<p>I have a big decision to make, and it is basically riding on the financial side of everything.</p>
<p>My Top Two Colleges-
Ithaca - $30,000 per year after a financial aid package of 18k (incl. work study, unsub. and sub. loans, merit aid)
or</p>
<p>SUNY Plattsburgh - $9,000 per year after a few thousand of a financial package (unsub. loan and merit aid)</p>
<p>Obviously the first choice is WAY more expensive, and will add up. My family isn't rich or anything and one of my parents has been unemployed for more than a year now. It is disheartening that by the end of my 4 years at the first choice college, I'll have a mortgage to pay off.</p>
<p>The choice seems simple right? Pick the cheap one. Well, it's not that easy.</p>
<p>I really like the more expensive one because it seems like they have a better overall college. The school I want to go into there is very good, and the one that costs less isn't as prestigious and does not have as good of facilities (I'm going into communications).</p>
<p>If I could choose right now without the money being considered, I'd definitely choose Ithaca. But, is the education there worth the extra 20k a year? That is the question.</p>
<p>I would say no. Especially not with a communications major. At the very least I’d say to start at SUNY Plattsburgh. You may want to transfer at some point, and although aid isn’t as good for transfer students (generally) you’d probably still end up ahead. But you also may find the program at SUNY is quite good, or you may find you switch majors (happan a lot!).</p>
<p>I’m not clear from your post how you’re breaking down the cost and resources. When you say 30k after financial aid (which already includes loans), are you saying you’d have to borrow 30K more after the loans you’ve already taken out in your FA package (I doubt you’d be able to borrow that much even if you wanted to), or are your parents paying a portion of that? Same with the 9K. If you are personally thinking of borrowing 9K/yr in addition to $5000+ in Staffords… well, that’s pretty crazy too. You’d be much better off to attend community college for a couple years and then transfer to SUNY.</p>
<p>IF you were my child, there’s no way I’d allow you to go to Ithaca. The debt would change the entire course of your life. It’s simply not worth it.</p>
<p>Is Ithica really $30K a year, or is Ithaca really $30K a year in what they expect you to pay now + subsidized Stafford loan + unsub Stafford? That pushes it up around $40K a year, and even at $30K it isn’t a financially prudent decision.</p>
<p>Communications majors don’t have great earnings potential right out of college, and you really don’t want to burden yourself (or your parents) with heavy debts. You will regret it.</p>
<p>This is a lot like wanting the really cool sports car when what you can really afford is a much more modest Kia. Sure the sportscar would be nice, but not nice enough to saddle yourself with a huge debt.</p>
<p>Enjoy SUNY – it is a great value, and you can choose to make it a great college experience.</p>
<p>What kind of communications? If you are entering speech pathology, it doesn’t MATTER where you get your undergrad degree because you need a masters too. I would suggest going to the less expensive school…with an eye on grad school at a more expensive spot. Grad school is typically 2 years instead of four for a masters so your expensive school would only be for two years…and if you are a top applicant for grad school…you might get a fellowship or assistantship.</p>
<p>I’m looking to major in Journalism, specifically in Broadcast Journalism.</p>
<p>The $30,000 and $9,000 are the prices with financial aid included. So, those figures already include the unsubsidized and subsidized loans, as well as the work study program and the grant that the college issues based on merit.</p>
<p>These prices also include the costs of room and board, meal plans, books, pretty much everything.</p>
<p>The price for SUNY Plattsburgh is roughly $15,000 per year, so I have a financial package of $6,000. The price for Ithaca is $48,000 per year, so I have a financial aid package of around $18,000.</p>
<p>Thanks for your suggestions! I definitely do not want to have a huge amount of debt, and my parents are pretty much telling me that I either need to get one of the large scholarships they offer at Ithaca or I won’t be able to go there.</p>
<p>If you have an unemployed parent, how do you expect to have someone co-sign your loans to go to Ithaca? (are your parents’ married?)</p>
<p>Even if you could convince your parent(s) to cosign a big loan ($25k) for the first year, would they be willing (and qualify) to do so for years 2, 3, and 4? (I’m assuming that a Stafford loan would be used for the remaining amount)</p>
<p>Do you also have any idea of what your payment will be when you graduate when you have to pay back full Stafford loans plus co-signed loans? Your parents would be about $1500 a month for 10 years? </p>
<p>How much do you think that you’ll be earning during the early years of a career in Broadcast Journalism???</p>
<p>and…will your parents co-sign $100k+ in loans??? If not, it’s not possible anyway, so you might as well move on.</p>
<p>Possible scholarships? What are your stats?</p>
<p>My niece graduated from American last year with honors. Her degree…communications. She had 5 or 6 unpaid internships. She has gone on many, many, many, many, many (did I say many?) interviews, networked like crazy, etc. What is she doing now? Babysitting which at least in LA is a high paying job and looking, looking, looking. Fortunately she is debt free and has generous, understanding parents.</p>
<p>I have a few scholarships that I’ve applied for and they are within my range so we’ll see what happens… </p>
<p>My stats aren’t stellar; they’re pretty average, with a 3.4-3.5 GPA and a 23 ACT/1600 SAT.</p>
<p>I have done some volunteer work, have a job, and have done some extra-curricular activities. I am still applying to some, mainly local scholarships since I have a much higher chance at acquiring one than I would a national one.</p>
<p>I’ve pretty much come to this realization; If I don’t get an Ithaca scholarship, I’ll be going to SUNY Plattsburgh or possibly SUNY Oswego… which isn’t a bad thing really, it’s just Ithaca was my favorite.</p>
<p>I think the thing with broadcast journalism has everything to do with how good you are, not where you went to school. Most people start in small markets --less populated parts of the country-- on local stations. If they’re young and talented and ambitious they don’t stay at one place for long, but hop from one place to another as openings in gradually bigger markets become available to them.</p>
<p>I live in one of those small market parts of the country so I see this all the time. Young journalists start here, move on, and then years later I see them on ESPN or another cable channel, or an affiliate in a large metro area, or even on a major network. That’s what can happen to the talented ones.</p>
<p>But when they start here… you see the colleges they went to are schools like Fresno State or a regional state school in Indiana or places like that. Not some special high-ticket school. Because the wages are low at the beginning even for those lucky enough to get a job, you’re so much better off with a low debt load. To get started you need to be able to live cheap, relocate frequently, and learn quickly through your experience in small markets. That’s much more important than what school you go to.</p>
<p>That said, there are high fliers who get cherry picked from top programs for good jobs early in their careers, but it’s good to be realistic that that’s not how one normally builds a career in that profession. And… as seen with FLMathMom’s neice… don’t expect to start in LA.</p>
<p>I totally understand the fact that I’ll be starting in small markets. I want to explore different parts of the country so I really won’t mind having to relocate when the time comes.</p>
<p>Thanks for putting this into perspective for me. I now understand that it’s not necessary to have a perfect school; it’s what you make of it, and I plan to make the best of it as I possibly can.</p>
<p>…plus impartial to L.A., so that’s good haha.</p>
<p>I think the experience you get in the small markets is incredibly good. You really learn how to do everything, because they’re run on skeleton crews. And if you’re good, you move on quickly. It’s one of the less attractive things about living in such an area. We get new talent on the local stations quite often, and when somebody shapes up real quickly and is competant and skillful and articulate… they don’t last long here! But good for them. I’m happy to see then move onward and upward. Good luck to you. I can see the appeal of that career path!</p>
<p>If you don’t mind me asking, what market are you in? I’m in a fairly small market too, 80 out of the top 100 in the U.S… and theres even smaller ones near me.</p>