Questions & Answers

Consolidate with a more family based financial institution. Try for a building society or a credit union - if you explain your situation with them they would be more than happy to work something out for you. Also whenever you fall behind on payments or feel you aren't going to make the payment contact them asap, do your best to avoid defaults as they can seriously hurt your credit rating. Hope all goes well for you and the bub :)

You just have to check into things and see what you can get. Some FA will pay room and board, some don't. Some will pay for books, some don't. Since your dad works there he should be able to refer you to someone in the FA office.

Wachovia has one of the few no fee private loans. Citibank now has fees with CitiAssist, and Chase Select may have fees depending on your credit history. Sallie Mae loans have some of the highest fees in the industry. The interest rate for the Wachovia can be as low as prime minus 1%. Try www.wachovia.com/wel. If your credit is good you should be good to go.

there is plenty of hope. Its only your first year, you have 3 more years. Make sure you find out what your major's minimum gpa requirement is so you don't get dropped from your major, and I think UCI's academic probation starts if you go under 2.0. Try your best to bring it up with your next couple of years and if you find that you are struggling through civil engineering or you don't like it, then switch majors! Just be glad you're in UCI and make the best of it. A lot of people I know graduated with less than a 3.0 GPA and they're doing fine in the real world. But, a higher GPA makes your life easier after you graduate.