<p>Please help me! I'm so desperate for advice and am extremely stressed. I got accepted into USC and after gift aid (money I don't have to pay back) I have to pay $33,767 out of pocket. This is for one year tuition. I have 2 years of school left as I have done 2 years of credits at community college so I would hopefully only have to pay tuition for 2 years. In total 2 years tuition for me would cost $67,534 if I received the same aid as this year. My parents are willing to let me "borrow" $40,000 for these 2 years to invest in my education which I would have to pay them back interest free (i'm sure they would even perhaps make me pay them back $30,000 instead of the $40,000) then I would have to take out loans up to $26,000 for the next two years. So in total 66,000 debt for my undergraduate degree.My question is am I digging myself into a hole of debt? I am the first to go to college in my family so my parents wouldn't know if I am making a good decision or not on this. I didn't bother to apply to any other schools let alone public schools(because i'm a dumbass) but im thinking I should this fall because public college tuition at UCLA for example is $12,862 so maybe if I don't receive grants at all in total I would pay $25,724 for 2 years?That way I wouldn't have to take out loans and only have to pay my parents back without interest. Does anybody think this is a good/bad plan?( I wouldn't be able to apply for those loan forgiveness programs but I can pay them as much as I want monthly, interest free etc.) Then if I do decide to apply this fall and see my acceptances in the spring I am wasting a year (I would spend it working full time and saving $$) but is it worth it to save $?Should I just get started on my education? I want to double major in Art History and Psychology and depending on my post graduation plans, which vary greatly from applying for a special agent position in the FBI (specifically the art theft prevention team) to attending grad school for either a masters or psy.d. if necessary</p>
Go into debt and drag my parents too or waste year waiting for public school acceptances to save $$?
<p>If you were my child, I would recommend working for a year, saving money and reapplying to some less expensive colleges. It’s not like your community college credits are going anywhere. And a year of working full-time will give you a great nest egg. You may still end up having to take out loans, but hopefully less than $30,000 per year. Graduating with $60,000 in debt is a huge amount - especially considering your majors and job prospects after graduation. If you want to go on to a masters or PhD - do not take on any debt for undergrad.</p>
<p>thank you for your advice! I am leaning towards working fulltime for a year 
as it is the smarter option</p>
<p>You are absolutely correct that the amount of debt you are considering is too much. You need to take the year off, and apply to places that you know will be affordable.</p>
<p>You will not be “wasting a year” by any means. Use the year off to make some money and/or get yourself an internship related to one of your fields of study. Think of this as a true investment in your future.</p>
<p>I don’t know if you looked into this yet, but some colleges offer rolling admissions when you can apply anytime. I’m not positive but you may be able still be admitted for the fall (you might be!) but at the least you’d be able to start 2nd semester. Here’s a great list if you scroll down to wear it says rolling admission schools: <a href=“List of Colleges with Early Action, Early Decision, and Rolling Admissions - College Search & Selection - College Confidential Forums”>http://talk.qa.collegeconfidential.com/college-search-selection/354075-list-of-colleges-with-early-action-early-decision-and-rolling-admissions.html</a> </p>
<p>Are you IS for CA? If so talk to your transfer advisor (who you should have seen already!!). See if any UCs or CSUs are still accepting applications. Other people will be able to tell you if you qualify for a Cal Grant or some other in-state grants.</p>
<p>Unless he can commute easily to a UC, he’s going to end up with the same debt. </p>
<p>sounds like his parents are contributing nothing, and he’s having to borrow. sounds like they dont qualify for aid at a UC (based on the aid from USC).</p>
<p>as a transfer, he really doesnt have many choices, so USC may (sadly) be his best option other than a UC or CSU that he could commute to.</p>
<p>Are your parents going to cosign those loans for $26k? You cant borrow that much.</p>
<p>are you working/saving this summer? you need to work every summer and part-time during the school year to minimize any non-parent loans. </p>
<p>Unless you can get into a UC or CSU that you can commute to, USC is the best situation…sadly. You need to talk to your parents about why they are contributing NOTHING when their family contribution is $34k. at a minimum, they should be figure out how they can contribute at least 10k per year…which is less than a third of their EFC.</p>
<p>ok…you live in Riverside (do not even consider commuting to USC from there!!)</p>
<p>Ask USC if you can delay enrollment for a year…take the gap year and apply to UCR, UCI, CPP, and a few CSUs.</p>
<p>are your parents self-employed? was your fafsa efc much lower? </p>
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<p>OK…no debt for you. Any debt is a bad idea with those majors…especially art, which is the school that accepted you.</p>
<p>mom2collegekids is right, your COA at UCs will be about 33k as well unless you commute to UCR. CSU will be 23k a year unless you commute to a local (San Bernardino?) It is crazy that you didn’t apply so you can compare what you would get. Even if you go to UCR your COA won’t be 12k, you will have books. and personal expenses and transportation, just like in the USC COA numbers. Anyway UCR tuition is 14.8 for 2014-15. So it would be 14.8+1.7+1.8+2.0=20k if you don’t have to pay food and rent to parents.
<a href=“The Office of Financial Aid | UC Riverside”>The Office of Financial Aid | UC Riverside;
<p>Does the 33k at USC already include your Student Direct Loan of 7.5 per year? I guess not because that is how you estimate your parents need to borrow 26k per year? If your parents will pay 10 per year, you’d borrow an extra 30k total, making the debt 45k. What about summer work, and working a small p/t job in school to reduce it? </p>
<p>Please read the FBI pages on Special Agent and the skills they are looking for. You are not planning to study what they consider a critical skill (language, accounting, computer and more–please read.) Though you might get hired as a special agent anyway, your chances of ending up in art fraud dept is extremely unlikely.
<a href=“https://www.fbijobs.gov/111.asp”>https://www.fbijobs.gov/111.asp</a></p>
<p>What is your EFC? it sounds like USC is dropping the tuition to roughly match UCs which will also be 33k per year (including housing). No school-besides an ivy or Stanford-is worth that much in tuition each year for an Art Degree. </p>
<p>Another factor… do you know how well your CC credits transfer to USC? I don’t know… I’m just asking because private schools all work differently. Are you sure that USC will be a clean transfer and actually wipe out your general eds or will they just give you units and still require you to take a lot of GE’s? Just another factor that it could require more than 2 years to graduate with a double major from USC.</p>
<p>I’d certainly work the year and apply to some state and UC schools next year. Not only for the opportunity to save but because the UC’s and CSU’s are much more liberal with the CC units. Even living away from home, a UC would be cheaper and the quality of programs are just as high. It’s not a waste at all if it saves you 10’s of thousands of dollars.</p>
<p>^^USC takes a large amount of CCC transfers and even has articulation agreements so I don’t think that will be particularly problematic. Sure it should be checked out. It is not clear at all that a UC would be cheaper.</p>
<p>@BrownParent Oh, I’m pretty sure it would be. The OP says $33,767 is the cost of “one year tuition” and that is a lot more than the $12,862 for a UC or $5,472 for a CSU. Since she’s a transfer, likely living off campus, the housing cost difference between USC, UCLA or Cal State LA would be negligible. If the number she quoted for USC includes tuition AND housing, she’d still be saving quite a bit going to a UC. I know my D (California resident) was accepted into 3 UC’s and was quoted tuition+housing+fees+ living expenses between 25K and 31K… and those were living on campus (which is more expensive) and campuses where the housing is the most expensive in the system. The one state school she applied to quoted 19K total.</p>
<p>Articulation Agreements are only as good as the counselling a student is getting. In California, the best route for public is to do the intersegmental transfer curriculum for which the CA publics will take as completion of GE’s (even if the college doesn’t have a similar class.) However, I haven’t come across a private college in CA that accepts this (my daughter earned this while in high school but is going to a private school out-of-state that doesn’t accept it.) Yes, there are several private schools that have articulation agreements with the CC’s but the student often has to be zero’d in on their private school of choice in order to make all the right decisions for THAT campus. Now, I don’t know if the OP did this or not. That’s why I suggested she look into it. </p>
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<p>Something is missing here. I thought USC met full need. If that is the case, the college has computed that your family can afford to pay $33,000 a year for your education.</p>
<p>But maybe they don’t meet full need for transfer students. If that is the case, you are looking at assuming this debt, which seems like a lot.</p>
<p>Do you have someone who will cosign loans, or parents who will take the Plus? You can’t take $30,000 a year in loans in your name only.</p>
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@thumper1, she only have to borrow $26K.
OP, check out the loan forgiving process for FBI, I’m sure these government agency have something like that to attract recruits.</p>
<p>DrGoogle -</p>
<p>The OP CAN"T borrow $26k without a co-signer. The federal loan limits for junior and senior years combined comes to $15k. The parents would have to co-sign for the other $11k or pony it up as well.</p>
<p>A lot of this decision comes down to how able your parents are able to handle the debt if you can’t pay it back They will have to start repaying the loans soon after you are no longer a full time student. If you end up going to graduate school or can’t get a job where you make enough to repay your obligations AND theirs, they could find themselves in trouble. </p>
<p>You can’t count on a job with the FBI or anywhere. There are some fields where there are shortages of those needed with specific skills, usually STEM, some medical fields, CPAs, etc, but these government jobs often have hundreds if not thousands of applicants for each position. You don’t know if you’ll ever land such a job. I know dozens of family members, acquaintances, and hundreds of stories of those who have been on certain job lists for years with no bites. Also, getting loan forgiveness is not that easy. I’ve known many who have been sadly disappointed in a number of such programs. Also parent loans are not included for forgiveness.</p>
<p>Also, please go over graduation requirements. I’ve known three kids who transferred into USC, and each and every one of them, all very bright kids with lots of credits from other school and where ever, and they ended up staying an extra semester much to the chagrin and pain in the wallet to their parents. This happens often to transfers. </p>
<p>Have you taken out any loans yet? What exactly are the numbers of what you (you can borrow $7500 of DIrect loans each year) borrow and what your parents will have to borrow to get you through the next two years? Can you or your parents pay any of that $33.767 from income, or is this the minimum you two combined have to borrow or what? </p>
<p>No real advice here, just pointing out some things I noticed. </p>
<p>If your goal is FBI employment, would it be beneficial to get there via military first? With certain majors, you can get into ROTC - often field training then final two undergrad years - so that may mean gap year anyhow if you already have first two years done. Make sure with any military you can meet the physical requirements - that would come into play with FBI too.</p>
<p>Military had big cutbacks this year, and my DD was supposed to go into field training with Air Force, but they had major cuts - she would have gotten in Summer 2013 if she was a year ahead in school (nursing) - so now she is applying for Navy Nursing this fall, which if she gets accepted, will have a sign on bonus and $1000/mo for up to 25 months during UG. She is trying to get nurse practitioner and PhD through military. Army may have the largest number of opportunities out of all the military divisions.</p>
<p>Others have good suggestions for you to consider. You probably can continue to take courses to strengthen yourself as a candidate for what you want to pursue, plus you do want to not take an extra semester at an expensive school under loans…</p>
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OP says $33,767 is the cost of “one year tuition” and that is a lot more than the $12,862 for a UC
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<p>I dont think that is what the OP means. I think she means that AFTER aid, she owes USC that much…which is about the same as a UC</p>
<p>Yes I mentioned that even UCR at home is about 20k without paying any food or rent. 14k tuition only.</p>
<p>Benny --you mean the 33,767 is the COA each year right? Includes everything, not just tuition as you stated?</p>