It’s impossible to tell, from the information given, whether their in-state acceptances are the most affordable options that were possible given your financials, or if they should have had a whole different application strategy. In order to know, we would need to have more of an idea of what schools you’re talking about, what their stats were like, and how much need-based aid your family qualifies for.
When you say that they’ll need loans either way (in-state or OOS)… there must be a difference in the size of those loans or you wouldn’t be asking the question. How much debt are we talking about here?
Also, haven’t they already committed somewhere by now, and declined their other offers?
It may indeed be that they’re now in a jam where the school(s) they’ve chosen are not really affordable. This isn’t a good situation to be in, especially when they’re interested in fields that are either relatively low-paying or will require graduate-level education.
If that’s the case, then the question is whether starting in community college is the best alternate plan, or whether there’s better funding out there for them if they take a gap year and reapply with a better strategy. Folks here can help you figure that out if you provide more info. Just understand that once they matriculate - whether at a 4-year school or a CC - they will lose their freshman applicant status, and some generous aid packages that might have worked for them will no longer be available. So assess this carefully before making a decision.
We don’t know but in state is likely cheaper given that they have a small gap for out of state. Hard to know without accurate data. TX also has some great schools so I was thinking that might be a possible route, again hard to know without all the data and stats.
I had two starting at the same time. I set a budget for each, and they both came in under that amount. One took more in loans over the years, the other had more in scholarships (including an athletic scholarship that she really had to work hard for while in school).
They wanted to go to school in California but we’d moved while they were in high school and they didn’t have instate rates. They had to pick other schools. Both did just fine in the schools they could afford and they made new friends at college. The are happy they have limited student loans, and for one even those hurt to pay.
CC isn’t horrible, or there may be local colleges that are inexpensive. We have a community college that shares a campus with Metro State U and U of Colorado-Denver. They share a lot of facilities, have Div 2 athletics, sororities and fraternities, and a limited amount of housing. By far the majority of students commute but it is a ‘real’ college experience no matter which school the student is enrolled in (and it is easy to take a class at one of the other institutions too). The campus has about 30,000 students but many are part time so there aren’t that many on campus at the same time (also a lot of night students).
Don’t let your kids take out $5500 in loans AND private loans. They’ll regret it. They can go on spring break with their old friends (yes, I’ve been there!)
An option is to do a year of Americorps. Your kids could earn about $2500/mo, plus a Segal grant of ~$6500 (that’s for 1800 hours and equal to a Pell grant, but if you work fewer hours, you can get a portion of it). It can be used for future education or to pay back student loans. There are all kinds of positions. I did math tutoring last year and will do reading this year. Many of those in my program just graduated from hs. It would also help your daughter thinking of education decide if it is really for her.
Thank you Everyone for your valuable advice. You’ve given us a lot to think about. We have a lot of decisions to make in a short period of time but I know it will all work out in the end. Thank you again.
They should apply immediately to Blinn, the community college feeder into Texas A&M. With one year of good grades, they can transfer. Blinn is very affordable, and is just like attending Texas A&M; the students live together and socialize. They would have info on scholarships as well.
Please don’t view this as “have to end up”. The community college to four year transfer option is another way to complete a bachelors degree, and is nothing to be ashamed about.
Did your twins understand the finances might not work out…or did you allow them to commit to attending this college already…and pay the deposits?
If you are willing to share your daughters’ stats, there are still schools that are accepting applications for this fall. It may be that an in-state public is your family’s best option. Or taking a gap year. Or going to community college for 1-2 years before transferring. Perhaps even a different university that you haven’t thought about that would hit your budget based on your daughters’ stats. There are still options, but time is going to start running out soon.
If you can pay $1000/month/kid, don’t you almost have it covered? $2000/month over a year is $24,000 which is about what you need. Plus the kids can work. In addition, you may qualify for the tax credit.
I didn’t have to do 2 at a time, but my DD’19 went to a regional public that was about $15K per year. She had some savings, she worked, she applied for departmental scholarships, I kicked in some tuition and some funds from side hustles, I got some reimbursement from tax credit, she moved off campus after freshman year, etc. and we made it through. There were also some Covid benefits, and she was able to graduate early which were things that don’t happen for all, but wanted to say for the amount you’ll need to pay there may be various ways to help cover it.
My DD’17 went to community college only and between the tax credit and the school’s foundation scholarships she applied for every semester, there was no net tuition cost. She stood tall when asked about her plans and told those that asked that she was excited to save so much money on her education.
I know that for those that go on to transfer, it may be harder to integrate as juniors, but if yours go to the same place they can have each other while they work on making other friends.
As you try to figure this out, remember that there are additional costs of going to college that far from your new home. Your flights, their flights, driving, shipping, etc… talk them through the economic realities. You are where you are at this point, but work with your husband to determine what he is honestly willing to pay for.
Look at the 2 and 4 year options near you where they can live at home this first year at least. Research what actual in state costs will be.
My kids have loans, we were released from being co-signers for our 2 oldest a year after they graduated. All of their majors should lead towards decent salaries. They had the choice to stay in state or get scholarships that would bring costs down to in state. If they stayed local and commuted they wouldn’t have needed loans.
Sorry you are having financial difficulties. How much are you spending to send your son to college? Seems like Community College might be the best option if you don’t have savings for this. It can be such a huge financial break.
Only suitable if the students in question are interested in becoming military officers and are among the ~30% of young Americans eligible for military service. Also note that ROTC scholarships are not guaranteed.
I chose to attend community college over more expensive options. I graduated in six years. It was a good choice for me at the time. There’s no shame in community college.
