I was accepted to the University of Alabama, University of Illinois, and Southern Illinois University for next year, and I am having a hard time deciding which would be the best school for me. I am planning on majoring in education. What are some pros and cons of each of these schools that I should consider?
What is the cost of each and where do you plan to teach after you graduate? Especially for education, it helps to go to school near where you want to teach and since it’s not a high paying major, limiting debt should be a priority. Most state U’s will have decent education programs.
Alabama is $29k, Illinois is $31k, and SIU is $19k. I plan to teach somewhere near whichever college I choose.
Do you have $29k or $31k? If not, the answer is easy.
Really, compare what each means to you, and if all are equal go with the cheapest. If you are from Illinois and want to teach in Illinois, it’s probably better to go instate.
UIUC, UA, then SIU BUT even for an extra $10k UIUC is a winner. If you don’t have the $10k SIU is still a very good school. I’m a big fan of teachers and believe teaching is what you make of it. If you love it your students will love you and be the best they can be.
I don’t really have any money to pay for college so no matter where I go I’ll have to pay for it pretty much entirely through student loans.
Look at where you can student teach, and what those school districts are like. If you have never lived in Alabama, do you know that you will like it down there? Are you from Illinois? It seems going with the lowest cost should be OK, but check about Southern Illinois programs. Can you teach in Chicago afterwards or will you need to teach in rural Illinois? so in other words do the very top school districts in greater Chicago recruit teachers from Southern Illinois U?
Think about where you want to live and will the program get you a job in the school district of interest to you.
Not all school districts are created equal in the USA. Do you want to be in a district with a lot of lower income students, for instance?
I was so excited to read of your acceptances… up until the part where you mention being on your own financially. I’ve followed several previous threads of yours, and imagine you might be feeling pretty devastated right now. The bottom line is that your current options aren’t affordable. The max federal loan for this first year is $5,500. Attempting to borrow more than that is a very bad idea.
I strongly recommend you explore CC to state U options. You will be able to borrow $6,500 next year, and then $7,500 for each of your last two years. In the meantime you can work and save to make up the difference in your last two years. (This is assuming your parents are willing and able to continue to support you living at home for at least the two CC years, and that you have a good CC option close to home.) Do you live within a reasonable commuter range from SIU, UIUC, or another instate U?
I am from Illinois, and I don’t know much about Alabama. If stay in IL and go to UIUC or SIU though, I’d like to teach in a Chicago area school after, and it’d probably be easier to get a job with a degree from UIUC than SIU.
I live near a community college, but I really want to go away for college if I can find any way to. I don’t live near any in state universities.
You need to keep your debt to a minimum. I agree that the CC to university route is by far the smartest for you. If you eventually want to end up in Chicago, this is even more important because the cost of living there is so high. As others have pointed out, you can’t borrow that much money on your own. Are your parents willing to cosign for loans? (Note that I think this is a very bad idea.)
Yes, they will cosign loans, and I’ll get a part time job to help pay for it too. I probably won’t end up in the city, but a suburb, since the cost of living is cheaper.
I feel like I need more information. Isn’t 31K full price for an Illinois state resident at University of Illinois? Is there a chance you are going to get financial aid? If you have no money to pay for college, you seem like you would be a strong candidate for need-based financial aid.
Yes, it’s full price. My family makes too much to qualify for need based financial aid, but we don’t have enough to be able to pay the full price or even close to it, which is why I have to pay for it myself with student loans.
OP, I understand wanting to go away to college right away, but I think that kind of debt will be crippling on a teacher’s salary. Even if you live in the suburbs, you’ll need a car, insurance, etc.
I know that it’s a lot of debt, but I just don’t really see community college as a good option for me, and I think it’s better for me to go away to college.
Then sounds like SIU is the best of your choices albeit the CC route makes more sense in your case.
Go visit the CC and speak with a counselor there about transfer pathways for education majors. It might be possible to move seamlessly on to SIU from the CC. Check the CC’s and SIU’s policies about credit for AP exams (if you have taken or will be taking any) and for CLEP exams. Often CCs and public Us are pretty generous with those credits. Depending how many credits you can earn that way, you might save a semester or a year of college tuition and fees.
I totally sympathize with your wanting to get away for college, but lots of kids can’t afford that. Mine sure couldn’t. She earned her AA at our local CC and then transferred in state to a university similar to SIU. She’s doing fine in her career. If the numbers work out so that CC to SIU is your only real option, there is no reason whatsoever for you to believe that will keep you from a hieving your goals.
Wishing you all the best!
It would be easy to transfer to SIU from the community college, and I know it won’t hurt my career, I just like the idea of being at one college the full four years and don’t want to live at home for another two years.
I would be able to get 15 credit hours with the AP scores that I have, and depending on the scores that I get this year I could get up to 19 more.
@elseanna–This almsot makes me want to quit my job and become a college counselor. There has GOT to be a better alternative for you than taking on $100,000+ of debt. Did you try applying to schools where you might be eligible for merit aid?
Also, I know families who applied for financial aid even though you would not think would be eligible for financial aid, i.e., families with two professional jobs. Sometimes even fairly upper middle class families can qualify for a little aid, given how expensive college is, and every little bit helps.
I received some merit aid at UA and at SIU. I’ve looked for schools where I could get more but haven’t found any.