College

[Good,bad,andrush]

Got accepted to some good schools. Still waiting on the school I actually want to go to though, though I'm pretty sure I'll make it. But unless I win a lot of scholarships (which I still don't know yet; no news there) there is no way I can pay 160000 for an education.

 

Do you all think it's even worth it, or should I just stick to my local school for 7000 dollars for four years? Yes, a difference of 153000 dollars here...

 

 

So depressing...

Edited December 6, 2011 by Good,bad,andrush

[Mr. Not]

Life's depressing, get used to it.

 

Take a hit and go with your community college, relieve your future self.

[KenJennings]

Do you know, absolutely, what you want to pursue? Are there GOOD jobs available in that field? If not, are you committed to being the best of the best in that field??

 

If you've got a dream, are willing to work your ass off, and be the best; make it work- don't let anyone stop you. If not, hey, nothing wrong with that. Find your passion before committing to anything.

 

Whatever you decide to do, stick to it, and fight it out. You'll come out ahead if you really want to. Times will suck and it will be hard: but ultimately you need to be the person YOU want to be.

[Good,bad,andrush]

QUOTE (KenJennings @ Dec 6 2011, 12:35 AM)

Do you know, absolutely, what you want to pursue? Are there GOOD jobs available in that field? If not, are you committed to being the best of the best in that field?? If you've got a dream, are willing to work your ass off, and be the best; make it work- don't let anyone stop you. If not, hey, nothing wrong with that. Find your passion before committing to anything. Whatever you decide to do, stick to it, and fight it out. You'll come out ahead if you really want to. Times will suck and it will be hard: but ultimately you need to be the person YOU want to be.

Yeah, the jobs I want actually require more school than four years, like being a lawyer. I'm thinking screw that, I'm going to teach and write/play music and write stories on the side mainly for fun but if I get a profit off of that, then cool.

[Blenderhead]

QUOTE (KenJennings @ Dec 6 2011, 01:35 AM)

Do you know, absolutely, what you want to pursue? Are there GOOD jobs available in that field? If not, are you committed to being the best of the best in that field?? If you've got a dream, are willing to work your ass off, and be the best; make it work- don't let anyone stop you. If not, hey, nothing wrong with that. Find your passion before committing to anything. Whatever you decide to do, stick to it, and fight it out. You'll come out ahead if you really want to. Times will suck and it will be hard: but ultimately you need to be the person YOU want to be.

This one.

[CMWriter]

Whatever you do, don't go to a school you're not looking forward to going to. I had to take out some loans so I could go where I am now, but I love it and I'm doing great academically because I'm motivated. Being in debt after college isn't really all that bad - everyone goes through it. Besides, the better university you go to, the better it'll look on a resume... why do you think some students go to Oxford or a prestigious university just for a semester?

 

I say try your very hardest to go where you want to go. Talk to your high school counselors. Talk to your teachers. Talk to the college/university's financial aid.

And whatever you do, don't stop filling out those scholarship applications!

[workingcinderellaman]

QUOTE (Blenderhead @ Dec 6 2011, 09:57 AM)

QUOTE (KenJennings @ Dec 6 2011, 01:35 AM) Do you know, absolutely, what you want to pursue? Are there GOOD jobs available in that field? If not, are you committed to being the best of the best in that field?? If you've got a dream, are willing to work your ass off, and be the best; make it work- don't let anyone stop you. If not, hey, nothing wrong with that. Find your passion before committing to anything. Whatever you decide to do, stick to it, and fight it out. You'll come out ahead if you really want to. Times will suck and it will be hard: but ultimately you need to be the person YOU want to be. This one. X2

[invisible airwave]

I should be lucky that I pay less due to my disability and me getting financial aid. Still pissed that I have to pay twice more than what I normally pay for tuition because of CA's budget crisis.

[workingcinderellaman]

[Lost In Xanadu]

Going thru this with my son right now. Went to visit MSOE this weekend, a price tag of $44K a year. Can go to a UW school for close to that for 4 years.

 

I basically had the talk with my son that KJ has spelled out above.

[priest_of_syrinx]

QUOTE (KenJennings @ Dec 5 2011, 11:35 PM)

Do you know, absolutely, what you want to pursue? Are there GOOD jobs available in that field? If not, are you committed to being the best of the best in that field?? If you've got a dream, are willing to work your ass off, and be the best; make it work- don't let anyone stop you. If not, hey, nothing wrong with that. Find your passion before committing to anything. Whatever you decide to do, stick to it, and fight it out. You'll come out ahead if you really want to. Times will suck and it will be hard: but ultimately you need to be the person YOU want to be.

 

This is the philosophy I'm following right now... I'm getting a degree right now in trumpet performance, and I plan to attend grad school immediately afterward for my MM, get performance experience, and then get a DMA and hopefully grab a professorship at some university.

 

I have no choice but to never doubt what I'm doing, because as soon as I do, it's like looking down when you're scaling a cliff. I can't be paralyzed; I am going to keep going, knowing full well the risk I'm taking. The good thing is that some of my risk is curbed because I have a full-tuition scholarship here at my university, but that doesn't make the rest of the road any smoother.

[fledgehog]

if you are paying for it yourself (as opposed to parents/family/guardians), you'll probably have a much easier time applying for financial aid. You're incredibly unlikely to get a full ride that way, but you can probably do pretty well. Many schools also have student work programs for people in your situation -- getting an on-campus job will also boost your available funds.

 

of course, worst case scenario, community college is better than no college, but if you have a particular school or program that you have your heart set on, why not go for it?

[Lost In Xanadu]

Edited December 6, 2011 by Lost In Xanadu

[circumstantial tree]

first and foremost: college is no guarantee for job and career placement. Too many professionals are unemployed right now which bites.

[GrandDesigner]

A someone who is in serious student loan debt, PLEASE GOD DO YOUR GEN EDS AT A COMMUNITY COLLEGE!

 

You will save a ton of money. If you're going to fill up with electives for credit, make those electives maths or sciences.

 

At least then, if you need time to find a job, you won't be struggling to pay an astronomical loan bill.

[MCM]

QUOTE (GrandDesigner @ Dec 6 2011, 04:19 PM)

A someone who is in serious student loan debt, PLEASE GOD DO YOUR GEN EDS AT A COMMUNITY COLLEGE! You will save a ton of money. If you're going to fill up with electives for credit, make those electives maths or sciences. At least then, if you need time to find a job, you won't be struggling to pay an astronomical loan bill.

Excellent advice. Look at how the school you want to go to views the credits from your local community college. Many times the CC credits will transfer easily and they cost a lot less. Couple of years at CC then transfer out and take all of your credits with you. Then your degree comes from the expensive school but you paid CC prices for half of the education.

 

Also save $$ when going to CC by living at home, I know that sucks but when you are 40 years old and still paying student loans it will suck a lot less.

 

I was fortunate and paid off my student loans a few years after I was out of college, but I know someone who was paying their loans until the age of 42.

[1 of the 7]

Unless you think you'll hate the community college so badly you'll blow it, go there. If you get a job, maybe your employer will send you on for graduate work on their dime, and you can upgrade schools then.

 

I was one who thought it made a difference what school you go to. Now I know it doesn't matter at all (unless, like I said, you think you'll really hate it, or it doesn't offer anything close to the program you want).

 

Good luck either way

Edited December 7, 2011 by 1 of the 7

[vital signz]

Hi....Don't mean to be long winded here, but I am going thru this right now with my own college aged kids. Here's what I have told them.

 

The biggest mistake anyone can make in life other than doing serious criminal acts or marrying the wrong person is paying an exorbitant amount of money to go to a very expensive university to obtain a degree that will not allow them to make an income that will pay off the debt.

 

Unless you have a scholarship that covers the costs don't do it.

 

All of the advice here about getting your gen eds at a community college is understandable, but my point is, in all states, there are decent universities that offer quality educations at reasonable prices, and that is where you should consider focusing your attention before planning to head off to a school that costs 45,000 dollars a year to obtain a degree in philosophy. Or 38,000 dollars a year to obtain a degree in civil engineering. Or 35,000 dollars a year to study nursing.

 

These are examples of students that I know personally by the way. These very bright kids will exit school with a hefty mortgage payment already at 22 years old...Try to envision paying 750-1000 dollars a month for student loan repayment, a car payment that could vary from 200-300 a month, insurance, rent or a new mortgage of hundreds per month, clothes, entertainment, vacation, health insurance, medications, food that would easily cost 500 per month, all on a salary of approximately 40,000 per year.....

 

40,000 after taxes is easily 30,000 after federal, state, local income taxes, medicare, and FICA. 30,000 divided by 12 is 2,500. So 2,500 to pay for rent or mortgage, insurance, car payment, insurance, health insurance, clothes, food, entertainment, vacations, children, pets, gasoline, would pretty much use most of it up.......THEN add onto that another 750 to 1000 extra for student loan repayment.

 

Where's the savings? The retirement funds?

 

I am fortunately able to foot the bill for my kids' education. But still these thoughts were mentioned to them as we pick their schools. They will have no debt, but the discussions were there because I did not want to pay extreme amounts of money for an education that could be obtained much more cheaply.

 

Certainly there are certain people that have the drive to go to Harvard, or MIT or Johns Hopkins for an education that is a springboard for incredible things to come, but the small fraction of a percent that will benefit from that is tiny. The overwhelming majority of people fall into the above situations...

 

Just my $0.02......

 

 

[Unattractive Truth]

I had this talk with my daughter last night.

 

She wants to go to the University of Washington, but we don't live there. Total out the door? $41,000 a year.

 

And for her major, she has to go to graduate school anyway. We're trying to convince her to go to a UC or Cal State school for undergraduate work.

[nobodys hero]

I am also dealing with this right now with my 16 year old who will graduate in June. She want to go to culinary school which will cost a whopping $93,000 to get her bachelors. $30,000 of that is gen ed and I am trying to convince her to go to a community college and then move on for the culinary. Unfortunately, they are fussy about what they will and won't transfer over as they teach these gen ed classes in an artistic way which is more project based instead of bookwork. Sounds like a great line to me to convince the kids' to spend all that money at their school.

At the highest she will make $38,000 coming out of school, but possibly a lot less. At 16 she cannot understand the concept of the amount of debt she will have. She says it's her debt and not my problem, but ultimately I'm afraid it will become my problem as I try to help her out.

[Janie]

[Janie]

QUOTE (Unattractive Truth @ Dec 7 2011, 05:57 AM)

I had this talk with my daughter last night. She wants to go to the University of Washington, but we don't live there. Total out the door? $41,000 a year. And for her major, she has to go to graduate school anyway. We're trying to convince her to go to a UC or Cal State school for undergraduate work.

Yeah! UW! Send your daughter up this way.

 

I take it she's looking into medicine?

 

 

I really like WCMs advice about taking generals at another school and focusing on your major at the university of choice. I didn't do that and looking back, wish I would have. Could have saved a lot of money.

[ridertoo98]

That is the best way to save $$$ . Unless there are jobs that will pay I cant see spending that much coin on school. That is a house payment...

[Unattractive Truth]

QUOTE (Janie @ Dec 7 2011, 10:07 AM)

QUOTE (Unattractive Truth @ Dec 7 2011, 05:57 AM) I had this talk with my daughter last night. She wants to go to the University of Washington, but we don't live there. Total out the door? $41,000 a year. And for her major, she has to go to graduate school anyway. We're trying to convince her to go to a UC or Cal State school for undergraduate work. Yeah! UW! Send your daughter up this way.   I take it she's looking into medicine?     Psychology.   I'm taking her up there in March to take a look. I've been to the campus before, and I know she'll love it. It will be hard to talk her out of it once she sees it.   Still, she could go to a UC school for "only" about $24,000 a year. Or a Cal State for "only" $15,000.

[Janie]

QUOTE (Unattractive Truth @ Dec 7 2011, 12:29 PM)

QUOTE (Janie @ Dec 7 2011, 10:07 AM) QUOTE (Unattractive Truth @ Dec 7 2011, 05:57 AM) I had this talk with my daughter last night. She wants to go to the University of Washington, but we don't live there. Total out the door? $41,000 a year. And for her major, she has to go to graduate school anyway. We're trying to convince her to go to a UC or Cal State school for undergraduate work. Yeah! UW! Send your daughter up this way.   I take it she's looking into medicine?     Psychology.   I'm taking her up there in March to take a look. I've been to the campus before, and I know she'll love it. It will be hard to talk her out of it once she sees it.   Still, she could go to a UC school for "only" about $24,000 a year. Or a Cal State for "only" $15,000. I thoroughly enjoyed UW. Myself, ozzy85 and HowItIs can keep an eye on your daughter! That probably wasn't much relief.   UW certainly is a beautiful campus.