I am attending High school in South Dakota. Of the in state college options I have, NONE of them offer the program I am really after: Petro Engineering. I have applied to the Colorado School of Mines, and was wondering, how much should I expect to take out on loans. With the average starting salary of somewhere in the ballpark of $90,000, is $200,000 in student loans too much to consider? My parents will not be paying for my college, but because they make +$100,000 per year I do not qualify for financial aid. What things must I take into consideration about my loans? What are my options? This is my dream school and I do not really have too many other options. All comments are welcome.
If you take out the full Stafford loan of $5500 freshman year, then $6500/$7500/$7500, you’ll have $27k in total loans. Of course $20k would be better, but that won’t be enough to pay for Mines. Without your parents paying or co-signing for additional loans, you won’t have any way of financing CSM.
Mines isn’t your only option. Look at Wyoming, Montana, NM under the WICHE/WUE programs for much cheaper costs. Look at SD school of Mines. The program may not match exactly, but it will be a fine education.
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With the average starting salary of somewhere in the ballpark of $90,000, is $200,000 in student loans too much to consider?
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Uh…yes. And your parents would be very naive to co-sign those loans. Are they saying that they will? If not, it won’t happen.
Besides NO SCHOOL, not even Harvard is worth $100k in loans, much less $200k. That’s waaaayyyy too much debt.
Some say that PetE is a dying major. It’s risky to even go that route. You can get the same jobs and more jobs with another eng’g degree…such as ChemE…which is offered at MORE schools.
What are your stats?
How much will your parents pay each year?
OP, do any of your surrounding states offer in-state tuition for a student from SD? What schools have ABET accredited engineering programs? Does SD School of Mines and Technology? I see they are heavy in the major engineering, and have a number of ChE students. Nephew works in petroleum industry and he is a ChE.
You absolutely do not want the debt. CO School of Mines has a good reputation, but it is not worth what you are talking about with debt.
My nephew graduated with a degree in Petroleum engineering and took almost two years to find a job. I agree with @Mom2Collegekids, the major does not have great options and I know my nephew is NOT making anywhere near $90K per year.
$200K will take a long time to repay it.
I agree with others, don’t specialize too much with your major. Chem E would be much more versatile than Pet E.
If you got the stats you can get merit to save on costs.
Where will YOU get $200,000 in student loans? Your parents will either need to be qualified cosigners for all four years OR they will need to take out these huge loans.
$200,000 is WAY to much for undergrad loans. Your payback would be about $3000 a month for ten years…assuming you even found a job where you had that much money left in your paycheck to do so after taxes, etc.
I agree. Look for an affordable program in chemical engineering.
As others have said. ChemE is a better route. One of the local kids majored in ChemE and now works in the petroleum industry.
My son was a ChemE major. His housemates were also ChemE majors. The housemates are now working in the Pet industry. NO NEED to major in PetE…the industry does not expect/demand PetE since they know that many colleges have DISCONTINUED that major because it’s becoming less marketable.
I think if OP does go to CSM and major in PetE that he/she would have a successful career. CSM has a very high placement rate. The issue is how to pay for that degree. There are some scholarships available, but the school is expensive.