<p>As of recently, I've decided on going to Virginia Tech for my undergrad degree pursuit. Unfortunately, as the case for most students, college seems that it'll cost a lot for my family. I'm a high school student from Connecticut, which means I'll be paying out of state tuition (about 40,000 a year). I've been awarded a $1000 private scholarship, got $5,500 in federal loans which I'll be taking, then my family can pay about 9000/10,000 a year. After all this, there's still about $23,000 left, which I may have to take out in student loans and would much rather not have to deal with that.</p>
<p>Any suggestions on how I can cut the prices from the estimated cost of attendance and bring my overall costs down?</p>
<p>Any help is greatly appreciated and thanks for all of it!</p>
<p>If you have to take out 20k in loans per year then do not go to VT. There is no school worth 80k in loans, especially in the current economy. If it comes down to it go to a community college for a couple years (or some other local cheaper school) and transfer. But holy crap do not take out 20k in loans per year.</p>
<p>Isn’t it too late to enroll to other schools? Because I was accepted into my state school, which would be a lot cheaper, but I already accepted federal loans and enrolled to VT. Also, the May 1st Deadline has passed so I’m not even sure what to do if you’re saying not to go to VT, any suggestions?</p>
<p>I’m not sure what the deadlines are, but if you’re really looking at 20k/year in loans talk to whoever you have to talk to, pay whatever fee you have to, do whatever you have to do to not end up in that situation.</p>
<p>Let’s say you take out 80k over four years, which is a low estimate considering you’re looking at 28k this year. That will leave you with more than 80k in debt upon graduation, since many of those loans will start accruing interest immediately. Assuming a 6.8% interest rate (and rates are going to keep going up) and assuming no interest accrues over your 4 years (it will) and assuming you get a job (think things will be better in four years?) here’s what you’re looking at.</p>
<p>To pay off in 10 years: monthly payments of $920. Total paid back of $110,500. Finally pay off debt when you are 32.</p>
<p>To pay off in 15 years: Monthly payments of $720 and a total pay back of $130,000. You become student debt free when you’re 37. </p>
<p>The usual suggestion is to not make payments of more than 10% of your salary, and you aren’t going to be making the sort of salary after college to make those payments.</p>
<p>So I know it’s annoying to have someone say ‘don’t do that but I can’t really tell you what you should do or how to do it,’ but don’t do that but I really can’t tell you what you should do or how to do it.</p>
<p>I’m 99% sure economic hardship is a qualifying reason to break early decision so it should work here. I don’t know how you can still get in to Uconn etc now but there are other colleges with later enrollment windows you can look in to.</p>
<p>V Tech’s web site lists total cost (tuition, fees, room, board) for 2011-2012 as 31.3k. How much did it go up for 2012-2013? Even counting books and travel, 40k is higher than I would have thought. My son is a junior out of state (MA) and also wants to go to VT, but I was expecting it to be a little less than you found.</p>
<p>The total cost of attendance isn’t 40k (more like 32K) but it’s still a lot of money. Between your family contribution 9-10k and your 1k scholarship you have a gap of at least 20k per year. I agree with Chuy that you should not go to VT and take on that kind of debt. Your options are limited because you waited to start thinking about this after the deadline for decisions at other schools. Perhaps you could call up your in-state school and see if they will still take you? Otherwise, I’d suggest going CC in Connecticut and then transferring to your in-state university. If you tell VT that you are not attending then you will only lose your deposit.</p>
<p>The cost of attendance was $40k on the website, which includes room and board, tuition, and all the other fees that aren’t listed in the 32k you’re both seeing (I thought the same), though this can be managed down since the 40k charge is including a $2500 laptop VT prefers you buy from their bookstore (the terrible fujitsus). I called up UConn and they said I could still enroll and end up going (it’s only the Waterbury campus so I’d have to transfer into the main campus after one or two years). </p>
<p>So at this point, I have two questions:</p>
<p>So I should go to the Waterbury UConn Campus, then just save my money there?</p>
<p>And should I even consider my other school, ASU? They admitted me into Engineering directly, gave me $10000 in scholarships, and I’d have to take about $13,000 in loans, that’d still be too much?</p>
<p>I figure my particular opinion might not be popular from what I’m seeing in this thread, but…</p>
<p>For me, the place I wanted to go to was just as important, if not more, than the financial aspect of it (and I live in a ~40k income household). I spent my first two years in schools I picked just because they were affordable, meaning no student loans. I can honestly say it’s the worst decision I’ve ever made. If you love UConn just as much as you love VT, by all means, enroll and save yourself the cash. But if you’re choosing to go there based on convenience, I wouldn’t do it.</p>
<p>If you’re sure you can get more scholarships next year, I’d say stay at VT. There’s all sorts of scholarships outside of what VT offers that can add up to a hefty sum, and you may end up getting much, much less than 20k a year in loans. I do agree that you’re a bit late to be looking into this, though.</p>
<p>Can you go to the Waterbury campus for two years; transfer to UConn and complete your engineering degree in a total of 4 years with minimal debt? If so, that’s what I would recommend. But the decision is yours. Even if Waterbury isn’t your dream school you can make it work. Good luck with your decision.</p>
<p>I’ve decided on Waterbury, it’s pretty dissapointing, but I need to do it if I wanna avoid 130k+ in debt by the time I graduate. Honestly, I appreciate all your guys help A LOT. This will definitely help me out in the years ahead and I’m sure I’ll be thankful then as well.</p>
<p>Calvin1100,So sorry Virginia Tech will not work out for you but you are doing the right thing. I know you are disappointed but you were looking at way too much debt to attend VT. Best of luck to you at Waterbury!</p>
<p>I went to a community College for two years before coming to Tech. if you want to go to Tech from a community College then thats not a bad option either as it will save you loads and loads of money. However, if you want a true college experience then you should go to a state university and then maybe transfer (depending on your situation after 2 years)… Just my opinion, it worked well for me… Again Good Luck :)</p>
<p>That was a very mature and disciplined decision to make. I suspect you have a bright future ahead of you regardless of which school you attend. Just work as hard as you can, get the best grades you are capable of and look for opportunities for internships or co-ops. Best of luck!</p>