<p>Hi, I am currently a junior in high school and is already thinking about colleges. I really like the campus of UCI and heard many things about it. That is my first choice in college. But my parents do not like the idea of taking loans just to go to that school. They want me to go to CSULB because it is much cheaper. The thing is though...I REALLY want to go to UCI if I ever get accepted there. I believe I should be able to make my choice in where I want to go, but they're really pushing me (and arguing with me) to go to either a Cal State or community college. I've been working really heard in high school to get a good GPA, do a lot of extracurriculars, join my school activities, and just being active overall. I feel like I would fit in with the UCs. I have an older sister who is in CSULB and my parents are paying for her tuition without loans. They say that if I ever go to UCI, they would only pay for as much as my sister's tuition and the rest I would have to loan.</p>
<p>My questions are: Should I go to UCs and accept the loans or should I go to CSU without loans; How is the college experience in a CSU?</p>
<p>P.S. I want to major in Computer Science or Software Developer</p>
<p>Have you and your parents run the net price calculators on each school? UCs have a higher list price than CSUs, but some low income students find that UCs have better financial aid to give them cheaper net prices than CSUs after financial aid grants.</p>
<p>For CS, the CSUs to consider most strongly are CPSLO and SJSU.</p>
<p>I’m guessing that your sister lives at home and commutes since you say they pay tuition. So that’s roughly $6K per year, lets bump it to $8K assuming they pay some other bills. If you live on campus at Irvine the estimated cost of attendance from their website is $30K per year. If your parents will only give you that same $8K that means $22K in debt unless you qualify for financial aid.</p>
<p>So I agree with post #2, first see if there might be FA in the picture. If not, then unfortunately you’re not going to Irvine, at least not right after HS (more on that later). $22K in debt is way too much to take on, even with the potential of a well-paying job down the road. Wanting to major in Computer Science or Software Developer is different from actually completing the program. Many start out in engineering or CS, but nationally about 1/2 or more end up quiting. If you end up with $90K in debt and a job that doesn’t pay well you’ll be sunk. </p>
<p>And for that matter you can’t take out $22K in loans on your own. I think the limit is around $6K, after that you’ll need your parents to co-sign (which I suspect they won’t).</p>
<p>So what to do if you want to go to Irvine and don’t qualify for FA? One thing to look into is the GI bill. You enlist, save while serving, and get benefits after you graduate plus what you have saved. I’m no expert here, just throwing out one idea.</p>
<p>Or pehaps you adjust your goals somewhat. It sounds like the college experience is important to you. There are some CSU schools that have a more traditional college feel, such as Cal Poly SLO or Chico. Both those campuses are highly regarded, probably as good as the mid-tier UCs. It would probably be another $12K/year over the CSULB cost to live on/near campus. Furthermore you could try to be an RA and get free room-and-board. There’s a risk they don’t select you, but that would reduce the cost.</p>