<p>I don’t have a car.
I’m transfering in from a community college without a degree. I’m NOT eligible for the NJ stars due to my high school grades sucking. You need to have a good high school record to get into NJ stars.</p>
<p>I’m probably going to go back to the CC to finish up my degree. but even then, I’ll have around 40k~ in loans once I go to rutgers for another 2~ years. That’s still a lot. Rutgers gives no scholarships except for the theta kappa one which i’m not likely to get at all.</p>
<p>I just really can’t stand my community college and staying at home.
Believe it or not, staying home actually does damage to my grades. I’m terrible bored here, lazy, distracted and really want to get out. Which is why I want to transfer to rutgers. You might say I’ll be more distracting at rutgers, but i work weird. Once I’m out of my comfort zone I actually do very well (aka out of my house)</p>
<p>I was comparing my transfer courses and courses that are required for my degree, I probably knocked off only a year of rutgers if I transfer now.</p>
<p>I’m just really worried that if my parents did something wrong with paying for college. Majority say they only have 20k to 40k in loans after leaving a state school after 4 years. MY parents are getting fed up with me asking about the expenses. They have got to done something wrong with the financial aid department. I’ll probably work doing school and attempt to apply to a RA position (free room and board) but the latter is not very likely and the former i heard is hard to get as a white person.</p>
<p>I understand the working better outside of home environment. I have a child like that.</p>
<p>RA - I think it will be impossible to get until AFTER you have lived in a dorm for a year. The experience of dorm life is a major part of the process.</p>
<p>It sounds like you don’t have a clear handle on the family income. Have you reviewed the FAFSA? If not and the loans will be in your name with parent co-sign then you really should be reviewing. If you haven’t seen the FAFSA then do a quick EFC based upon what you do know of the family finances. </p>
<p>When you say the majority 20k-40k in loans after 4 years are you referring to the majority of people you know or the majority of CC folks? CC folks are very different from my neighbors and my real family. Many CC folks have the grades & stats for merit awards, schools that meet full need, etc. And many well meaning parents do something wrong with paying for college – they don’t save enough, save early enough or realize the full cost of college. It is a very different world then when I attended college. I recently calculated the cost of our community college and determined it would be cheaper to commute mass transit to Temple then our community college (cc requires car & high ins) – That was a wake call for our family!</p>
<p>Unless your parents are making a LOT of money, a family with 3 in college should be qualifying for Financial Aid for those 3 kids (unless the others’ COAs are small).</p>
<p>So, either your parents are doing something wrong with FAFSA or they’re making a lot of money (and should be helping with your expenses - at least a little!)</p>
<p>Do you have any idea of what their EFCs turned out to be for you and your sibs?</p>
<p>Taking out that much in loans is not typical for undergrad. It is dangerous. </p>
<p>Finish at CC…there are some schools that will give merit for transfers. So go get some good grades!</p>
<p>First…when you complete the FAFSA, it asks for the number of students who will be attending college…not the PRICE of the colleges they are attending.</p>
<p>Second…even IF this student qualified for the maximum financial aid offered by the federal government (that is what the FAFSA determines), he/she would still might not receive a LOT of money. The bottom line is that Rutgers is a public university in NJ. Accept for some merit awards (by report…not very many and not a lot of money each), even the maximum federal money awarded would only pay a portion…and not necessarily a LOT of the portion, of a full year at Rutgers. The max Pell is about $5000. The max Stafford loan (which I hope is included in the already taken loans) is $5500. That would still leave this student with about $13,000 a year to fund out of pocket, not counting any expenses.</p>
<p>mom2collegekids…Rutgers does NOT meet full need. This student’s family could have an EFC of $1000 and still come up short on the money for college costs.</p>
<p>My situation will be different than yours, but I’ve guestimated that I’ll have about 25k or less in student loans when I graduate. I have less than 5k from the first time I went to college, paid for community college out of pocket, but will need financial aid to complete my degree. I’m a non-traditional, independent student (married, over 25, etc) whose household makes too much money to qualify for need-based aid, so it will all be student loans. </p>
<p>I won’t be taking out loans to live on, since my “room and board” is already covered, and I will be working at least part time, so that will lessen my debt load. </p>
<p>I will say that, just because you are offered X amount of money for school doesn’t mean you have to TAKE X amount of money. Meaning, if your award letter states that you are being offered 10k, but you only need 8k, you only have to take 8k. Just wanted to throw that out there. </p>
<p>What does that amount cover? Only tuition? Tuition, room and board, and books? Will you be working while going to school? Have you made a budget? Have you checked to make sure the FAFSA was filled out correctly? Maybe someone made an error.</p>
<p>we’re not loaded but we’re not poor, even though this year we are actually doing quite terribly. I’m not going into details. I don’t know, I’ll work while at college and maybe pull off 10k~ worth of debt. I’ll be 30k to 20k in debt which is a lot more managable.</p>
<p>Thanks thumper and splash you made me feel a bit more comfortable</p>
<p>What about the NJ Tuition Aid Grant? That’s the grant for instate students. Did the OP not qualify for that grant, either? It just seems odd to me that the aid appears to be all-loans.</p>
<p>Yes, Yale and other “top” schools are amazing!</p>
<p>I think college planning needs to start in 7th grade. Show these kids budgets and it could motivate some for better grades. Students who are great students (GPA/SAT) have far more options then others. To learn the financial importance of the GPA going into high school can be an eye openner.</p>
<p>In PA/NJ maybe DE the state schools are NOT financial safeties (unless maybe if you are commuting). As thumper1 stated full need is not considered.</p>
<p>And thanks to mom2college who has drilled it into my family to start evaluating colleges from a financial perspective first and foremost.</p>
<p>Mom2collegekids’ Rule of thumb…If money is an issue…always apply to at least 2-3 financial safeties that your child likes! Then if the money doesn’t work out or the child doesn’t get accepted to his top picks, there will still be some good schools to choose from in the spring! NO one wants to feel “forced” to attend the only affordable school left on their list.</p>
<p>I went to Purdue my freshman year as an OOS and had to loan $30k that year then I took summer classes there and took another loan for $10k. Decided that Purdue was getting too expensive for me so I transferred to another school where I’m getting scholarships and more grant so now I loan $20k a year. I should be graduating in two years so that will be another $40k on top of this year’s $20k. This makes me graduating with $100k in debt compared to the $35k each year for four years at Purdue which would be $140k+$40k which wouldve been $180k in debt if I stayed at Purdue. All of this is not including interest. Since my major is not even offered in my state at a decent university I have no other option But best of luck!</p>
<p>The state of California came up with a great website to help get some perspective on what students will need for cash flow after graduation from college. I wish there was a national site like this.</p>
<p>I just don’t think some have yet grasped how hard it will be - month after month - year after year - to write some big ole check. *Especially if there had been cheaper alternatives available. * I don’t think some have realized how paying out $1200+ per month (or more) will seriously impact their day to day lives for a very long time.</p>
<p>In someways, these kids are setting themselves up to always being “behind” their peers (unless they somehow land some super high paying job in their 20s). While their peers will be moving on with their lives (buying homes, etc), these kids will be using every extra dollar to pay back their loans. Then, when they’re finally done with repayment, they’ll be “behind” where all their peers are. </p>
<p>I realize that sometimes there must be “some” loans, but I don’t think these huge loans (for undergrad) are necessary.</p>
<p>My major is Hotel Management and home state is New Jersey. Rutgers has my major but it is at their Camden campus in which is a joint program with a community college. There are also two other state schools that have my major but none of them are any good really. If I were majoring in Business, Rutgers would’ve been my choice but unfortunately I am not.</p>
<p>I’m not sure how much I’ll have. If I can get into a BS/BA/MD program, then about $350,000 or more, but if I don’t, then I’ll probably go to state school, which’ll be about 20,000-80,000 depending on the scholarships I get. Or I might go to the local college, live at home, and pay about $10,000.</p>
NO one wants to feel “forced” to attend the only affordable school left on their list.</p>
But best of luck!</p>