NEED YOUR HELP

There probably isn't one school or even church for that matter that you will find that agrees one-hundred percent with every thing you do. If you are looking for a solid and challenging education, might I recommend Maranatha. It is close to MI, and does not cost 20,000 a year. I recommend it because their emphasis is strongly on the local church, and hands on experience is required. You would have the opportunity to work on extension each weekend, perhaps as a youth leader, or some other needed area in a local church. Best of all, you can actually get credit for it!

I have a church ministries degree from MBBC.

 

Adam, remember that you will never have to pay more than the federally established "Expected Family Contribution." If you're EFC is $ 4,000.00 you'll pay that whether the cost of attendance (tuition, room & board, transportation, books, supplies...) is $ 6,000.00 of $ 50,000.00. Fill out the FAFSA as soon as possible and see what your EFC is.

Joshua

 

I'd highly recommend Boyce College in Louisville, on the campus of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. Outstanding college. Also, Clear Creek Baptist Bible College in Pineville KY is good and reasonably priced.

 

Adam, drive to Watertown, Wisconsin, and check out Maranatha Baptist Bible College. It is a very short drive for you. If you don't want to go down through Chicago, take the Lake Michigan ferry. It is an adventure all by itself. When you get to Watertown, talk to some of the students, and faculty. Talk to Dave Jaspers, the President. He is a find Christian gentleman, and will make time for you. Then pray about it. MBBC is a fine, conservative, and accredited College. It has turned out a very high number of excellent pastors, evangelists, missionaries, and other Christian workers.

 

Adam, you are very wise about debt! Don't let fancy loans tempt you. It takes the average student up to ten years to repay students loans. Just imagine if you should also inherit a wife's student loan. This would mean may have to put off things like a family or a house. I'm glad you haven't fallen into the trap that "everybody does it!" I did, and it made life very hard for us for a while. It's much better to go an extra semester or tow to finish without debt.

On the other hand, you may be eligible for certain grants, though! These you do not have to pay back.

 

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by flyfree432:
Rev. Joshua-

The problem is when a college cost 20,000 and your family contrabution is 5,000, then the other 15,000 may be made up in loans. As a future pastor, loans are not a consideration I make, as if I am in debt I will be a burden to any future congragation and family.

Everyone else,
Thank you for the suggestions, I'll check it out!

UNP
Adam<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Adam, there's a cap on how much loan money you can receive each year, and the school will have to come up with grants/scholarships/etc. to pay the rest.

I have to disagree with Joy about the burden of student loans. Yes, they are a pain and it's a shame that our country puts this burden on its students, but the repayment schedule is generally very generous. Likewise, deferments and forbearances come very easily and the interest is very low. Finally, the value of a quality education is immeasurable.

Joshua

 

I have to disagree a bit with Joshua here. I've worked in student personnel services as well, and the DOE is not as Student Loan-friendly as you might think. I have personal experience with this as well as professional. Student loans change servicers more times than we change socks. The DOE system is government snafu at its worst. You are very wise to avoid student loans if at all possible, unless you can find one from the school itself or one that will guarantee that the servicer will not change. The horror stories are too numerous to mention. That being said, one of the few things worth going in debt for is a quality education. But can you really come out of Bible college/seminary $30,000 in debt right off the bat? At any rate, unless there have been monumental changes in the DOE in the last couple of years I'm not aware of, I'd avoid government loans at all cost.

Plus, there's something we're overlooking here. A great many Christian institutions have bailed out of participation in government student loan programs precisely for the reasons I mentioned above. They will defer ones you already have, but will not allow you to take out new ones. Even some non-Christian institutions are not allowing student loans from governmental sources because of the negative impact it has on the student and the educational institution (There's a long story there. I'll spare you the intricasies unless you really want to know.)

[ January 21, 2002: Message edited by: TomVols ]

 

Joshua wrote:

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR> Adam, there's a cap on how much loan money you can receive each year, and the school will have to come up with grants/scholarships/etc. to pay the rest.

<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

The honus for coming up with the difference is on the student, not the institution. The school can point you towards loans, etc. But if you can't meet this difference, then you're out.

 

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by TomVols:
Joshua wrote:

The honus for coming up with the difference is on the student, not the institution. The school can point you towards loans, etc. But if you can't meet this difference, then you're out.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Tom, any difference between the Cost of Attendance and the EFC must come from the school, not the student. The student is not responsible for anything beyond the EFC (other than loans, which are part of the financial aid package).

There have been some fairly significant changes in the past few years to how federal student loans work. Everything associated with the William D. Ford. loans all goes through a central office, and I don't think you have to worry about loans being transfrerred or sold any more. In addition, a simple phone call can to that one office can resolve most problems or questions with all your loans.

Joshua
P.S. Someone who manages to finish four years of undergrad and 3 years of seminary with &lt;i&gt;only&lt;/i&gt; $ 30,000 in student loans got off easy .

 

Unless, Joshua, you believe from the Bible that we are to own no man anything!


By the way, I paid ahead on my school loan before I got married. My husband was making way below the poverty level, so we had about zero choice but to stop paying on it for awhile, just so we could afford food and prenatal care. The loan accrued almost $3000.00 in interest during that time.

Since you don't know what the future may hold, it is never wise to get into debt. Young college students are strong and full of energy. There is no reason why they can't work to pay their school bills, and if it takes a few extra semesters, that is what we call being patient. Besides, he will appreciate his education more in the long run if he has to earn it, and he will enjoy the pleasures of being debt free and ready to do the work of the ministry the moment he graduates.

Lamentations 3:26 It is good for a man to bear the yoke in his youth.

 

Adam,
I would also highly recommend MBBC, being a fairly recent grad (pre-Dr. J). It is a very good school, and yes, they will make you keep your hair reasonable, but they are not too overbearing about things, at least from some of the horror stories I have heard about other schools. Dr. Jaspers is a great guy, and will take time out to talk to you if he is in town when you visit. It has good academics, and sound Bible teaching. Accreditation has made MBBC really beef up their programs even more than they already were, and the quality of education is very good. It is not 20,000 a year, I don't know exactly any more, but they do accept financial aid, so as far as grants and stuff, you can usually find something to help you out. There are good student jobs in the area, and the school has needs for on campus workers as well. I did take on a loan to help finish my last year, but the interest and payments are low, and I have not had any trouble with it, it's pretty small thought, I guess if you had 30-40,000 in loans it would be a different story.

You will feel right at home at MBBC being a Michegander. I think 30-40% of the student body is from there. Almost as many as are from Wisconsin. The reason I live in the Holy Land is I married a Michegander I met at MBBC. It's hard to avoid, since they are everywhere!

It is probably only about 4 hours drive from you, maybe more depending on Chicago. It's about an hour Northwest of Milwaukee.

 

Superdave,

Actually, 34% of MBBC students come from Wisconsin, and only 17% of the students come from Michigan. You can get by with about $10,000 a year, and there is federal Pell and loans available.

Best wishes,

Chick

 

Cool,
Great info,
I think when I was there, we figured out just dorm students, and Michigan was the highest.

If you add in all the off campus students that live around there, Wisconsin is obviously going to be the big cheese!

The Financial Aid is pretty Good. Pell Grants, Wisconsin Tuition grant (WI residents) and Alumni Parents and those in Full time ministry can recieve grant money for their kids as well.

 

Some extra advice- I was going to mention the Wisconsin grant. It is worth it to register your car and register to vote in Wi., (become a resident) while you are there- to get the grant!

 

If you are interested to know, the enrollment for the fall at MBBC was 813 students (an all-time record) and this spring is 743 (an all-time record for the spring).