<p>Hey!</p>
<p>So i got accepted into some colleges a while ago, but recently ive narrowed it down to 2: NC state and penn state.
Currently i live in NC, and im pretty sure that my parents want me to go to NC state.
But for some reason i reallyreallyreally want to go to penn state.. Like really.
But im having trouble with all these tuition stuff and everything.
So i kinda made a deal and my stepdad told me that if i go to nc state, he'll pay for the tuition and if i go to penn state, ill have to pay half of the tuition.
Im planning to major in engineering, and i looked up the tuition cost and for penn state, it was about $60,000 and for nc state $20,000 i think? Its about one half of penn state.
So heres the problem... So ive never had a job ever in my life(yeah shame on me), and i dont know if i can pay for roughly $30K. Its just that idea that scares me. What if i cant pay for the tuition and i ruin my life? Ahaha
So please help me out, and give me some advice!
Should i just go to nc state and be safe, or should i go to penn state?</p>
<p>Both are great schools. It would be nice to be debt-free upon graduating but only you can make that decision. Also, Penn State is about 40-43 K per year, not 60K.</p>
<p>It sounds to me like you are going to have to go to NC State. Does your family quality for any need based financial aid? You can work with your parents to run the net price calculator at both schools to see what it would cost.</p>
<p>Also, you do know that there is more than just tuition to be paid, right? Room & board are separate expenses, make sure you know how you can cover those.</p>
<p>Generally… there is no way you are going to earn $30,000 a year for Penn State if you are not eligible for need based aid. You can’t borrow that much on your own, either (and it wouldn’t be worth doing to have that debt hanging over your head when you graduated anyway). Your parents could borrow it, but it would not be advisable.</p>
<p>Half of $60,000 = $30,000.
$30,000 x 4 years = $120,000.</p>
<p>You have two choices: Get a full-time job and work for several years until you earn the $120k you need to pay for Penn State, or go to NC state.</p>
<p>$30k is in the neighborhood of the yearly salary for a full-time entry-level job (with a degree). If you’re going to college full-time, that’s not going to happen. In your freshman year, the maximum amount of loans you will be able to take out is $5.5k/yr. You are then left with 24.5k for that year. A part-time job will net you maybe $3-4k/yr. Assuming a generous 4.5k (all going to school and not new clothes/iTunes/whatever), you’re still left with $20k to take out in private loans, which will not happen without a cosigner and which will collect interest throughout school. And that 4.5k is pretty darn generous.</p>
<p>Unless you qualify for financial aid or other merit aid (substantial, generous aid), Penn State is just not an option. Yes, it would be nice to go to your ‘dream’ school, but NC state sounds like a perfectly viable/excellent option that will allow you to graduate debt-free.</p>
<p>Your college experience is what you make of it, so make NC State exactly what you want it to be.</p>
<p>I see… Well this is harder than i thought itd be 
I think my stepdad makes about $30000 a month so no… we dont qualify for the financial aid
Seems like ill have to go to nc state…
Wow now i really respect my stepdad, he went to bucknell university and he had to pay for all of the college money on his own. That must have been darn difficult to do.
But thank you guys, this helped a lot!</p>
<p>You are so lucky to have a parent, someone, who is willing and able to pay for your college. So many do not. Congratulations. You are very privileged.</p>
<p>First I read it as: “my stepdad makes about $30,000 a year…”
Then I reread it: “my stepdad makes about $30,000 a month…”
<em>Gasp</em> that translates to nearly $360,000 dollars a year! (Assuming of course no taxes, or vacations and whatnot.) </p>
<p>Please sir, may I have a horse?</p>
<p>schoi1121 - Keep in mind that unless your stepdad is very young, his college expenses were likely quite a bit more manageable than what they’d be today. Once up a time, in the not so distant past, it was possible for students to pay their own way through college. Unfortunately, things have changed since then.</p>