<p>So I'm a senior and I have been accepted to my dream school (UCSB) and my local state university (SUNY BUFFALO).</p>
<p>I got my aid package from UB and I got grants scholarships to cover total COA except about 2000 a year.</p>
<p>From Santa Barbara, I can use my dad's residency for in state tuition but that's about all the help I'll have. I have a 5550 pell for my first year there, but then I will switch to a dependent of my dad and step mom and my EFC will skyrocket, diminishing my pell. (They will contribute 0 to my education regardless.</p>
<p>Would it be worth it to pay for ucsb with loans? I want an econ/math major then a masters in finance. I was thinking I could probably make enough to pay back my loans by when I'm 30 if I do well and get into an elite graduate program.</p>
<p>I hate buffalo and would do anything to get out. Is UCSB worth it? my dad thinks it is. I do too but I'm scared. My parents have no money to contribute for me.</p>
<p>Check with FA office at UCSB. You might be able to claim your dad’s residency and your mother’s tax exempt. If your mother can provide proof that she is your financial provider then the school will accept it. That way you can continue receiving your Pell grant. Someone told me they did that and it’s OK, but with other schools not with UCSB</p>
<p>No. IMHO, UCSB would not be worth all the loans. You can not count on getting into an elite graduate program and top business schools, the most likely grad program to get you a high paying job, won’t even consider you without 4-5 years of post college work experience. So you’re likely to be 30 before you ever see a high paying job.</p>
<p>Even with the Pell, you would be $100K in debt for an undergrad degree which is crazy. And you would need a cosigner. Will your dad co sign?</p>
<p>In a sense, your dad and step mom HAVE contributed to your college expenses, by providing the ability for you to attend UCSB as an in-state student. OOS for that school would be very expensive.</p>
<p>Is getting a part-time job, plus working over the summer, an option?</p>
<p>The student is short of too much money for a UC to just make it up with a summer job and part-time work. All he’s gotten is a $5550 student grant…the rest of the cost ($32,000 in state) is up to him. He can’t earn that much and keep grades up…even if he borrows $5500 for loans. That would leave him with $20k per year to EARN??? That’s ridiculous.</p>
<p>Move to California and live with your dad. Attend a local CCC for the first two years, it is super cheap. It sounds like you would have no problem then transferring to one of the UCs. That way you only have the high cost of a UC to deal with for the last two years.</p>
<p>In California, the CCC to UC route is very common and the units transfer smoothly.</p>
<p>that a good idea IF he can figure out a way to pay for those last 2 years. Yes, it’s a savings, but it may just be delaying the inevitable…that he can’t afford those years either.</p>
<p>It doesn’t sound like the dad would be willing to co-sign $50-60k in debt for those last 2 years…which is the minimum that he’d need. Remember, he’ll be losing Pell, so once he’s paying for instate, he’ll be paying all costs with loans. ALL COSTS…except for the little bit that he could earn. </p>
<p>It’s just not worth that much debt. He can go to UB for nearly free.</p>
<p>My son graduated from SUNY Buffalo. Very much an overlooked school. Facilities, amenities, and quality of classes is excellent. THis is from someone who prefers private LACs and was not really pleased he made this his choice. THereafter, my other kids have added it to their lists. </p>
<p>Not only would it cost you very little after PELL and TAP, there is very cheap housing off campus with a lot kids going that route after freshman year. The SUNYs have an excellent reputation in NY. If instate UCSB were equivalent, it’s one thing, but SUNY is $10K cheaper in cost and then there is the availability of TAP money. Go to CA for graduate school. Really, you’ll find Buffalo has a lot to offer you.</p>
<p>Why does your dad think its a good idea to come to UCSB but then not offer to pay a dime? Can he truly not afford to pay anything?<br>
If going to college will out you $100K in debt, it is NOT worth it.</p>
<p>I’m wondering if the OP would be eligible for Blue and Gold. OP, do you know if your father’s household income is under the B&G limit? Does anyone know if B&G just considers the income of the parent claiming the student as a dependent, or does it look at income from both parents’ households?</p>
<p>I think you have to have graduated from a Calif high schoool to qualify for B&G. It says that you have to submit Cal Grant info and for that you must have gone to a Calif high school.</p>
<p>I think these rules were put into place to prevent others from just moving to Calif and getting a big windfall of college money.</p>
<p>OP, I agree with others–UCSB is just going to be too expensive. For any California public school, I would plan on significant annual tuition increases. That’s going to make your total indebtedness even greater by the end of college.</p>
<p>Another thing is the availability of student loans. Problem number one would be finding a cosigner. If you are a Pell recipient using your mother’s income, then she is unlikely to qualify as a cosigner. If your dad is unable to afford to pay anything, he might be unwilling to be a cosigner. If I were in his shoes, I wouldn’t be signing up for that much debt. </p>
<p>Problem number two is assuming that you’ll be able to continue to have access to private student loans all through college. Call me paranoid, but given all the talk about college loans being the next big bubble, I’m expecting to see the current free-and-easy access to student loans change dramatically in the near future. I’d be worried about starting out at a UC, basing my ability to attend on being able to get $25k+ in loans each and every year, and then find out junior year that I couldn’t get loans to continue. </p>
<p>How about starting at Buffalo, saving money like crazy, and then applying to transfer to UCSB junior year?</p>
<p>At a minimum, you need to at least start at Buffalo. </p>
<p>I know that you say that you “hate Buffalo” but really, college life is much different than high school life or even community life. I highly doubt that going to Suny-Buffalo is the same as just being resident there.</p>
<p>Would you be able to live on campus if you went to Buffalo?</p>
<p>For Buffalo, you’d get…</p>
<p>Pell
TAP
5500 student loan
work study?</p>
<p>Anything else? SEOG? </p>
<p>What exactly is in your Buffalo FA pkg?</p>
<p>If you didn’t indicate that you’d be living on campus, change that. You’ll likely get more aid.</p>
<p>You can find work in Buffalo too. My son had no trouble finding jobs and off campus apartments are dirt cheap. Can’t say that about Santa Barbara. The school is really a beautiful school with many amenities.</p>
<p>Buffalo gave me 16550 before loans. My dad won’t qualify for Blue and Gold. He’s a lawyer and my step mom is a CPA. He said he would co-sign with me. Looks like I just can’t affors UCSB :/.</p>
<p>Thanks for the help guys. Being URM with a 2150 how good of a school could i transfer to after a year at UB?</p>
<p>Getting accepted as a transfer is not so much the issue as getting money after freshman year. This year was your best shot at getting aid. THere are much fewer scholarship or aid packages available to upper classmen. Believe me, you have an excellent deal with Buffalo and it is a great school. I have some personal issues about it, but they truly are my own problems, not the school’s.</p>
<p>Transferring won’t likely work money-wise. The best aid/merit goes to incoming frosh.</p>
<p>You might consider a gap year and reapplying to schools that give lots of merit for stats.(but don’t take ANY classes during that time).</p>
<p>What URM are you? Are you AA? Did you make NAFinalist? Are you a NMF? </p>
<p>It’s pretty pathetic that your dad and SM have a strong income and wont’ contribute a cent towards college. I wouldn’t go to school near them just for that reason. How “nice” that he’d be willing to co-sign huge loans :rolleyes: I’d be tempted to stick him with them afterwards.</p>
<p>I’m african american. I only got a 1800 psat score. I wasn’t the same person before my junior year. None of the top schools at all are need blind/meet full need for transfers?</p>
<p>And fwiw my dad and stepmom have pretty bad credit card debt and were crushed by the housing bubble. Looks like I need to start looking forward to grad school :(. Can i get into top programs from UB?</p>