<p>Barbie, as a high school kid, I’m not sure that relying on your vast knowledge and experience in financial matters is the best course for xxthis to follow.</p>
<p>LOL</p>
<p>Sk8rmom…you nailed it.</p>
<p>*Barbie, the cost of attendance at CSU Northridge is over $30K a year for an OOS student. Pell is a max of $5550 this year and Stafford loans for freshmen are capped at $5500. Getting a job that pays a 18 y.o. full-time college student anything close to $20K is probably not a realistic plan…it would likely be something illegal, unsavory, or both.</p>
<p>bluebayou and Kender are actual CA residents with experience navigating the maze of college financial aid…I hope the OP would heed their advice if she’s still following her thread!*</p>
<p>Exactly…although I’m a former CA resident, I still spend about 1/4 of my time there, still own property there, and still have all my family there. I know that it’s really impossible for an OOS kid with no financial help from parents to go to school at a Cal State. Even an instate kid with no family help would have it very difficult. </p>
<p>* full-time college student anything close to $20K is probably not a realistic plan…*</p>
<p>And…that would require “netting” that much…so the student would have to earn a LOT more. And the following years, the student would need to net even more since after the first year, the student would NO LONGER qualify for Pell. When a student earns more than about $4k per year, it really starts increasing EFC.</p>
<p>It depends on the job. As for me I don’t consider stripping or any kind of related jobs but I do plan on getting a job as a waitress and working 5 hours a day and yes that extra cash will help me, plus 30k for out of state at CSUN, let me tell you it’s not true. It all depends on where you will live and how many units you’re taking. You can’t obviously tell someone going to a Cal state school as an out of stater is impossible, are you serious. Hundreds of people with zero EFC do it. I know people who do it. Maybe you are discouraging xxthis if she doesn’t have a plan but you’re not discouraging me. I’m not rich obviously I don’t have any expected EFC but I do have my life planned out and everything and everything I’m doing is planned. I’m not one of these crazy high school kids who are so in love with going out of state and have nothing planned. I will graduate at CSUN, APU or USC with an amazing degree. Yes, I might take some loans but I will go to the school that will cost me less. And you said (mom2forcollege) that it costs about 30k, tuition is 372 per units and the rest is for fees. Housing, meal, personal expenses you have alternatives. While you can’t pay tuition with a job but you can pay for a rent and other expenses with a job.</p>
<p>It’s $372 per unit ADDED ONTO the instate tuition costs listed. Read that website again…it’s at the bottom and it’s very clear. OOS students add $372 PER UNIT to the “above listed” which are the INSTATE fees.</p>
<p>This is what the CSUN website says:</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Barbie, I think you are underestimating your costs if you think it is ONLY the $372 per unit.</p>
<p>Tuition is a relatively small part of the cost of attendance at a CSU. The fees are what add up. They’re usually lumped together, but the total cost is pretty clear:</p>
<p>Tuition and Fees: In-state: $5,076
Out-of-state: $16,236</p>
<p>Why Northridge? Not that it’s a bad school, but it’s also not the cream of the CSU crop. I might have missed this, but I haven’t seen a compelling argument for attending CSUN from either the OP or the other poster.</p>
<p>There has been a lot of good discussion on this post regarding the pros/cons of attending CSUN. As a Parent, I can appreciate the passion, planning, and determination of young people eager to realize their dreams. I applaud your focus, and wish you the absolute “best” in the upcoming years. </p>
<p>Please try and understand that adults who struggle with the financial realities of these recessive years, are hopeful that you’ve thoroughly investigated the financial profile of OOS tuition and fees at CSUN. Every post was informative. People want to be helpful. </p>
<p>Barbie93, it appears that you’ve made some firm decisions. I have to admire any young person who is willing to set goals and work towards accomplishing their dreams. On a personal note; I just wish the school in question wasn’t CSUN. CSUN is my Alma Mater…and it wasn’t the most interesting/inspiring college experience possible. It is a commuter School in the San Fernando Valley - an area that long since has seen better days. Solid departments. Good education. Nothing special. Close to LA for all that LA offers- which is an exceptional social/cultural experience. (Just don’t head southbound down the 405 to Sunset Blvd and visit UCLA/Westwood…it will simply break your heart to return to your dorm… lol !!!) </p>
<p>Wish I could do it all over again. :(Sorry for injecting my bias opinion. </p>
<p>To the OP, please allow me to suggest that you continue to “consider” finishing your general requirements in-state and transferring to CA upon completion of your GE classes. There will be other CA schools that you can consider and you may find you were happy you waited. However, in the wake of the CA budget crisis, some suggest that CA publics will admit a % increase of more OOS students in future years. That early “projection” would seem to offer a short term fiscal assist to both the UC and CSU systems. You may not need to worry about applying to a CA school as an OOS in two years. OOS will surely be welcomed. </p>
<p>We’ll all just need to hold tight and see how much of a blow the budget crisis will deliver ?</p>
<p>Yeah What’s wrong with Northridge vballmom. Why Northridge, because out of all the CSUN they have the program that I want and I like it, that’s why. It seems like people underestimate CSUN, that’s ok if you don’t like it but in my quest for college which started since the 8th grade there are several factors I take into account so don’t just go and start attacking CSUN. It’s a great school.</p>
<p>LilMamma thank you very much, truy. I may not have agreed with everything you said but you have out of everyone given the best advice and the most positive one. I understand where you’re coming from but I have made my decision and I will go to California for the fall. I don’t know which school yet, it could be CSUN, USC or APU and no offense to anyone I know you all were trying to help and I do wanna thank everyone for their opinions and advices. You guys seem like you’re older than me so just know that I have considered everything you said.</p>
<p>LilMamma: Actually, it’s not even just a speculation or suggestion. UCB has already openly admitted they are accepting more OOS students because of the extra tuition they must pay. This is fairly true across the board, but UCB was reported about in the newspapers. It also already took effect as of the fall 2010 acceptances.</p>
<p>Honestly, if this is what would help keep more programs and entire departments from being cut and those students had mommy and daddy (or some magic money fairy) paying for it without severe debt, then I would fully support more people coming out here for school. It’s painful to read about those who thought money was no object when it came to their dreams and have found that their life is in ruins from the staggering debt they are buried under.</p>
<p>However, I doubt even a huge influx of full-pay OOS students would do much to save the dying and already dead programs and departments. But a girl can dream.</p>
<p>barbie93: In no way, shape, or form did vballmom discredit (nor express dislike) for CSUN. She even went so far as to make sure to note it is not a bad school. She was questioning why that specific school since it is not known for anything in particular on top of many of the CSUs being more commuter schools.</p>
<p>You are reading things that are not being said. At this point, you’ve become a detriment to the OP’s thread. Your posts are attacking others and posting information that is not relevant to the OP’s situation. The OP asked about obtaining residency for tuition purposes and that is just simply not going to happen unless the OP is willing to cut all financial ties with her parents and 100% support herself for three years. Even then, she would likely become ineligible for most if not all of Pell if she were somehow able to find a job that paid enough to live in California and pay any gap (and there would be a serious gap) in a Financial Aid package.</p>
<p>You are taking great offense at statements of facts made by people who have personal experience with both the financial aid system and with California’s educational system. I am sorry you find facts unhelpful. Remember this is not your thread, it is the OP’s.</p>
<p>It’s a lot of money to pay for an OOS public that is also a “commuter school”. But, I guess if you’re going to have to be working a bunch of hours in order to afford it, then it probably won’t matter that most of your classmates will not be on campus in evenings or on weekends. </p>
<p>BTW…the expectations for good-paying employment in Calif is also risky. The state is crawling with unemployed people. for an outsider to think that they can waltz into the state and get a good paying job is very unlikely. If such jobs were available, in-state parents would already have taken them to help put food on the table.</p>
<p>You have proven my point that you invent your own version of what people have said. I said you were a detriment. Please look up the meaning of this word in a dictionary.</p>
<p>I will give you a hint: it does not mean “threat.”</p>
<p>Please, if you would like your situation to be addressed personally, you should create your own thread. The OP’s situation is vastly different from yours both in that she has no ties whatsoever to California that could give her any real hope of gaining residency and that she does not have the scholarships you have said you have. Also, one does not have to post anything derogatory to post something that is an attack.</p>
<p>Your false information and consistent attempts to discredit facts is not helping the OP learn what her real options are nor what is actually possible with her financial situation. Hopefully she has ceased reading your posts after being presented with facts supported by official sources by others.</p>
<p>This thread is quickly veering off-topic and I politely suggest it be brought back to its original topic. It would be nice if the OP would show up again and post, too…</p>
<p>Barbie, there are several things about this post that concern me…I know you said you’ve considered everything, and perhaps that’s true, but since you haven’t actually graduated HS yet I hope that you will be willing to listen to all the posters here who have attended, and even have kids who are attending, college.</p>
<p>First, as thumper pointed out, you need to take the base tuition amount of $2538/semester and add it to the 372 x # of units in order to arrive at OOS tuition for the semester. </p>
<p>Second, whether one chooses to live on or off campus, there are housing and meal costs included in the COA. They don’t appear to be excessive, at around $6K a semester, but I don’t live in SoCal and the people I know in that area pay quite a bit for rent, albeit in pricier neighborhoods. At this point, it’s unclear that you would actually be able to save money by living off campus. In addition to rent, one must also factor in all of the various deposits and utitilities that are required. As one of the CA folks pointed out, CSUN is not in a great area, so you may want to pay close attention to what rents are in the safe areas - nothing is worth risking your personal safety for! Also, I don’t know what the public transportation system is like, but having a car is often a huge expense for a college kid. I hope that your parents will guide you through the budgeting and decision-making process on this issue…living expenses are fairly high in CA and it’s very easy to underestimate what the true costs will be.</p>
<p>As a college grad, and the mother to several current students, I can tell you that living on campus for the first year is by far the preferred route. It’s often difficult to meet people if you’re not in the dorms, especially at a commuter school, and you won’t have the same experience at all. It may or may not be important to you, but it can affect your outlook on your studies in general, as well as your willingness to continue your education there. While you could simply transfer, I hope you’re aware that transfer students do not often receive anything close to the scholarship money that is thrown at incoming freshmen. </p>
<p>When you say you don’t have any expected EFC, I’m not sure what you mean. EFC stands for Expected Family Contribution and is a calculated figure that is produced when you file FAFSA. Have you filed your FAFSA yet for next year? You will not get any student aid, including loans, unless you do so. Everyone who files has an EFC…even if it’s 0. Do you mean that your family doesn’t intend to contribute anything toward your costs? </p>
<p>You said that you’re willing to work 5 days/week to pay the costs of CSUN, but have you considered that it may impact your grades to do so? Most schools recommend that freshmen work 5-15 hours per week for a good reason…college courses have a higher level of difficulty and require more preparation than high school classes. Even the dual enrollment and AP classes my kids took were not as demanding as the ones they took as freshmen. Most students have to take 4-5 classes a semester, at a minimum, in order to graduate on time. Taking fewer courses means spending extra semesters in college which increases costs and decreases earnings.</p>
<p>Which brings me to another point…CSUN’s graduation rates are abyssmal and seem to be the lowest among the CSU schools. On average, less than 20% of their students (actually 16.6% of full-time, first-time, female freshmen) graduate within 4 years. From a very quick look at their website, I can see that course registration is a problem for their students and, speaking from experience, I can tell you that if a school has a low limit on the number of units, or you can’t register for the classes you need to stay on track, it’s going to cost time and money in the long run. The low 4 year grad rate may also point to other problems such as poor advising, overloaded professors, lack of tutuoring services (causing students to fail or withdraw from more classes), etc, or it may just be a reflection of the student body in general…whatever the explanation is, it is VERY low compared to other institutions and I hope you find out why BEFORE you commit to the school.</p>
<p>No one said that going to a CSU from OOS was impossible, or anything like that. But we don’t know that hundreds with a 0 EFC do it, and obviously you can’t know that either. Financial circumstances vary widely, so it’s very possible that someone with a 0 EFC would have a non-custodial parent who is paying their bills, or have a grandparent, a college fund, or even someone who is willing to cosign big loans for them! Excessive student debt is a common thing these days, as you know, but that doesn’t mean it’s the “right” thing to do! It doesn’t matter how other people are paying for their educations though, because the ONLY financial issue that should be important is how YOU (or the OP) will afford it and whether you’re getting the best education possible for your money. You mentioned that you had good scholarships to other schools, but not CSUN, and I hope that you will choose the best overall school for your needs and stay within a realistic budget!</p>
<p>sk8rmom: First of all about the tuition thing, you all have a little misunderstanding, you said it’s the base tuition amount of $2538/semester and add it to the 372 x # of units. That’s what I said as well, I said it’s the 372 per unit, added to the fees which is about from CSUN website 5076 per year or about the same amount you just gave me per semester.</p>
<p>And also I do from the bottom of my heart take all of the advices you just gave me but let me make a few clarifications. I didn’t say that I will not live on campus for the first year. I certainly will. And yes, I did apply for fafsa since Jan. 1 and by me not having a EFC, I mean my EFC is 0. And please know that I never said that I will attend CSUN, it’s just one of the 3 schools I have in mind. I might go to USC or Azusa Pacific University which my mom would like me to go there because I have a scholarship there and it’s a Christian school. By the way do you know about that school?</p>
<p>And finally about the work thing, I never had a job but I do know people in high school and both college who manage do work and go to school at the same time. It’s really not that much to work from 4pm-9pm everyday. I’ll still have plenty of time for school work. And as far as my cost of living, all I can’t really afford is tuition, like I can’t write a school a 50k check but with a job and some support from my parents as far as money for other bills like my car insurance, cell phone, food and housing, I’ll be fine.</p>
<p>Kender: I do know what a detriment is, I misread thread and I through you meant threat and the OP’s situation is not that vastly different from mine. The reason why I replied to her thread is because I was excited to see someone from out of state wanting to go to CSUN which is one of my top 3 schools.</p>
<p>Hmmm…my kids worked that type of schedule when they were in HS and managed to maintain high grades. I’m saying that’s not very realistic for a college freshman because the grading and course expectations are typically much higher and freshmen are notorious for underestimating the amount of effort required to maintain a strong GPA. The rule of thumb is 3 hours outside class for every 1 hour of class time…that would be a good starting assumption for you to keep in mind. I don’t know what your intended major is but my kids often have 200+ page readings, multiple research papers/projects, and very long problem sets to work on every week…obviously, they’re there to absorb and learn as much as possible so shuffling study time to the bottom, after a full day of classes and work may defeat the purpose. They study every day and work 2-3 days per week, so 10-15 hours total although that increases to full-time (and sometimes overtime) during the summers. My D did not work during her first year, other than on breaks, because she was taking multiple math/science classes each semester and literally had no time to work. But, she was able to keep her gpa high and was awarded additional scholarships for this year because of that. After all the gen ed classes and prerequisites are finished, they may work 20-25 hours/week at times during the semesters, but they also have internships and fieldwork to do in addition to their various clubs and social activities…it’s college and they like to have a bit of a life too! Anyway, I’d just hate to see you going into this with a budget based upon your having to work 20-30 hours/week just to meet expenses…I have a strong feeling that something will have to give and, with young people, it’s generally the academics. Just remember that graduating in 6 years or with a sub-3.0 gpa is not going to serve you well in the long run if there are alternatives.</p>
<p>Have your parents committed to a certain amount per month that they can give you for expenses? Have you received any FA award letters yet? I’m not familiar with APU but if you have a scholarship that covers most/all of their tuition, then your Pell and Stafford would likely cover room, board, and books. With an EFC of 0, you’d likely be offered work-study which, unlike normal earnings, will not impact your EFC for the following year, and I would encourage you to think carefully about doing that instead. Campus-based employers are almost always very considerate in scheduling around the student’s academic schedule. My kids work on campus and are allowed to make their own schedules, which change each semester. They simply let the department know in advance if they need to take a day, or even a week, off to finish a project, take an exam, go to an interview, etc. Off-campus employers are usually not as accomodating because their focus is on running their business and entry level employees are easily replaced.</p>
<p>Barbie, these are some of the contradictions that leave Kender and others wondering the story is with you…if you have a full scholarship to APU, why would you consider jumping through all the extra hoops and dealing with financial stress just to attent CSUN? How do you know you’ll get a $30K grant to USC if you’re not accepted yet?</p>
<p>I just wanted to comment about the plan to waitress at a nude/strip club. While it may indeed be legal and not require you to be nude, I must ask that you proceed with extreme caution. Taking a job like that could be shutting doors down the road that you are not even thinking of. I know someone with a computer science degree. Ended up at an agency that subs work out for the FBI. Required an extensive background check and not just criminal. Someone who takes a job “for the money” is seen as a risk. </p>
<p>While it may not be my place (just a stranger on the internet) to judge the reasons for taking this job, there will be others in your future who will (other potential employers, future significant other, future in-laws). This not a case of needing to put food on the table to feed young children. This is a case of a teenager not willing to delay gratification for a few years to make sound financial and educational plans for the future.</p>
<p>How do you know this? USC does not have early decision OR early action admissions. In order to USE a scholarship at USC you would need to be accepted there. Admissions decision for the upcoming school year have not been sent yet.</p>
<p>Even if I have a full tuition scholarship to APU, it was more my back up school. And the grant for USC, it’s something that I had since sophemore year for somthing else. If I get into USC, i can use that grant.</p>