<p>Hi! May 1st is approaching and I'm still so undecided about where I'll be next year. Maybe you all could give me a little advice? The money issue is hard to put into perspective.</p>
<p>Option #1: Boston College
10k/year for my parents with 22,000 debt after school. It's been my first choice since I visited in August. More prestigious you could say I guess? Would have to do work study.</p>
<p>Option #2: The College of NJ
3k/year for parents with $0 in debt after school and a scholarship award program that would allow me to travel around the US and another country to do community service (this year the students in the program are going to Nicaragua). No work study</p>
<p>How burdensome is 22k? I know it's not crippling but it might be nice to come out of school free of debt. Decisions, decisions...</p>
<p>It’s very helpful in looking at overall debt, amount of interest, monthly payments etc. If your $22K is in unsub stafford loans, you’re looking at an additional $8K in interest, for a total load of about $30K when paid off. Monthly payments would be about $250 or so for 10 years. The calculator is nice because you can put in estimated starting salary. If you assume a starting salary of $50K, that would be about a 6% of your monthly income, which is reasonable (most people recommend staying below 10-15%).</p>
<p>The big question is: Can your parents afford the $10K/yr, and are they willing to pay that much? If the answer is yes, then you might look at your particular major at each school and see how strong each program is.</p>
<p>Another thing to consider is that the Cost of Attendance figures tend to be inflated somewhat, so if you are frugal, you might have to borrow a bit less each year. Take a look at the $$ that they’ve budgeted for travels & misc expenses and see if they seem reasonable. You can also usually save some money by choosing a slightly less expensive meal plan. At my son’s school, the budget calls for a 19 meal/wk plan. He quickly decided that the breakfast in the dining hall is a waste of money, and he can just keep some boxes of cereal in his room and use the 15 meal/wk plan. Also, in most majors, if you hunt around for used textbooks, share with friends, etc., you can save some money there as well.</p>
<p>Work study can be a good thing because it can help you make connections on campus. If you can get good summer jobs and save that cash, you might reduce the loans a bit.</p>
<p>One other thing to look at is AP credit. If you’ll have any, how does each school treat AP credit? Do you have enough credits to shave off a semester? If so, that would be a big savings, too.</p>
<p>Tough decision. You gotta weigh it out as either way is fine. You are at the level of debt that I would not consider stultifying and worth it if BC is truly what you want. My only issue is that if you have to ask, is it worth it? I would have decided this one in a heart beat. It either is or isn’t worth $20K and and 4 years of working and pinching pennies and having mom and dad shell out. If you have to ask,…well, maybe it is not.</p>
<p>Is this the Bonner Scholars program at TCNJ? If so, that is a terrific opportunity. I know a Bonner Scholar at Guilford College. She has really liked that program and the projects it has allowed her to participate in. Those kinds of opportunities, combined with graduating debt free (for you) and less expensively overall (for your parents) look really good to me! But you should contact some of the current Bonner students at TCNJ and talk with them about what they do and don’t like about it. Bonner may not be a good match for you, and the cost differences between TCNJ and BC may not be too great for your family.</p>
<p>I think you need to discuss this with your family. If they are able and willing to come up with their contribution for BC, then you are in the enviable position of being able to make a choice based on what you feel is the better choice for you (and the reasons for that are sometimes not all that “apparent” to others). Congratulations to you and please let us know where you decide to go.</p>
<p>It is the Bonner program! I’m very excited and grateful for the opportunity. My parents are willing to pay the 10k but I’m really all about making sure they are able to retire comfortably and not have to work until they drop. They are great people who deserve that. I’m going to appeal Boston and if I get more money then I’ll consider it. Otherwise, I’ll probably go to TCNJ. Thank you for your consideration!</p>
<p>TCNJ with the great opportunities that the Bonner offers –</p>
<p>and here is why –</p>
<p>your parents will pay $40K or so for BC, and you will wind up owing $22K plus whatever interest.</p>
<p>So that’s like $70K (with interest).</p>
<p>The one thing you need to remember is that the $10K and your loan may not cover the small everyday extras – clothes, shoes, movies, books, shampoo, hair cuts, prescriptions, walking around money – trust me, I had ZERO money in college and it was not fun.</p>
<p>TCNJ gives you some breathing room financially during college and definitely afterward. $70K could pay for a Master’s degree after undergraduate.</p>
<p>And, I know this sounds odd, but to a lot of people, BC is BU and when they find out BC is not BU, well, it doesn’t stay on their radar.</p>
<p>I’m planning on doing nursing! Thank you Juillet! I know that being able to go to a fancy private school would be nice, but I want breathing room when it comes to finances like mom4college said. I also won’t have to work more than 20 hours a week at my summer job, thank goodness! I know that it’s easy to get swept up in the CC bubble of prestige importance, but I know that I will be happy at TCNJ. Everyone there was very cool and the Bonner program is a wonderful opportunity.</p>
<p>Emblanco, that is a wise decision. You may want to do a nurse practitioner program later and help from your parents and borrowing capacity would be good.</p>
<p>Emblanco92, best wishes for a great time, and congrats on making such a wise decision. If you were my child, I’d be socking that $40k away to help you with a downpayment on a house or a nice grad degree right about now
Cheers!</p>
<p>Is a nursing degree a BS degree or do you have to graduate with a BS and apply to nursing school and get the nursing degree as a professional degree?</p>
<p>There are several ways to get RN degrees. You can get a BSN (bachelors in nursing) which is a four year program including practicums. You can get a 3 year RN degree but it’s not a bachelors. </p>
<p>Those with the three year nursing diplomas can return to school to get their bachelors degrees.</p>
<p>Sometimes off topic questions may seem like it should be in its own thread, but my question may be relevant since if it is a BS 4 year program in which case it may or may not be, then the OP can get the 4 year degree without any loans.</p>
Best wishes to you at wherever you choose!</p>