Can you rely on student loans for your entire education (7 year university course)?

Question

I am in high school and choosing my electives. A big influence on my decsion will be what i want to do after high school. My parents have absolutely no money to help me pay for university, and some of my money from my part time job goes to simply keeping a roof over our family. Anyways, i won't be able to save much for university but its something i really want to explore. I'm looking into becoming an optometrist, but it will take 7 years. Will financial aid, (federal, provincial, and from banks) be enough to pay my way through university?

My cost of living won't be to high as i am use to quite a basic lifestyle. If this all doesn't work out I am going to take Auto Mechanics and fix cars :(

Answer 1

Technically you could, with your situation is sounds like you are eligible for more aid from the government than the average student. If you take out student loans from the government you a have until 6 months after you graduate before you start paying interest (except the parent PLUS loan). I would tend to stay away from private loan companies because they usually require you to pay more interest and it starts accumulating as soon as you take out the loan. However if you need to go to private loans you should be able to make the interest payments while you are in school with a part-time job. If you are going to specialize in something like optometry there are usually special loans one can take out after you complete you undergraduate work. If there is a will there is always a way; this is America.