Appreciate any advice. She received no money from Bama and it is pricey at 48k.
Arizona offered 5k but still 42K. Any thoughts? I know both are great college experiences.
She is out of state and does not have high enough GPA for scholarship. Thank you!
Are you an Arizona resident?
Have you visited both campuses? On another post you mention UC schools, assuming from CA. Is money an issue for either school? I have been to both and much prefer Bama, however it really is up to your daughter and how she feels when at either school.
Are there any in-state options? Both of those options seem expensive.
You need to tell us more - why the interest in these two schools, in particular? What is your daughter’s anticipated major? What campus activities is she looking forward to becoming involved in?
She is interested in nursing. She really wants to rush and join a sorority and participate in big college sports experience. She has visited both but is leaning toward AZ because her mother lives there and in-state tuition a possibility. She liked both campuses equally but is nervous about Alabama being so far from Northern California.
CA resident
Have you looked into the hurdles of getting into the nursing program at each and whether she’s likely to be accepted? I know at Alabama it’s pretty competitive; don’t know anything about Arizona.
My daughter just graduated from Bama and had a great experience, but if your daughter can get in-state tuition at Arizona by virtue of her mother being a resident and it’s otherwise a close decision, then I think Arizona comes out ahead.
I’d definitely agree that in-state tuition at Arizona would make that school a better choice. I don’t know about your daughter’s relationship with her mother, but if spending Thanksgiving and long weekends with mom would be a possibility, that would also weigh in favor of Arizona.
One thing your daughter would find at Alabama, though, are plenty of students from out of state - including plenty from Northern California. So, yes, Alabama would be a culture very different from what’s she’s used to, but the campus itself is a very diverse community, and she’d have no problem finding “her people.”
And, even though she’d be far from her own home, she’d probably be welcomed with open arms at the homes of her new Bama friends, and would find herself with surrogate families everywhere from Texas to Chicago to Massachusetts, and beyond!
here is the other thread where much of this was discussed. I don’t know if in that thread the OP mentioned that the student’s mom lives in AZ so instate might be possible.
OP - Original Poster
DD - Darling Daughter.
Right now, the OP and DD are instate for Calif, where RN programs are impacted, and have been for over 35 years.
Bama’s COA is high because it includes the pricey super-suites…private bedrooms. If the DD took a standard double room, the cost would drop by about $4k.
Also…if she pledges, then her meal plan price goes down.
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e) There are certain exceptions to the general rule. A student may also be eligible for resident status if he or she can establish that, on or before the last day of regular registration, he or she meets one of the following criteria:
I. DEPENDENT The student is domiciled in Arizona and has not met the one-year durational requirement, but one or both of the student’s parents are domiciled in Arizona and are entitled to claim him or her as a dependent child for state and federal tax purposes (whether or not the parent actually claimed the student as a dependent child).
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Will your DD meet this criteria? It sounds like your DD lives with you in Calif.
When is/was the last day to register for UAz? And, do they mean registering each year? or the first registration?
Would your exW be “entitled” to claim your DD as a dependent on her taxes?
I agree that IF your daughter can establish in-state status at Arizona, this is a no-brainer choice. Both schools are terribly expensive for an out-of-state student. Bama is probably closer to $40k a year, but still, that’s $160,000 for a possible BSN. If you can afford that easily, then go for it. But if you’re looking at any loans beyond the Stafford ones, I’d think twice.
I used to live in CA, so I have tremendous empathy for your plight. Just wondering if any of the CSU’s were an option. San Diego State certainly offers that big-campus-with-football experience, and coming from Northern CA would offer a new experience, but at in-state rates.
Nursing is a highly impacted major in CA just as mom2collegekids mentioned. Look at this chart from 2014-2015 for the CSU campuses. Basic nursing is impacted everywhere it is offered.
https://www.calstate.edu/sas/documents/impactedprogramsmatrix.pdf
Thank you Lucie. No I am going to have to borrow Parent Plus for most of it. Going to be expensive. But DD is going to have to pay half of the loans. I think AZ with possibility of in state tuition the better choice. I know nursing impacted but I also want her to have that full freshman experience of meeting new friends, etc. You can’t get that at a JC then transfer and she only has one shot at this. Also, she did not get into SDSU as you asked earlier.
What are her stats?
I’m wondering if there might be another school, with nursing, that might be more affordable.
You’ve indicated that you will be borrowing most of the costs. That suggests to me that your ExWife would not be able to demonstrate to UArizona that she provides for your DD to be entitled to claim DD on her taxes.
Who will be rightfully claiming your DD on taxes for the next few years?
What is the OOS cost for U New Mexico? Does U South Dakota have nursing? It’s much cheaper and it’s a flagship as well.
You say that your DD is going to pay back half the loans, but that could mean a huge burden (and loans for you will be burden). If you have to borrow $120k, then 60k would be hers, and that’s way too much.
Believe me, that much debt isn’t worth it for a college experience. The “fun memories” will be shadowed by painful debt for a long time.
Maybe those of us here know of some schools with nursing that will be less expensive.
http://www.nacacnet.org/research/research-data/College-Openings/Pages/College-Openings-Results.aspx
these are some of the schools that are still accepting apps and giving aid.
Univ of Missouri is on there and it’s EZ to get instate residency there if you follow their easy rules.
There are a few other “sporty” schools on there.
Your decision is just daunting to me…
$40,000 x 4 years = $160,000. (And, you will likely need a 9th semester at UA, so that’s an additional expense to consider.)
Isn’t there a rule of thumb of how much you should borrow, based on your eventual starting salary in the career you choose? (I think I read that somewhere.)
Noted elsewhere that the AVERAGE GPA of the accepted nursing cohort is now 4.0+ at UA.
See here: https://mappingyourfuture.org/paying/debtwizard/
“This calculator is based on the recommendation that your student loan payment be no more than 8 percent of your gross earnings. The calculations do not take into consideration a high amount of credit card or other debt.”
This might guide your discussion with your student.
Each state has a board of nursing, and you can generally find out all the ADN (assoc degree nursing) BSN programs, etc If you can find a way to get in state residency on BSN program. DD and parent are dreaming of the big college experience and not really the goal. Having it all paid for by debt is pushing forward the payment responsibilities - which are hefty. Does one really think a student is going to pay back all that debt if and when they finish a degree? You are asking that of a 17/18/19 YO that doesn’t have a clue what that would mean for sacrifices when the loan payments are due month after month. You are dealing with the pipe dream. Realistically put a plan together for the goal. Maybe even a gap year.
Does the student have the academic aptitude and abilities for nursing? The sciences and other courses in the first two years to be able to go on to clinicals in year 3 and 4. You would be surprised at how many people do not realize what it takes to get the BSN. One doesn’t have to go to a flagship school for BSN - and most nurses do not graduate from the flagship school.
@kp49ers, I have to agree with @mom2collegekids about this. It’s admirable that you want your daughter to have the “full college” experience, but many college students (most, actually) cannot manage it without taking on life-draining debt. And even if you could afford the COA at Arizona or Alabama with only the Stafford loans (which are reasonable and the responsibility of the student, not the parent), given your daughter’s goal of earning a BSN, it’s a very risky proposition at a school like Bama, which only admits a couple hundred students into its upper division program each year. I’m not saying it’s not possible, but many of the students she’d be competing against are high-stats students there on scholarships.
http://nursing.ua.edu/?page_id=266
And Arizona’s requirements appear similarly challenging:
http://www.nursing.arizona.edu/bsn
Parent Plus loans have terrible terms, and I would recommend avoiding them if at all possible.
Read through this article to see if there are any tips for financing your daughter’s education: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/get-there/wp/2014/11/12/what-to-do-when-you-havent-saved-a-dime-for-college/?tid=a_inl
And take a look at that list linked to in post # 15 to see if you can come up with some more affordable options.