Community College vs University... Need to make the decision

College Search & Selection
1

<p>I seriously do not have the money to pay to attend a four year institution. My intended major is Petroleum Engineering and would like to attend Texas Tech University. Is there a limit to how much I can get in loans? Should I sign up for the Texas National Guard and become a full time student or just take out loans? I do not intend on having a job during college btw. Would my FAFSA along with joining the National Guard be enough to eliminate student debt?</p>

<p>or... Should I attend a local community college for two years, significantly decreasing student loan debt, and then transfer to Tech after?</p>

2

<p>From this it sounds that your best bet would be to go to a community college. You could join the National Guard but it appears that the main motivator for that is to get your education paid for. I would not encourage that you join the service if you weren’t strongly considering it before but I am unsure as to how much they actually pay. Community college may not consist of the same experiences as a big university but it might be a poor choice to take the entire cost at Texas Tech and turn it into debt.</p>

3

<p>CC beats a huge debt load…</p>

4

<p>Investigate whether or not your intended community college has a guaranteed transfer agreement with Texas Tech. There are many such arrangements out there. Financially, the advantage of a year or two at community college is indisputable. Engineering schools take transfers from high achieving CC students all the time, </p>

5

<p>Do not join the National Guard simply to earn extra money. Only join if you are enthusiastic about the military.</p>

<p>IF YOU ARE ENTHUSIASTIC ABOUT THE MILITARY, then apply for an ROTC scholarship which will pay all tuition plus a monthly stipend of at least $300 per month. Plus, you are guaranteed a job in the military when you graduate. Army, Navy, and Air Force all have such scholarships (Marine Corps scholarship is bundled with the Navy). Take your pick.</p>

<p>The Navy really likes engineering majors of all kinds. The Air Force likes engineering majors too, but is a bit pickier about which type. Not sure that the Air Force would allow petroleum engineering. The Army does not care what you major in.</p>

<p>Texas Tech does not have Navy ROTC, but does have both Army and Air Force. Texas A&M has all three. So does UT-Austin. Rice has Navy ROTC.</p>

<p>If you NOT enthusiastic about the military, then yes you should go to CC for the first two years, or apply for other scholarships. Loans are bad news.</p>

6

<p>What are your stats?
Have you run the Net Price Calculators at various public and private colleges that offer your desired major?
Are you scared off because of net prices or because of sticker prices?
Is the problem that your parents make too much money and can’t afford their EFC (= you need a lot of merit aid) or is it that your parents don’t make enough money to pay their EFC or that your in-state costs are higher than what you can pay? If you have a low EFC (or even EFC 0), you should look into these colleges
<a href=“Colleges with Need-Blind Admission for U.S. Students”>Colleges with Need-Blind Admission for U.S. Students;
although they’re all very to highly selective so you’d need to have the stats to get in.</p>

<p>You, as a freshman, are entitled to $5,500 in loans. That’s it. In addition, if your family is (very) low income you may qualify for a federal grant called Pell. Finally, you may get work-study (a job on campus around your study hours - if you’re smart you pick a “paid to study” job ie, keeping the desk in a dorm’s entrance hall, or the help or check out desk in the library.)
However, many private colleges “discount” their prices, there are merit scholarships if you have good grades and good SAT or ACT scores…
Run the Net Price Calculators.</p>

7

<p>You say that you don’t intend to have a job during college. You are aware that the National Guard is a job, right?</p>

<p>The National Guard is part-time military service with a joint federal/state obligation. I agree with the general advice that you shouldn’t join any military branch or service unless you actually want to be in the military. I also will say that on the front end, the college assistance is less than you expect. In order to be 100% eligible for the GI Bill, you need to have 36 months of full time active service. That’s 3 years; it will take you longer than 3 years to earn the equivalent in the National Guard, since you are only serving (theoretically) 1 weekend a month and 2 weeks a year.</p>

<p>There is [tuition</a> assistance](<a href=“http://www.nationalguard.com/tools/authorized-rates-and-fees-for-fta]tuition”>Army National Guard), but the limit is $4,500 per year. Per my husband’s comment (an AF veteran) TA is usually used by people who are taking a few college classes here and there.</p>

<p>Finally, there are [National</a> Guard](<a href=“http://www.nationalguard.com/tools/guard-scholarships]National”>http://www.nationalguard.com/tools/guard-scholarships) scholarships, but they are very similar to ROTC - you have to drill in college with a NG unit and you have to accept an 8-year commitment to the NG after you graduate.</p>

<p>So to answer your question - it’s exceedingly unlikely that the tuition assistance ($4,500) you’ll get while in the NG + whatever you can get from federal sources (at most $5,000 in Pell Grant money, and that’s only if your family is seriously low-income) will completely eliminate any debt.</p>

<p>If you served for the equivalent of 36 months on active duty, however, the GI Bill would be enough to mostly eliminate student debt - it covers full in-state tuition at public universities plus gives you a monthly housing allowance.</p>

<p>The other thing to remember is as a National Guard member you can be deployed. Deployment or special assignment can include either overseas deployment just like a regular military branch member (not common but not outside of the realm of possibility) OR deployment to areas (mostly within Texas, but potentially outside) of the United States that need National Guard assistance.</p>

<p>*</p>

<p>So the better option is to attend a community college for two years, then transfer.</p>