If the question were simply a CSU or a CC, I personally would lean towards a CSU because the students he would be surrounding himself with would be more driven and the chances of finishing are higher. Of course if he were immature, not at college-level academically or not ready in some other way than a CC might be the best route. Are you sure you don’t qualify for financial aid? Most aid is need-based, so if your income is too high, since the assumption is for you to help, it is your son who pays the price.
He should apply to a few different CSUs and then decide between a CSU and a CC once he has his acceptances in hand. He should also apply for financial aid with the FASFA at the CSU because he might qualify for aid.
Pros of cc: cheaper, can get his GPA higher so that he can transfer to CPSLO, more parental support in all things emotional, mental, financial; likely easier classes than CSU.
Cons of cc: higher chance of not actually finishing college, esp if both parents have not attended college; Too easy to get overly involved in his “work life” and turning towards work instead of college
Pros of CSU: surrounded by motivated kids might get him more motivated; counseling available for disconnect he might feel as a difference from his parents’ life and his life
Cons of cc: higher debt when graduates; harder classes
Whenever I read posts like yours, I’m always hopeful that the authors never have any financial need after they retire. I think the danger of teaching kids that people have to pay their own way, is that they’ll learn that people have to pay their own way. You might want to take the money you’re not spending on college and put it some sort of long-term investment, just in case.
And whenever I read posts like yours, I’m reminded how rude and condescending people can be when they’re protected by the anonymity of the internet. The OP are happy to let their son live at home, rent-free, while he attends a local community college or CSU, but to hear you talk they’ve kicked him to the curb and told him “you’re on your own!”
If you’re putting the full cost of college on your son, I don’t think you have a leg to stand on regarding telling him not to take out loans. If he’s responsible enough to pay for college on his own, he’s responsible enough to decide whether or not loans are worth it for him.
Regarding shortening the time he’s in college, it’s a simple opportunity cost scenario. If he majors in CS let’s figure he’ll get a job for 60k. Compare that to making 10k working part time instead for an additional year. If he takes out a 10k loan then he comes out 50k ahead. Figure closer to 30k after taxes, still a good tradeoff. So attending for 6 years part time with zero loans has an opportunity cost of 60k vs attending for 4 years with 20k in loans.
At some CC’s he can use fed loans, but if he can avoid them, then do so. Calif CC’s have a low enough cost that if your son works/saves over the summer, he should be able to pay for a CC out of pocket.
That said, he needs to do the math and figure how much he’ll need once he transfers to a univ. If he lives on campus of a Cal Poly or UC, then his annual costs could be $20k-30k+, and even with a $7500 annual loan for his jr and sr years, he couldn’t earn enough for the rest.
So, if paying for junior and senior years will be a problem, then he may need to borrow for frosh/soph years and bank those dollars for later use, and use “job earnings” to pay for his CC. I wish students were allowed to delay their borrowing options until later, but it’s a “use it or lose it” scenario.
OP just so you know: computer science is a demanding major. In the beginning, there will be a lot of “weed out” courses. The more into the major your son gets, the harder he will have to study.
Anything other than a very-part-time job is likely to affect his grades, slow him down, and increase the odds of him dropping out.
Your requirement he pay for his education himself without taking any loans may be setting him up for failure before he even begins.
^^^ I remember senior year taking 2 CS classes. I’d leave my room at 11am and not return until about 1am most days. After classes I was always in the computer lab working on CS assignments. Very little free time, certainly not enough to spend any significant hours at a job.
Thank you all for the replies. Everyone has gave us a lot of options.
It’s really hard to pay for college - and the worst is not graduating, even after 6 years. So everything must be set in place to make sure he will succeed and graduate.
First, grades are systematically impacted if the student works more than 12-15 hours a week (typically the recommended limit is 8-10 for freshmen who get used to the rigors of college, then 12-15 hours a week). Almost all of this should be saved - hopefully you’ll let him live at home for free for the first 2-3 years it’ll take to make it through CC, thus saving him room&board. Will you pay for his books? His car insurance? (Any money he pays for that is money he’ll have to borrow later on, so it’s not a “valuable expense”.) Working over the summer should be enough to cover his tuition, so that he can save most of his work earnings
Hopefully he’ll get an on-campus job because otherwise he’d waste a lot of time commuting, time that ought to be devoted to studying.
He should know that you’ll expect him to be on campus all day, working in the library if he’s not in class - this isn’t high school where he just goes home after class.
His chosen major is difficult and he should expect to devote about 30 hours a week to studying, plus his full time schedule of classes (15 hours - 2 hours of prep for 1 hour of class is minimal. For CS and math, it can be up to 3 hours per class period - that’s why working more than 15 hours a week virtually guarantees lower grades than would normally be expected. He’s already expected to devote 45- 50 hours a week to his classes. When students work more than 15 hours a week, they just don’t have time to put in the work for class and don’t have the energy to actually memorize/connect/analyze the material at the required level, do the 2 hours of problem sets assigned and get them right, complete the team project where everyone’s supposed to be present till it’s done even if it’s till 1 am, etc.)
Second, the federal loans ($5,500 freshman year and, once he’s reached sophomore status, $6,500) should be taken out and banked, to be used junior and senior year when he gets to a CSU. You’ll need to fill out the FAFSA forms - it doesn’t require you to pay anything, but it ensures your son receives what he is eligible for.
The savings from the part time job + banked loans should help him pay for tuition for jr and senior year at a CSU. He’d have to use the rest of the federal loans + work about 12-15 hours to pay for his room&board.
Hopefully he’ll get into CPP and sign before registering for any class the “2 year guarantee” program - which guarantees he won’t be locked out of necessary classes.
I would let him apply to choice #2 and #3, and add #4 UC Merced (because their financial aid also encompasses room, board, and transportation, unlike CSUs) in case some financial aid does materialize - I think financial aid is available up to 80K and 125K in CA. If there’s more than 1 commutable CC, have him investigate the transfer rate, the quality of the CS classes, whether it’s weed out, etc.
Different strokes I guess. My husband is a plumber with a postsecondary tech school education. He is also a similar example of success. He was a first generation high school grad. His attitude is totally different, however. He will do whatever it takes to make sure that my son does not have to walk in his shoes and we are preparing to help however we can. I am currently not working so it will be tough. I don’t know how much HVAC folks make, but if it is like plumbing, you may be able to get some aid. My husband is self employed and we will qualify for aid, especially since the state schools do not count things like home equity and business income. They look at AGI and after SEP IRAs and other deductions AGI can be quite low. If your husband is self employed and you want info, PM me. I hope you are willing to fill out the FAFSA to see if your son might be able to get Pell Grants or Cal Grants. You may be surprised what is available. Have you tried the net price calculators for the CSUs?
I assume we are neighbors if you are close enough to commute to CPP. Our CC allows the local grads of our local high school district to attend community college for a year for free or to automatically enter the local CSU with minimal requirements. I don’t know what is going on in the area of Pomona but you might want to see if there are any type of programs like this one. Your high school GC might have some ideas.
But @granny2 the OP is in CA which has a very good CC to CSU/UC transfer system.
The CPP on-time graduation pledge descriptions and conditions are described here:
Four year pledge for frosh:
https://www.cpp.edu/~academic-programs/graduation-pledge/4yr_Graduation_Pledge.shtml
https://www.cpp.edu/~academic-programs/graduation-pledge/faq/4yr_faq.shtml
Two year pledge for transfers:
https://www.cpp.edu/~academic-programs/graduation-pledge/2yr_Transfer_Pledge.shtml
https://www.cpp.edu/~academic-programs/graduation-pledge/faq/2yr_faq.shtml
Re: #31 and #32
The OP should check http://www.assist.org to see how well the local CCs cover the frosh/soph requirements for the student’s desired major at the target CSUs and UCs if he does the CC->transfer path.
The CCs generally have good coverage of common standardized courses like math, English composition, physics, and introductory courses in many humanities and social studies that students take for general education (though quarter versus semester system difference may require the student to take a series at CC to cover a series at a CSU or UC, rather than a one-to-one course mapping). But frosh/soph CS courses and curricula tend to be less standardized, so a CC student who transfers may have to take “catch up” courses after transfer.
OP should look at comments #33,#34 very carefully along with the concerns that many posters expressed about working and attending college full time. Adding my comments from the perspective of a math prof at a directional university not unlike a mid-level Cal State:
Most of my students work 20-30, sometimes 40, hours a week, and they struggle to meet deadlines and they do not have the time to study for classes. Add that to the fact that our students have high school GPA’s around 3.0, and we end up with a 6-yr. grad rate of 50% . Just today, I received two emails asking for extensions because the students were too busy working to get to the assignment, even though my syllabus mentions “no extensions”. (I drop some grades to compensate) . Most of academia, including community colleges and directional universities, has not woken up to the reality of the student work schedule. A full time student load assumes that the student is devoting most of his/her time to school, and student financial aid is only for students with at least 12 credits.
I think the advice of starting at a CC, banking the loan money, and then moving to the Cal State sounds reasonable. CS is a math heavy major, and so to be on track, OP’s son would have to start CC with calculus or precalc at the very least. Anything lower, including placement in a remedial course, will delay the CS plans.
In addition to CS, OP’s son should also investigate IT or MIS programs in CC/ Cal State. They are less rigorous, but may be a better academic fit or as a backup plan.
This kid’s first quarter schedule will probably look something like:
Calculus
Physics with Lab
Freshman English
A programming course
Or, if he’s not ready for calculus,
Precalculus
Biology with Lab
Freshman English
A programming class
The English class has a lot of writing and rewriting, the science class has a lab, the programming class has tons of programs to write, and the calculus class has problem sets. The only one of these classes that is a walk in the park is precalculus, if he takes it. (Or at least, precalculus should be a walk in the park for any student who will be getting a CS degree in four years.) Most freshmen won’t be able to take this workload and work more than 10-12 hours a week, and still succeed in their classes. And note that Cs in those classes probably aren’t good enough to be able to transfer. He needs Bs, I’d guess.
Congrats!!! A student who goes to CC then transfers to a four year college AND pays his/her own way is miles ahead in life. Far better shape than yet another spoiled snot at Princeton or Smith, leeching off daddy and protesting some cause.
Employers love those who show initiative and common sense. Resume should state upfront “put myself though college”. I know from first hand experience that puts you at the front of the job line. The Smith snot? She will be in her old bedroom at home, mad at the world.
CalPoly is a world class school. I have met highly paid professionals from all around the world who either went there or had their kids go to either campus. The all love it. Many have told me they wasted money on their other kids, sending them to private colleges. All they learned was to be entitled.
Except that he will be supported by his parents, who plan to allow him to continue living at home and use a car to commute to school (as described in reply #6). As government subsidies of public higher education have been cut back since a generation ago (requiring in-state tuition increases), and high school graduate work opportunities have gotten worse, fewer students are truly able to work themselves through (government subsidized public) college without any parental support than they were a generation ago.
As it is, he will probably need to take the small government student loans for his years at a university (not likely to be necessary at the cheaper community college if he starts there, though, as suggested above, he may want to take the loans then and bank them in case he needs the money after he transfers to a university) in order to be able to cover the tuition and books costs beyond what a part time job is likely to earn. Without loans, it is likely to take much longer than four years to finish his degree, due to having to work full time while attending school part time, or alternating school and work semesters/quarters. The latter case has potential upside in terms of money to pay for school if he gets a relatively well paid co-op job, but that depends on staying in the computer science major and finding such a co-op job, which is not necessarily guaranteed.
Thank you all for your replies. There has been a change in his mind about what he wants to major in 
He does not want to work in an office all day, and so now he doesn’t know what he wants to do. He thinks a major in CS will keep him in an office. With that in mind, I will need to look into if applying for a Cal State is worth it if he doesn’t know what he wants to do.