How much debt do you think a Finance degree is worth?

Paying for College
61

My parents have good credit and the low EFC is due to weird tax stuff that has to do with owning a small business and having losses carry forward. They do have some money, just not tons to throw at college. Not that they would want to anyways. However, they were not honest with me about how much they would contribute off the bat. That complicated things a little bit.

What I don’t understand is do you guys think I’m living for free right now or something? I pay my own rent, my own utilities, food, gas, etc. I’m not exactly living for free and saving money. Instead of having to continue working full time in order to pay rent and expenses (and only being able to go to school part time), I’d rather go to school full time, and pay loans afterwards. It’s all about opportunity cost, and every semester I spend at community college part time with an entry level job is potentially time lost working at a better paying job. Which reminds I wouldn’t have 60 semester units until next fall which is the minimum requirement for transferring to schools where I would have in-state tuition. And going to those schools wouldn’t exactly be free anyways.

I applied to: Drexel, Temple, UW Seattle, Seattle U, Rutgers NB, Fordham, UDel, URI, Bryant, Brown, NYU, BC, NEU, Baruch/Queens/Brooklyn, TCNJ, and Bentley. The reason I applied to so many OOS schools that would cost me a lot is because JKC likes when you reach high. Also, my parents offered to cover my application fees because back in high school I never applied to colleges so they never spent money on it back then. I’m a semi-finalist for the scholarship so I’ve got my fingers crossed. If not, 30k in debt for Drexel is not debilitating so I have my benchmark. If I don’t get the scholarship, I don’t go to pricier schools. I have a 3.8 as well so some of these give generous merit packages for transfer students.

The BLS has a good outlook for finance careers. I also have a pretty full resume because I’ve been working since I was 14, so I have a lot of work experience and I can hold down a job.
EX
https://www.bls.gov/ooh/business-and-financial/management-analysts.htm
https://www.bls.gov/ooh/business-and-financial/financial-analysts.htm

Also, my girlfriend has been admitted to grad schools in Seattle, NYC, Boston, Philly, and Providence so no there’s no huge commute from where I live to my school lol.

My original question was about how much are different tiers of schools worth. That’s not a bad question to ask, and it could be helpful for people reading this in the future anyways. For example, is a school like NEU or BC worth taking out more loans than Drexel.

62

Are you instate for PA? I keep thinking you are from TX?

If you were, Temple might be less than Drexel cost if you get $5k merit, instate tuition, and Pell and PA grant.

63

I think OP is from CA.

64

OP is indeed from CA

65

Oh yes, a few pages back I asked about the Calgrant. Feeble mind, sigh.

66

No worries @mommdc you’re an active member on here I don’t expect anyone to remember every detail on my thread :stuck_out_tongue:

The other day I met my mother for lunch and she said that if I decided to go to school somewhere relatively cheap (Providence, Philadelphia) then she would help me buy a house. Philly is considered a market where buying a house is better than renting. But now I’m just so confused because she told me she didn’t want to help pay for college, but if I were to get a house she’d have to spend damn near the same amount on a down payment. I swear Russian mothers are so confusing to deal with.

67

Nice. Take the house! :slight_smile:

68

Please…don’t buy a house. Home ownership has its own set of issues. Remember…any time something breaks, YOU are the one who needs to get it fixed.

Plus…how would you do the deal,with your GF? Would she be expected to pay rent? How would it work since she would be paying for you to own a house?

We have friends and family living in Philadelphia…and I think housing is a LOT cheaper than in CA, but really, it’s not cheap.

69

My GF would pay rent in the hypothetical scenario (she would not expect a handout she’s not that kind of person) but in the end of the day it would be my house. I was looking at mortgages and for a nice house at around 200k it’s around 800-900 per month (30 yr) in a decent area of Philly. In any case, I mostly brought it up to highlight how inconsistent my parents have been in regards to financial aid - and how that ended up negatively impacting my college search and subsequent applications.

Where is housing cheaper in CA? In Bakersfield?.. lol. Definitely not anywhere desirable like Oakland/Berkeley/SF/the bay in general.

70

You need to get up and over those mountains and into the desert for a cheap house in CA. I do not think @thumper1 meant it that way though. Thumper I think implied Phily was cheaper than CA but that living is rarely cheap.

71

Housing is a lot cheaper THAN in CA!

72

Haha yea now that I re-read that I understand what you mean.

73

Having my gf + another room or two for rent would easily cover mortgage, but I don’t know anything about the avg expenses associated with home ownership. Funny enough, my GF’s dad basically rebuilt their first house in rural PA (plumbing, electrics, etc) but obviously to rely on him doing the work there would be a risk. I just don’t understand why my mother would be willing to throw 20-30k at a house, but not even half that at an education.

74

Well…in addition to the mortgage, you will have property taxes, utility bills (add things like water and sewer to electric, cable and whatever heat you use), and insurance.

It is very possible that your property taxes could equal your mortgage per month.

I believe the house will need to be held in your parent name because you don’t qualify for a mortgage…no continuous income.

Lots to consider.

75

In any case, thread got derailed a bit, but now do you understand why I applied to more expensive schools? It’s not because I’m ignorant about personal finances. I’ve got a set of strange parents who have called me “cruel” for turning around and simply asking them to contribute for my college expenses, despite the fact they said before that they would. I swear I need to start getting everything in writing.

76

Actually, you need to assume YOU are solely responsible for all expenses and ANYTHING you MAY get from them is a surprise gift. It will make your life MUCH easier.

77

Well now I’m definitely doing that lol.

78

Just a final comment. It might just be that your mom will buy the house and let you reside there. The kicker being that she will own it and will have a hard asset to sell to get her money back. With your education she has no such option. What she spends on college is lost forever. The house can provide payback. Just a thought.

79

It’s possible, but I think that she was saying it would be mine. Who knows with her.

80

I’d discourage my daughter from putting herself in a situation where her boyfriend was her landlord. It doesn’t exactly make for an equal partnership. She wouldn’t be renting from his parents either.