I’m a sophomore at the moment so i’m starting to think about colleges that I want to apply to, doing research etc…
Currently, I live in a city that has a decent mid-size college, which my dad happens to work for. Because of this, I get a 50% discount on tuition, combined with in-state tuition and scholarships that I know I can get, college can basically be free if I go here. I can even get paid if the $$ I get for scholarships exceeds the amount needed for tuition which are my older brothers’ situations. BUT, i’m not exactly sure if I want to go to this college. I’ve lived here my whole life, and i’m not sure if I want to stay. The main reason that I would go here would be because there’s no financial burden and I could get out of college debt free. I’m really interested in NYU, which is out of state and I heard that they aren’t very generous with scholarships so I would have to rack up a lot of loans to attend. I’m not sure which is more important in the long run; getting out of college without debt, or the experience of college in a new environment that could potentially cost me a ton of money. Any opinions or advice would be helpful!!! Thank you!
It’s going to be important, essential that you talk to your parents on what they can afford, and what will make things tough and risky for them in terms of your college costs.
NYU costs about $60,000 a year…$240,000 or so for four years…and that is now. The cost will likely increase. You, the student, can’t take loans in that amount. You would either need your parents to cosign, or your parents would need to take the loans. Will they do that?
Your loan limits will be $5500 freshman year, $6500 sophomore year, $7500 junior year, and $7500 senior year.
Where will the other $55,000 or so come from every year?
Have you discussed college finances with your parents? If not, do so. They might have a budget for your college costs. You need to know what that is.
Trust me, no four-year college experience is worth more than the experience of going through life debt-fee!
Also…if you can attend this college debt free, perhaps you will have some extra money for a few trips to NYC, study abroad, semester away (some schools allow this)…any number of things that you would not be able to do if you are spending $60,000 a year on college costs.
Why don’t you look into the National Student Exchange and or Study Abroad with the free option.
You can’t rack up a bunch of loans because no one lends a bunch of money to a kid. If your parents are smart, then they’ll know better than to cosign a bunch of debt for you.
I haven’t thought about studying abroad if I attended the free school! Thanks for bringing that up!
@sixwithmywoes And this if you want to go to NY for a semester http://www.nse.org/
NYU is over $70K/year now. http://www.nyu.edu/content/dam/nyu/financialAid/documents/tuitionstern.pdf
Some private schools have tuition exchange agreements. Ask your father to see if there is a tuition reciprocal program where he works. I agree with everyone above that coming out of college with little or no debt is more important than going to a college in a new city. You live anywhere you want after you graduate.