero funds.

 

20K must be the magic number, that is what I got. I am still collecting cans from the side of the road to get the rest of it But I'm sooo close to my II rating it doesn't even matter anymore. So keep hucking dem cans out the window when your driving along...heh

[NorCalHeliKid]

20K must be the magic number, that is what I got. I am still collecting cans from the side of the road to get the rest of it But I'm sooo close to my II rating it doesn't even matter anymore. So keep hucking dem cans out the window when your driving along...heh

 

Im in the same boat Voyager, Im currently loading up as many credit cards as I can to get through CFII...whatever it takes. Lets go collect some more cans and buy out all the Top Ramen noodles.

[Gomer Pylot]

Credit card debt is evil. Have you looked at the interest rate? If you make the minimum payment each month, you will never pay it off. Do anything possible to avoid credit card debt, and I do mean anything.

 

As for Ramen noodles, there are better alternatives. Beans and rice are cheaper, and far more nutritious. Lentils are the best type of beans, IMO, because they cook much quicker and actually have more nutrition. Modified food starch and salt aren't that good for you.

Edited February 25, 2008 by Gomer Pylot

[Voyager11]

Trust me when I say, it's not the studying that hangs people up. The studying and the flying are easy parts! It's either the money or "other" issues (family, work, health, time, etc etc etc). PPL is like learning a new language as an adult, and it is such a relief to get it, I think some people realize they have actually achieved their goal at that point. If you have no prior experience in the industry, it is really hard to grasp exactly what your ultimate goal IS in the first place, nevermind withstanding everything it takes to train for it and actually GET there. But, if you have already had some interaction with it all, you have a more concrete dream to pursue and you're not necessarily training quite as "blindly" for something rather unknown and based purely on a dream. At least, this is my feeling based on my experiences and seeing those of fellow students who started more from scratch. The realities of the helicopter industry can be pretty harsh if you are just discovering them and realizing how much they are going to change your current reality. For me, it was both the lifestyle and the flying that got me interested. I have a thing for remote locations, solitude, and introspection. No kids or spouse, don't own a home yet. Helicopters don't change my reality a whole lot and I know what I want out of them, I've been there already. The lifestyle isn't a sacrifice for me, it's a welcome given.

 

Anyway, I just want to say that IMO the "dropout" rate isn't an unhealthy thing for either the student or the industry. It just means that people have taken a step back to either reconfigure (money, family, etc) or reconsider. Those that reconfigure, come back and get on with it. Those that reconsider, maybe circumstances have found them satisfied with where they are at or headed in another direction...

 

As always, if this was easy, everyone would do it. Over the years, financing for flight training has taken many shapes. No doubt someone else will step up as the primary source sooner than later. Key Bank, Pilot Finance, Sallie Mae....no two have been active at the same time. I had heard about the AOPA deal but thought that their amounts weren't sufficient for helicopter training...maybe this has changed?

 

Fly safe.

HG03

Wow you should write Halmark cards, very well thought and said. For me this has been a long three year war that I am about to win. With my CFII on the horizon I will have won. Sure I lost battles with funding, I gave up a seven year career as a cop, moved from Martha's Vineyard to Sarasota, Florida. But as HG03 so eloquently stated taking a step back, reconfigure and so on, that is so true. In my opinion, nothing worth a darn in life is or should be easy. In retrospect I too agree that the academia was not the hard part it was all the other stuff. I remember this one quote

 

"You gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You are able to say to yourself, 'I have lived through this horror. I can take the next thing that comes along.' You must do the thing you think you cannot do."

Eleanor Roosevelt

 

P.s. I only need 10,999,990 more soda cans to buy a new R44

Edited February 28, 2008 by Voyager11

[Voyager11]

Credit card debt is evil. Have you looked at the interest rate? If you make the minimum payment each month, you will never pay it off. Do anything possible to avoid credit card debt, and I do mean anything.

 

As for Ramen noodles, there are better alternatives. Beans and rice are cheaper, and far more nutritious. Lentils are the best type of beans, IMO, because they cook much quicker and actually have more nutrition. Modified food starch and salt aren't that good for you.

 

Beans and rice! "message to self, no cross countries with this guy"... lMAO