I like everything about the lac; size, location, program, opportunities, most notably the learning style (block plan scheduling, one class at a time). I agree the 3/2 program would be unlikely and I’m fine with that as long as I am still working in the sciences. The idea is if I went to the lac then worked for a few years to pay off my debt, I could then go to grad school and specialize with whatever I want my career to become, which I honestly do not know yet. I would rather have a broad array of options instead of the path that ME would put me on, because I’m interested in ME but not really the career path after college.
The LAC. However, I’m not particularly familiar with PLUS loans. Good luck.
“The idea is if I went to the lac then worked for a few years to pay off my debt,”
It’s going to take WAAAY more than “a few years” to pay off the amount of debt for A or B. Choose C. Your 22 year-old self will thank you.
I am on Team Full Ride at UCF or UNM. But answering the first post only, College C all the way
I disagree. Living below my means making 60-70k a year as a computer scientist? I can at least pay off my parent’s debt relatively quickly and maintain minimum payments on my loans through grad school and after that, with an engineering or physics graduate degree I could easily make 6 figures. Plus I will always have my comp sci to fall back on
I know its great to graduate with little debt… but I also know that college is a once-in-a-lifetime experience. I don’t want to go somewhere where I won’t be happy, and ASU did not give me the right vibes when I visited
Since you had made up your mind, then, why ask the question?
Because I want to see other’s view on the situation (although I should have known everyone would go with college C lol)
but you are trading 4 years of possible happiness now for what will certainly be more than 4 years of unhappiness later in the form of financial stress and difficulty. and you can’t definitively assess how happy you will be at any college based on “vibes” from a one-day visit. it is entirely possible that you could attend College A thinking you will love it and wind up miserable there for any number of reasons. that possibility has been verified by lots of CC posters.
conversely, lots of CC posters have gone to a college they were not thrilled about at first, and wind up loving it. it could very well be that your College C negative vibes were a combination of a bad attitude plus indigestion from lunch, and you may wind up having the best 4 years of your life, PLUS much less debt.
and suppose you get married in a few years, or you or your parents face some unexpected medical crisis. life has a way of imposing its will on our best-laid plans. your “pay off college debts in a couple of years” plan suddenly turns into 10, 15, 20 or more years as competing adult financial obligations pull you in different directions.
maybe it’s my personality flaw to be too cautious and too conservative in counting the cost. but I would take college C or even the UCF/UNM full-ride option, make the most of every opportunity there, and most importantly embrace the experience with a good attitude intent on fully enjoying and making best of it rather than pining for what might have been, and graduate free from the icy clutches of crippling debt.
I would also recommend least expensive option. I am in IT Management and your college label doesn’t really matter after couple of years into Job. You will be able to get your first job with any of those least expensive options mentioned. Good luck!!
I can’t believe these three schools are even an option with those price considerations. You asked for my personal choice between these three, my choice is I’d work in a supermarket instead.
College A really does not make any sense if it does not offer your Mech Engr or CS major. 3+2 simply means one more year of debt to pay off.
Arizona State (that’s your ASU and not Appalachian State or something, right?) is ranked #37 in US News Undergrad Engineering. your full-ride options Central Florida and New Mexico are both ranked #91. honestly I would take a full ride at a top 100 engineering school and not look back.
keep in mind that you have no direct experience with the realities of paying off large amounts of debt and you are getting advice from people who have dealt / are dealing with it. it’s no picnic.
One of my daughter’s good friends took the full ride or full tuition (can’t remember which) at ASU and is having a great time at Barrett Honors College. She is incredibly bright and accomplished, attended a very selective private HS, got accepted at very good schools. After turning down dream LAC because of affordability, she got over her disappointment and is having a positive experience. There is no shame in settling for the money. UNM’s engineering programs also are well regarded and it has a highly ranked honors program, but Barrett’s reputation is better. Both ASU and UNM are Research I universities. I don’t know anything about UCF.
It sounds like you live somewhere in the west. Did you apply to other WUE schools where you’d be eligible for discounted OOS tuition?
IMO, I question whether Colorado College is worth the upcharge. 70-80K in debt is a LOT to pay off. Even if you live with your parents after graduation (which will likely limit your job prospects), it will likely take some years. Don’t underestimate how much your paycheck will shrink when you take taxes, SS, commuting costs, buying and maintaining a car, paying for your phone, etc. into account. If you go to grad or law school, you may take on additional debt, as well as being unable to service any existing debt. There is a reason that the government caps undergraduate student loans at 27K for four years.
I agree with the points you make @Wien2NC it’s very frustrating that my college choice is coming down to this. And I know that wherever I will go I will make the best of these opportunities. I just hate that after all my work in high school I am not going to be able to take the chance and do something I actually want to do because of cost and I’m trying to justify that cost. I know many kids end up settling for college, but I don’t want to be someone who uses college for the degree and nothing else, I want it to be a meaningful experience which I honestly only feel the LAC or Northeastern would provide.
@blountwil2 Do not underestimate the college experience you can get from a high quality honors program at a flagship public university. Remember, there are MANY students just like you - smart, worked hard, got good grades and high test scores, and the money just doesn’t work out. I am one such person. I was val of my HS class and NMF. I went to my large, somewhat unappealing state university, then located in a blighted, depressed town. The honors program was great, I found my tribe, developed close relationships with professors, and went on to get full rides for graduate school at Ivy and near Ivy ranked schools.
The most significant ingredient in your college experience is you. Wherever you end up, seek out opportunities, cultivate your professors, search for like-minded peers, and you will find your meaningful experience.
What happened with Valpo and Case? Have you heard from them regarding admission and aid?
also Barrett at ASU is a very highly regarded Honors College. you may be surprised to find a lot of students just like you who are smart, highly accomplished, and highly motivated to do great things.
Parent Loan for Undergraduate Student.
@merc81 PLUS loans are a federal loan program for parents.
They have a higher origination fee and a higher interest rate charge than other student loans.
Parents can get them with a very minimal credit check - they check for no collection events in the last few months, but there is no checking to see if there is income to actually repay the loan or what the parents’ existing debt level is.
Because of the higher rates and the lack of check for ability to repay, parents can get into financial trouble with these loans easily. Like other student loans, they generally cannot be discharged by bankruptcy.
OP: Even if you are planning to pay off these loans for your parents, you might not be able to for any number of unforeseen circumstances. And, in the meantime, if the loans default, your parents’ social security or any other government benefit or tax refund would have loan payments deducted.
You are telling me that your LAC doesn’t even have a CS major?
Frankly, I like the ASU Honors College idea. That 80K of debt is not terrible for an engineer, but you are unsure that’s what you want to do. I don’t think Physics has the same prospect - there is another step of learning in order to make a physics grad immediately as employable as an engineer, and potentially throw law school in there, I just don’t think you’re going to get the education you want because you will have blown the bank on undergrad.
My ranking would be C then B then A. I prefer B over A because if you excel at B then it could really be a launching pad. However, your broad interests may make it hard for you to buckle down and focus on your engineering with the intensity for which you need to excel. I can guess what A is and I’m not sure why you think it’s worth that kind of debt given your broad interests.
Just to clear up a little bit: I wasn’t really aware of the circumstances behind PLUS loans. My parents have really really good credit so we would be able to qualify for much better loans, I just thought because these were backed by the government they were one of the better options (silly me). Also the LAC does have a computer science major and I would be able to double major in both physics and computer science. It’s my broad interests that draws me to the LAC, because I honestly don’t know if I want to do ME, it’s just always been “the plan”. If I don’t end up liking it, another semester or so of college might be needed thanks to the setup of engineering colleges. I would rather give myself 4 years + some to explore and then specialize in grad school
Cab your parents pay off the ~$100k you want them to cosign for if you end up getting weeded out of engineering, don’t like computer science, or you become ill or disabled? How long would it take them to repay it? Would they be able to retire if they had to take over the loan payments? It’s one thing to take on enormous debt on your own; it’s quite another to ask parents to be responsible for that kind of debt so you can attend your dream school, especially when there are free rides on the table.