How do I convince my financially-dumb parents a CC would be best for me?

Parent Cafe
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<p>I am a senior HS student who lives in Florida. My GPA is sub-par at a mere 2.80 unweighted. I didn't get my act together until late junior year, when I have finally figured out how to beat my lazyness. Now I got accepted to a sub-par university in Florida (FGCU) in Ft.Myers. Now I don't see that as bad except...</p>

<p>My EFC is 21K at a college with a CoA of 18K a year so I have don't have a financial aid package from them. </p>

<p>Now my parents are saying that I should take on the 18K a year loan under my name (my mom can cosign) and they say a debt of 60K isn't that bad. </p>

<p>I'd rather commute to a community college for 1-2 years and be burdened to a lesser debt of 30K. My parents have huge debts of their own, but don't see that for someone earning 40K a year, a monthly payment for a loan that big is a lot of money.</p>

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<p>phew! I thought you were advocating for a CC= credit card! LOL</p>

<p>I don’t know how you can convince your parents, but you have convinced me. $60k is a ton of debt, especially for someone graduating with a BA from a sub par university. An added advantage of community college is that if you get stellar grades you will be able to transfer to a better university. </p>

<p>Will they kick you out of the house if you don’t go away to school?</p>

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<p>I don’t know how to convince them, but you sure sound mature to me.</p>

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<p>If you’ll have to borrow the entire cost of your education, then it will cost more than $18k per year since costs go up every year. By the time you graduate, you will have easily borrowed $80k.</p>

<p>No one should borrow more than about 50% of what they’ll likely earn the first year out of college. </p>

<p>Your parents are very naive. Perhaps much of their debt is a mortgage…that is different. </p>

<p>You are right to want to go to a CC for the first 2 years and then go to a state school. If you do that, will you then qualify for any state aid …like Bright Futures?</p>

<p>Either way, you need to go to a CC first. Your parents aren’t going to be stuck with your student loans…you will be. Don’t ruin your life with huge debt.</p>

<p>BTW…the monthly payments on $80k of debt would be over $900 a month. THAT IS THE COST of of 3 extra car payments…for 10 LONG years. That would be in addition to your own REAL car payment, rent, food, clothing, utilities, cell phone, etc. </p>

<p>Such debt would truly ruin the best years of your life…the years of ages 23 - 33. That should be a time for buying a home, finding a life-partner, starting a family…not being buried in stifling debt!!!</p>

<p>You would need an income of over $100k per year to comfortably pay that back…</p>

<p>How do I convince my financially-dumb parents a CC would be best for me?</p>

<p>You don’t need to convince them. They aren’t paying for your education, so they don’t really have a vote in the matter. </p>

<p>If they truly are “financially dumb,” (which their advice suggests), then why would you even consider taking their advice???</p>

<p><a href=“my%20mom%20can%20cosign”>I</a> and they say a debt of 60K isn’t that bad. … My parents have huge debts of their own,*</p>

<p>If that’s true, then it’s very unlikely that your mom would qualify to co-sign loans for 4 years in a row. She might qualify for your freshman year, but what would you do if she couldn’t qualify after that (which she probably wouldn’t). Save the co-signing for years 3 and 4 (if necessary) after you’ve gone to a CC. </p>

<p>** In the meantime, suggest to your parents to pay down THEIR debt. If that isn’t likely, then there’s your true answer…debt isn’t easily paid down.**</p>

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<p>ciV - you are being very wise. Just be adamant with your parents that you don’t want to take on such a heavy debt burden.</p>

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<p>If I still gave out gold stars to students, you’d get 3. Stay strong.</p>

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<p>Very, very smart plan.
If you can get good grades (and no reason shy not) you will be able to apply to some of the FL publics that you want to attend.
CC’s are more popular than ever. You can go to school, hold a job, and keep the debt from piling up.
In the end, a job resume lists your degree and college attended with year of graduation., No one will have a clue you started at a CC anyway. </p>

<p>Good luck to you.</p>

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<p>Very mature, ciVstudent. $60K is way too much debt for you, and as mom2collegekids says, it would end up more than that. You can get a solid start in community college, then transfer to a higher tier state school. Save your money!</p>

<p>Also, I’m not clear on how you would have gotten the $60K if your parents already have a lot of debt. Would they even be able to co-sign for all that money?</p>

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<p>If they continue to be stubborn or oblivious about the burden of loans, argue along another line. If you attend CC for two years and do well, you will have a much stronger track record, including possibly an AA degree. That would give you some excellent options for transferring to a school for a four year degree. You could also use the time at CC to focus on some professional training that would boost your earning power.</p>

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<p>20 years ago, I think a lot of people considered CC’s as the schools where all of losers went (there are still people who think that way.) With the current economy, CC’s have become a viable option for keeping the cost of education down. There are some wonderful instructors at many CC’s, as well as some not-so-good ones, just as there are both at many 4 year programs. Taking on such a large debt for education is crazy- any financial advisors will tell you that. It is hard enough for a young graduate to make it without the weight of a $60,000 debt hanging over your head. You sound very realistic and intelligent for your age. Don’t cave in; go to the CC and use it to get great grades. Then you can transfer to a better 4-year program more easily with the opportunity for some merit scholarship money. Best wishes!</p>

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<p>Do you have any idea what’s motivating your parents to press you this way? I think there’s a good answer for every one of their possible points. For example: if you are extremely bright and only got your act together in jr. year (so you’re “too good” for CC), let them know that college is a process and you are still proving yourself. Eventually you’ll get to wherever they imagine you “should” be – in school name, career, whatever-- but not arriving there awash with debt. </p>

<p>If they have a snooty social circle who’s influencing them, and don’t feel proud of saying you go to a CC, they can read a hundred articles today about the merits of students attending CC’s and take great pride. </p>

<p>If they don’t want you living at home, well, idk, just make your bed earlier each day :slight_smile: and cook them dinner twice a week. Show you’ll be a citizen of the household in a different way than you might have been during highschool. If this paragraph is irrelevant to you, please forgive me for making a presumption.</p>

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<p>It looks like you’ve thought this through - good for you.</p>

<p>Why do you need to convince your parents at all since you’re the one who’d be taking on the debt (albeit with your mom co-signing)? Why not simply ‘tell them’ that you plan to go to a CC for 2 years, work hard to have a good GPA (now that you have a different outlook on the value of good grades and studying), and will transfer to a higher level college after the CC? Since you’ll end up paying for it, it’s your choice, not theirs. They can try to influence you and discuss it with you but in the end it’s your choice. Since your parents already have huge debt of their own you should be wary of taking advice from them regarding taking on a debt load anyway.</p>

<p>If the above doesn’t work out you could always get a job, move out on your own, and attend a CC without their involvement or worrying about their approval but if you decide that do that, do it as a practicality decision and without animosity towards your parents. The better choice financially would be to live at home and commute to the CC so you don’t have the rent and maybe food costs. Regardless, since money’s an issue, get a part time job if you don’t already have one to start putting yourself in a position to take care of this.</p>

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<p>Would you be interested in the military? After Basic and initial training in whatever field you are going to do you will have the time to take classes on the military’s dollar, not your dollar. </p>

<p>Now the military is getting pickier about who they accept as so many people are joining in this economy and people are not getting out. My son decided to join the Air Force after dropping out of college because he didn’t know what he wanted to do. When he made the decision I started doing a lot of research and talking to a lot of people and all of the myths I used to have about the military were quickly dissolved.</p>

<p>Most military personnel do not see battle and they have more perks than I ever imagined. Friends of mine who retired from the military are making their kids join right after high school and the kids who grew up in it are more than willing to join.</p>

<p>I understand the military is not for everyone, but it might be the best way for you to start your future. Going into debt, as you know, isn’t the best plan.</p>

<p>Last, do you know what you want to study? Giving yourself a few years of real life experience and travel time might help you learn more about yourself so you can make a better decision about school. If you don’t know what you want to do you are looking at a lot of debt to try and figure things out.</p>

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<p>My parents paid off their house but are still paying for the two cars they bough 4 years ago, a sailboat, and various things like a 51 inch LCD tv and other unimportant stuff. They are one of those parents who just aren’t responsible with money.</p>

<p>I think my mom can co-sign because pretty much all of the debt is on my dads cards, and my mom has a decent credit rating but I don’t know.</p>

<p>Either way I can’t live in their house any more because they are selling their house and relocating to Massachusetts, just right after July.</p>

<p>I work, and would be able to hold my own and take out the 2K stafford loan to pay for a CC tuition, but my family would hate me for lowering my self to that level and they are not sure if they are going to be qualified to co-sign loans later. (Yes, they are having trouble with large debt)</p>

<p>@proud_mom</p>

<p>I considered taking the military route, and talked to a reserve officer , but my hearing disability is too severe for me to get a waiver.</p>

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<p>First of all, your parents will not hate you if you go to a CC. They might have to deal with their own insecurities about not feeling like they can’t brag at the moment, but give them time. You have many years ahead of you and many years to provide bragging material for your parents.</p>

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<p>I’d be proud to have you as my kid. You show great maturity and clear thinking.</p>

<p>Since your folks are moving and you will need to find a place to live, perhaps it would be worthwhile to evaluate the different CC options available in Florida, and particularly whether some of them have simplified admission to a state college you might have an interest in ultimately attending. I’m not familiar with the CCs in Florida, but around here they vary quite a bit in the extent and quality of offerings, though the price doesn’t really vary at all. </p>

<p>Best of luck to you.</p>

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<p>It might help all around if you don’t refer to your parents as “dumb”. You want them to respect you and your decisions. Provide some leadership in the respect area. Respect who they are and their accomplishments even as you are horribly aware of their short comings. Be careful with your word choice and your attitude and, hopefully, they will return the favor.</p>

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<p>If your parents are moving out of state, won’t you lose your Florida domicile for in-state tuition? The domicile for a dependent student is normally where the parents reside. Florida could be different, but in Virginia the student is only eligible for in-state tuition for one year after the parents move out of state. After that, the student would be eligible for in-state tuition in the new state.</p>

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<p>I thought the student establishes his own residency after a year living anywhere, by keeping things such as a lease or evidence via voting records that he lived in the state himself. </p>

<p>I know when my D moved to a new state following college, she rented an apartment with others (save that lease!), resided fulltime, worked a job for a year and paid state taxes there. After that year, she became eligible for that new state’s “in-state” status as she considered applying to grad school, which she didn’t end up doing – kept working instead. Of course she was a fulltime working person that year, not a student at all, while this poster wants to attend school. </p>

<p>Why wouldn’t it be the same if this student stayed put in Florida with his parents moving away? Seems to me, he’s on “their” dependency/residency for the first year, after which his own track record makes him a resident. I could be wrong and would like to know!</p>

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<p>Residency issues are of no concern because I can apply before they move, not to mention I have voters registration/will graduate from highschool in FL/lived here for 10 years.</p>