So I currently see myself attending UIUC for engineering. After my parents help I still expect to find myself 18K in debt per year, before taking into account what I will be able to earn. Any tips on what I should do to avoid graduating near 80K in debt?
Where do you plan to get loans that large? Will your parents co-sign?
Best tip…go to a less costly school.
That is way too much debt.
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My ACT was a 33 with a 36 in math and 35 in science, and I am in the top 2 percent of my class of 350 with my GPA.
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You’re instate for UIUC, but your parents can only pay about half of the costs.
Knowing that, you should have applied to some schools with good engineering that would have given you large merit for your stats.
Did you get any large merit awards elsewhere? You could take a gap year and apply to some schools that you can afford with large merit.
I realize that UIUC is expensive instate. That’s why so many IL students, including eng’g students, go OOS to schools that will give them large merit. Alabama has 1000 IL students…many for that reason.
There are some who say do not graduate with more debt than wha you think you will earn your first year in the working world. That might be close. If you are going to be an engineering major, seek out high paying summer internships that can pay you several thousand dollars each summer. And perhaps offer tutoring while you are in college. You might be able to charge a helpful hourly rate. If you are going to consider taking out loans, think of ways to repay them.
$18K x 4 = $72K. I don’t know of any engineers that get hired for $72K out of college. The one outlier there was petroleum engineering which is not that way right now.
Are COOPs an option through your school? Live a frugal lifestyle during the COOP semesters to save money.
What kind of engineering?
@Erinsdad,
Both my s’s are engineers- graduated in 2008 and 2012. Their salaries (maybe with signing bonuses) were close-ish to that, IIRC. And at the time neither were working for big heavy hitter companies.
Looks like starting salaries for UIUC engineering grads average in the 60’s- 80’s depending on the type of engineering http://ecs.engineering.illinois.edu/outcomes/
That’s probably about where mine started out of college
Update: I did apply to many lesser schools, yet UIUC is still my cheapest option.
Looking at aerospace/mechanical engineering at the moment. Any idea of if I’ll be able to easily get a high paying internship or scholarships provided to continuing students? I spoke to a current UIUC student who said many engineering students get scholarships in later years.
http://www.uah.edu/admissions/undergraduate/financial-aid/scholarships/merit-tuition-scholarships
UAH is still accepting applications and awarding merit as far as I know. You might qualify for the full ride.
It’s in Huntsville, AL which should have excellent internship opportunities
^ for mechanical/aerospace engineering
Look at UAHuntsville’s web site and the scholarship chart. ABET accredited engineering in a town with a very high concentration of engineers (and aerospace companies). Very livable city.