My D is still considering UAH. She has a better deal financially at a higher-rated school, but we’ve talked with students and locals, and UAH cannot be beat for its co-op and employment opportunities in the aerospace field.
Is employment generally remaining in Alabama? I don’t want to end up stuck in Alabama and I’d rather end up in Texas or California.
Have an OOS at GT. I will also second that the COA for GT seems high. It turns out to be about $43K for—and will probably drop just below $40K now that she is moving off campus. It can be hard to finish in 4 years. That needs to be factored in.
The deadlines have all passed for ROTC scholarship. ROTC is NOT a way to pay for college! It is for students whose #1 priority life is to serve as an officer in the armed forces. Students who join ROTC for the scholarship money very very rarely finish the program and in many cases have to pay the money back.
Here are some great articles that will help you get to know Huntsville. Good luck! Its unlike any other city in AL! http://www.huntsvillealabamausa.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=102&Itemid=277
I’m not sure if anyone else will view this thread anymore, but now I’ve run into a family problem. Despite not really having money to pay for it, my mom is extremely disappointed that I’m not planning to attend Georgia Tech. In fact, she was frustrated and told me I was throwing away talent to go to some no name school (she’s not usually like this). I told her there’s a chance they’d reject us both for loans that size and she said we’d “figure it out” if it happened. I told her that she wouldn’t be the one living with student loan debt half her life.
It’s rough, but I applied to UAH and will probably attend.
Good choice. You won’t regret not going into crazy debt. Good luck!
First, I think that an aerospace major is tough. Hiring is dependent on defense spending and that can be iffy at times. My D had friends who wanted to work in aero and they found finding internships and jobs a bit harder than those who had other majors. My D, a mech e major also had opportunities in the aerospace industry but wasn’t limited to them. If I had a child, I would advise them to major in mechanical with a aero minor to expand their job opportunities. Anyways that’s my $.02.
I haven’t shared this story before because I’ve felt it wasn’t my story to share. My D is now 5 years out of undergrad. She, because of us, is debt free. She has a friend who is a chemical engineer and makes above that $70,000. She also because of bad planning and a divorced parent who lied to her about paying, was over 6 figures in debt. She was told that her parent would help her pay those loans off. They didn’t. She’s now responsible (I’m not sure of the particulars but am guessing my D’s friend took out private loans).
This friend, was under such stress about this debt, she was having physical problems. Headaches, hair falling out that sort of things. She finally confided in my D. 5 years out of undergrad, she is paying somewhere in the range of $1200/month. I think her parent took out parent plus loans for 1 year and is paying that, but it’s a very small amount of the total. The parent plus loan is not part of the $1200, it’s in addition to. This friend can’t live alone, she needs to have a roommate. She drives a used car, it’s all she can afford. My D is really into working out and her friend would love to join her gym but it’s not in her budget. She doesn’t go out much.
My D on the other hand, lives by herself, drives a new car. Belongs to an expensive gym. Goes out with her girlfriends multiple times a week if she wants to. Has a short term savings over 3 months salary which came in very handy this winter when she had an expensive heating bill and all her insurances due for the year. She can pay her bills when they come in and not even think about that. She also contributes 12% + to her 401k. It’s grown quite a bit in the 5 years she’s been employed.
Her friend still has 5 more years of paying off her school loans.
You at 18 may not think 10 years is that long, it’s an eternity when your in your 20’s. And think how behind the person is with saving for their future retirement and life events. Like marriage and kids. Things that happen for many in their 20’s.
That is terrible that your mom is saying she is disappointed if you don’t go to GT.
The amount that GT costs cannot jusy be “figured out as you go”.
If the money isn’t there, you have to make your own way.
Thankfully you have good stats and UAH is still accepting applications and giving merit this late.
And it has great opportunities for the career you are interested in.
It is not a “no name school” in that industry.
You are smart to think about the future, you will go far by taking advantage of opportunities that present themselves!
Regarding the poster whose kid is making GT work, it can be very challenging to get $10K in outside scholarships a year. Most outside scholarships are for small amounts and only cover one year. Don’t assume you can make this happen.
As the wife of an engineer whose career can span multiple industries (IE), I HIGHLY encourage you to go MechE. He’s worked in and out of the defense industry and trust me when I say the Aerospace Engineers had the toughest time finding jobs after layoffs. Layoffs are a way of life in the defense industry and the more marketable you can be, the better.
I’m sorry about your mom but proud of you for stepping up and leading the way and making a truly adult decision.
“We’ll figure it out” is usually code speak for “if they don’t offer scholarships and we don’t have the money we’ll probably borrow.” If you don’t qualify for loans, there’s nothing to figure out. If you don’t pay, you can’t attend. You don’t want those kind of loans anyway. I’m sorry your mom isn’t taking this as well as she could. She probably feels guilty that she can’t afford more. You may want to encourage her to make a CC account and get some help understanding the options.
Good for you for finding alternatives so quickly. I’d consider a degree in mechanical engineering, though, because it seems to be more versatile.
If your parents can’t pay UMN, then UAH is a very good choice. Congratulations also for thinking of your siblings, who would have been shackled with no choice for college. Plus, you’ll be in the middle of a research park, will be in the honors college, and will live in another part of the country (no more snowstorms! Easy beach trip for fall break!)
It is also code speak for “you will have to transfer back to the in-state public school, and maybe take time off to earn money for that option” after you run out of money a year or two into it.
I highly recommend your mom reading Frank Bruni’s book Where You Go Is Not Who You’ll Be https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00LLIIZMK/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1
Even just reading the reviews might help her. Print up some of the past comments on UAH and show them to her. Do a virtual tour of the school and check out the honors dorm. I believe most of the dorms are suite style with your own private bedroom! Good job on pursuing the affordable alternative! Good Luck!
@clightfield24 you are right to be concerned about the level of debt required to attend GT or Minnesota. As other posters have pointed out, being $100k+ in debt is a bad way to start out your working life after graduation, it would cripple your ability to qualify for any other loans (car, mortgage, etc.) for a decade or more. Having such a large amount of debt, even if up to date on payments, can adversely affect your credit score, resulting in higher interest rates on any loans you might be able to get.
Also, although engineering starting salaries are comparatively higher, salary increases in engineering often flatten out over time, or as other posters point out, may be adversely affected by cycles in defense/aerospace budgets, so all the more reason not to start out with a huge college debt burden.
My 3 kids all followed the $$, rather than the prestige of higher ranked schools which would have buried us all in debt, 1 with a full ride scholarship and 2 with full tuition scholarships. They love the Unis which showed them more love and are all doing great! Since they were all near the top academically at their schools, they have had a leg up in getting opportunities which allow them to stand out in the crowd - Honors classes, great internships, lab research, etc. They have still experienced challenging academics, and found that there are plenty of other smart students like them.
UAH is a terrific school, both academically and financially, and you are incredibly intelligent and mature to realize that it is the wise choice for you! Your parents probably feel some guilt for not being able to make your dream school scenario happen for you, hence the “we’ll figure it out” comments. They will come around when they consider the bigger picture and what it means for your siblings down the road.
Your college experience will be whatever you make of it, and your positive attitude will get you off to a great start!
It is not rough to apply to Huntsville and have a great affordable option. It is a blessing. Attending affordable schools is the path many top students take bc their parents can’t afford to pay for them to attend elsewhere. It is the same path my own kids take.
Fwiw, my oldest ds, a chemE, attend a small, lower ranked public university. When he co-opted, he co-opted right alongside kids from Va Tech, GT, and NCSU. At graduation, he had multiple job offers and works alongside people who graduated from those and other top engineering schools. They all started at the exact same pay, and their pay from then on has been based on performance, not school name.
Another fwiw, my physics/math ds attends Bama. He has had multiple REU (research experience for undergraduates) offers from extremely competitive, top programs. So, no, attending Bama did not prevent him from being competitive when applying for REUs.
A large part of the UG experience depends on what you make of it. If you actively pursue on-campus research, summer internships, co-ops, make good grades, etc vs just going to class and partying with little else to show for it, you can shine on your campus and forge your own path forward.
A question : will your parents borrow pay anything beside what’s in your 529?
^^ Autocorrect replaced co-oped with co-opted. 
Where are your kids, and what scholarships did they get?