<p>Hi,
I am currently a senior and have already been accepted to some colleges. My interests in majors are engineering, business, and economics. I have been accepted to Virginia Tech for the fall but I am receiving nothing in financial aid but loans (not even work study) and I am out of state on top of that. All in all, it will come close to 35k the first year after I buy my books and laptop. My parents said that they can pay up to 20k and the rest is on me. I would really like to attend there for engineering but I am incredibly skeptical about taking on that much debt as I would like to like a moderately comfortable life after graduation and I also have a dream of attending grad school. My parents are saying that they can find ways to cut back and pay for college education at Virginia Tech however I would not want them to give up anymore just so I can go there.</p>
<p>My other option is UNC-Asheville which has a 2+2 program with NC State for engineering and I would be considered in-state for all four years and that would save me a bundle. I got rejected from NC State for the fall admissions because I had to apply as an out of state student (family is relocating after graduation but father lives in NC). The debt would certainly be manageable and if I do decide to change my major I always have a possibility of transferring to UNC-CH.</p>
<p>My parents truly believe that the Virginia Tech education is worth the cost but I believe that it would hinder both my family and I for the future greatly. It's a lot of money and I am not sure what to do. Is the Virginia Tech education really that much better than an NC State education? I am finding a hard time trying to justify all that extra money and my parents keep telling me that it's going to be all okay. I wouldn't be able to go to grad school if I do attend Virginia Tech with that much debt and I have a younger sibling that will be entering college as soon as I graduate.</p>
<p>Could anyone please provide some advice for me? I really appreciate any responses as decision day is coming up in a week.</p>
<p>I think UNC Asheville is a great school and a bargain to boot. Get started with college there, and do well. If you truly think VTech is aa better match, transfer after your sophomore year. You can then go there with about half the debt, you would have if you went to VTech for all 4 years. You would have to have your parents sign for loans beyond the $5500 Stafford this year most likely if you go directly to Tech this year.</p>
<p>Thank you all for the responses. I too feel the same way and now my parents are also feeling that UNC-Asheville is a much better choice for me. I will start looking at schools to transfer to after my sophomore year. The admissions office at Virginia Tech also told me that I could transfer there as long as I had A’s and B’s during my first two years at another college.</p>
<p>NC State has a great reputation for engineering, and is putting a lot of money into their centennial campus, where those students spend most of their time. Check the website - ncsu.edu- but I believe a spectacular new library is part of the plan.</p>
<p>I did visit the campus over winter break this year and it did seem impressive and the engineering department is very well respected throughout the state of North Carolina. The only thing that I did not like about it was the excessive use of bricks everywhere on campus. As long as I am getting a good education, I suppose it’s worth it.</p>
<p>If you do well in your engineering prep courses like the maths and sciences, any tech school or engineering program would look at your transferring with great interest. You’ll have passed the cut test of those first two years where the attrition is high and any tech school or school with a good engineering program would immediately see why you might want to transfer to another school with strong engineering options, Good grades with a good academic reason to transfer; ie your school is better than mine in the field I like, is an optimal transfer student, not the old," I hate it here so I want out". And if you want to stay there, it’s not as though it doesn’t have an engineering option for you, and it doesn’t much matter where you get an engineering degree.</p>
<p>Thank you so much everyone. I definitely do not feel as bad about turning down Virginia Tech now although my father is still pressuring me to go there. I most likely won’t unless there is a significant change in my family’s finances. I have to aim to do very well in college now and hope that I can transfer somewhere after a year or two.</p>
<p>dragon - those bricks might grown on you, you may come to view them as “classic”, “vintage”, “historical”, and “representing a proud and respected academic tradition”…</p>
<p>When we toured UNC-A our tour guide was majoring in engineering. He said that he will spend all 4 years on campus because they offered a program where cameras allowed him to take his engineering classes from UNC-A through another university in NC. He said that he was able to ask the professor questions via camera (interactive). He said that his diploma will have two college names on it. We took this tour 2 years ago. I would check into that program if I were you. The instate tuition deal at UNC-A is a very good deal! Very nice campus and area too!</p>