Are there private scholarships you can apply to to make up some of the difference? Can you reach out to financial aid office to see if they will add work-study? Will you be starting out with some credits under your belt?
Also keep in mind travel and other costs.
I’m assuming you have visited Tulane. If not, then the school you have in your head may be different. I would definitely not make a decision without seeing the school in person.
Good luck!
20 hours a week of paid work while going full time to college?
“20 hours a week of paid work while going full time to college?”
I think that this is too much (which I think is your point).
I also think that OP should avoid debt for their bachelor’s degree. $48,000 in debt is WAY TOO MUCH. Just forget about it.
Tulane’s website encourages students to work less than 20 hours a week. Likely 10-15 hours is doable.
Sometimes people do an internship during the fall or spring. How many hours per week is an internship? It’s possible to work part-time instead of an internship.
Think that $48,000 can be pared down. I agree that is too large amount for loans.
Tulane is a fine school, but not worth $48k of student debt, IMO. Never mind all the additional expenses that are not included. And government loans aren’t free money.
It will be VERY difficult to work more than ten hours a week while in college. Many colleges allow a max of 8 hours a week. This student must maintain high grades in order to hang on to the scholarship. Does this student want to have a life too? Have time to relax or have fun? Maybe go on vacation with family?
Sure, it can be done, and it’s easy for us adults to say that. To a young college grad going into, quite possibly, a not highly paid job with a psych degree, paying off $48k of debt is formidable. Some might say unmanageable, especially when considering that interest accrues, etc… I think the OP needs to think hard before committing to Tulane.
You math is off. $15 per hour 10 hours per week + a $5k summer.
There is something to be said about getting out of your comfort zone (NY) and going to college in New Orleans. And with all due respects, Binghamton and Rutgers will be a very different college experience than attending Tulane.
With that said, if you are going to graduate school, having 48k in debt hanging over your head probably is not smart unless you work for a year or two paying down most of your debt, before getting your Masters, PhD.
The Ohio State University is a great school. There are many great hospitals in the city including a top 5 nationally ranked children’s hospital which does have research internships. OSU also has its own hospital and other medical centers that have internships for OSU students. OSU is also a top 10 public research university. (I’m not an alum or parent, just a neighbor! Everyone I know who goes there is very happy. So many options for student life of all kinds. Yes, it’s big. Being in honors or scholars will help with that.) I agree that psych majors should be thinking about grad school and those costs as a part of their undergrad decision. Good luck!
Just a suggestion- to all the helpful folks here suggesting $15/hour jobs at 20 hours a week, plus the $5K summer job to bridge the gap- call your own kid, ask them how many psych majors they know who could manage a 20 hour a week job plus academics; ask them how many kids they know on campus (who do not work in a CS related job) who can land $15/hour work with guaranteed hours, ask them how many of their friends can net $5K per summer.
Y’all are living in a nice dream world, but the OP, sadly, is going to have to find employment in the REAL world.
And how many of you think your kid could maintain his or her grades working 20 hours a week during the semester? And be applying for internships to help the grad school application at the same time? And then showing up for those internships?
So go ask your college aged kids.
To clarify, 10 hours per week making $15 per hour and $5k in the summer. Those kind of jobs have nothing to do with psychology. It is not that hard if someone has the drive. Kids make that babysitting!
Y’all live in a world without FICA, where nobody has to ever call in sick, where no college kid ever felt stressed due to finals (or left town after finals). Which is great. And if we were advising a kid from an indigent family where this was literally the only way to get a college education I’d be right behind you!!!
But since this is a kid with some great options, I’m not sure why the fixation on Tulane (a fine school btw, but likely not life altering in the way that Cal Tech might be for a kid from a low income family, first Gen to college).
OP- make sure you understand the impact of debt on your future, make sure you understand what you are signing on to in terms of your work commitment, and make sure your parents are on board.
Go in peace.
If if you could afford it with working, why would you want to? The only thing I can think of that Tulane is better than tOSU at is managing their acceptance rate through ED and fee waivers.
Due to Covid, jobs are more difficult to find than in past years. Many restaurants and other businesses are on reduced hours or have gone out of business. Additionally, many campus’s are cutting student jobs due to reduced budgets. So…given the current economic issues, I’m not sure one would want to depend on such a job in order to afford college.
A large sounding merit scholarship is not a reason to attend a school that is still unaffordable, especially when there are other good options. Kohl’s can give me a coupon that makes the item I want $47 but it’s still not a good deal if Target has it for $30.
And costs go up every year, so the $5-10K the OP could make might not make as big a dent in the gap as expected. If OP can find a job. But just think if @Hmgpups goes to a school where the parents cover the cost, and they get a job. That’s money for fun or for saving for grad school, instead of struggling to make tuition.
“My question is less about debt and whether you really want it?” LOL my DD’19 really wanted to go to college in the Colorado mountains. That didn’t mean she should disregard what the debt load spent on 32 months of school in the mountains would do to the rest of her adult life. She can live in Colorado when she’s done and can stay somewhere more permanently.
That DD ended up at the semi-local school “where everybody goes”. She wanted to spend more for equal or lesser schools just to avoid that. But about .3% of the students are from her HS and it’s a different atmosphere for sure. It’s not in the exotic location she wanted, but she’s having a fabulous time and will probably have $0 debt.
@hmgpups I wish you well in your decision and hope it all works out for the best. Do think about the long term benefits that $0 debt will give you.
Below is a link to a story detailing a Georgetown study that found 70 percent of students work. It may be true that OP doesn’t have to work, and many of these students do. Still, this is the adult choice that is before him or her.
No fixation on Tulane here — simply helping to discuss factors to be considered for this decision. Its possible the financial gap could be bridged, but there are pros and cons to that. I would also point out again that OP and parents could consider going back to Tulane if this is the top choice, ask for more $ and say they will commit if the numbers make sense.
I think you need to keep investigating, and wait for the final major/honors/program spots and costs you’ve been offered to make a decision. I would absolutely go back to Tulane and ask if they can find you any more money.
I don’t think it is valid to compare a large state U to a private one and say you can get the same education, and OP did mention class size and community among reasons for the Tulane love. Can you get a good education at both? Absolutely. During the wind up of covid and beyond they could look and present very very differently.
I agree that you need to look long term, and shouldn’t be making a choice that leaves you with a lot of debt given your desired school and career path.
tOSU might as well be on a different planet than Tulane, they are not equivalent choices, which does not mean that tOSU isn’t the best choice for you.
Avoid the loan and save it for grad school. Don’t worry about size of schools like OSU. Any college starts to feel smaller once you start making friends in dorms and in your major.
I do not think there is anything wrong with a student taking on a reasonable level of debt (less than $50k) to accomplish an educational objective. People on CC generally feel that is almost never the case. I am not wrong, just do not agree.