I need help on my college decision... Is FSU worth the $52k student debt?

FSU is my top pick school. I applied with a major in biology, but this is subject to change after I experience the classes.

I received my acceptance letter & financial aid, with an Out-of-State Tuition Waiver Scholarship, as well as federal and school-based grants. I would be paying about $14-15k my freshman year, considering that I live on-campus and have the cheapest meal plan. If the cost was consistent for 4 years, my student debt would be around $52k.

Is this a good idea to invest in FSU when the cost is this high? One thing to note is that FSU does have a program that allows me to graduate in 3 years if I have enough credits, so that was an option I was thinking about. I took 10 APs in high school and passed every exam. Also, I hope to live off-campus for much cheaper rates during my sophomore year, or maybe even this year. That could easily take off a few thousand off of my COA. In addition, I know that my FAFSA will change next year, hopefully where I get several thousands of dollars more aid because my family has had a significant loss in income. With all of this considered, I feel that next year I can make my cost of attendance cheaper by several thousand.

With that being said, I could still be at least in $40k in debt. Should I make this investment, considering the loans and student debt? I know I can work to pay some of it off in college, but will it be enough? I won’t be receiving contribution from my family, just as a note. I also wasn’t eligible for work-study; how much should I expect to make at a part-time job as a full time college student?

My other options would be attending GSU or a community college. GSU is supposed to be cheaper, but I have not received any scholarships from them yet & their financial aid package comes out literally the day before admission decisions!! Should I consider community college for a few years and then transfer? I looked it up and it seems it would be even more expensive to transfer into FSU as they didn’t give out many scholarships to transfer students.

Please let me know what the best option would be.

i think that is a manageable debt and it does seem better than your other options.

$40k to $52k is more debt than you can take without a cosigner. Cosigned loans or parent loans are usually not a good idea, especially if you are intending to go into a lower paying profession (like most biology majors) or an expensive professional school (like medical or other health professions that many frosh biology majors aspire to but do not get into after expensive application processes).

Do you have any idea what GSU may cost, even from its net price calculator? Is GSU an in-state public for you?

A few things:

You can’t take out $50K in loans, an undergrad’s max is $27K over the 4 years. Will your parents take out the rest?

Can/will your family contribute any money for college?

Have you spoken to someone at FSU that can help you understand how many credits you would have if you enroll? Graduating in less than 4 years would represent a cost savings/fewer loans.

Is GSU Georgia State? Are you a Georgia resident? It is ridiculous that their FA won’t come out until the day before the deposit is due.

I would seriously look into CC and transfer to some other college. There are plenty of colleges out there and, though FA for transfer students is often lower, some schools it’s not lower at all.

To my mind $52K in debt for undergrad is way too high. You could significantly cut your debt by attending CC and transferring into another school. If you’re in Georgia area, Wake Forest offers FA for transfer students and it’s an excellent school. There are many others that do so too.

Vanderbilt
GWU
WashU in St. L
Several LACs such as Southwestern U near Texas

Even spending 2 years in CC and transferring to your state Flagship will save you lots of money. In this economy you really do not want $50K debt for undergrad.

You need to figure out how much you can earn while in college. You’ll only be able to borrow about $30k over the 4 years, so you’ll need to be earning the rest as you go (during school, summers). You might also be able to reduce some costs by getting a job that provides room and board (for the college or perhaps doing home care).

GSU sounds like your best option if you are a GA resident.

I am a Georgia resident eligible for the Zell Miller Scholarship, so at Georgia State University, full tuition would be paid for. That still leaves me with $20k remaining in other fees. And I won’t know the scholarships I’ll receive until the end of April.

$52k is what I thought would be the worst case scenario. If I don’t get a job, if I don’t do the 3-year degree program, if I don’t live off-campus, and if I don’t receive more financial aid. I am sure that I will get a job in college, I just don’t know how much I will be earning.

My family cannot contribute any money towards my college. I am receiving federal loans of $5,500, but the rest would be in private loans.

With all of this being said, would FSU still not be an option? Are there any programs I can look into for more scholarships or waivers to be able to afford FSU?

^ I actually looked at the wrong costs for GSU. For a bachelors degree, tuition is $7k and the COA is $28k.

Room and board at GSU is $20k? Per year? That seems very high, and very low if it is for all 4 years.

You need to be comparing costs per year at each school, because that’s the info you have now.

Many of the outside scholarships, at least in Florida to florida high school students, must be used instate. If GA is the same, you might do better to go to GSU. FSU might have department scholarships you are eligible for. Ask the FA office.

The $28k* is the total COA per year for Georgia State. It actually does seem very high.

I’ve already applied to scholarships in Georgia, but I’m still waiting on award decisions from them. I have applied to whatever FSU scholarships (on their website) that I was eligible for, but I haven’t received notifications either. Everything is just pending.

It sounds like you’re paying for school on your own. Room and board is not cheap, and usually is possible ONLY because mom and dad are paying most or all of it. Can you live at home and go to school?

Just a heads up - off campus housing at FSU can actually be more costly than on campus housing. Apartment leases run 12 months so you pay for the whole year, even if you don’t take summer session. The nicer apartment complexes close to campus run $800 a month plus utilities and possibly parking. If you budget $900 a month times 12 months that’s $10,800 for housing vs. $6,880 for a shared dorm room on campus. My daughter lived further out in a less desirable area and her rent was $600 including utilities (so $7,200 per year). Getting to less than $600 a month with utilities is tough, unless you aren’t as picky about safety.

Does she live alone or does she have roommates? I know that having roommates can significantly lower the cost of rent each month, and it’s something I was going to consider.

She had room mates. The apartments are set up with 4 bedrooms and 4 bathrooms, so you have 3 roommates but you get your own bedroom and bathroom which is nice. I’d say that is the most common configuration in Tallahassee for college apartments. Not sure if there are any complexes that would actually let you share a bedroom.

You say your family’s suffered a big financial hit: inform FAFSA and see if something can be done. Yes FAFSA is calculated based on prior-prior, but the huge crisis we’re in has left many families with new financial burdens if not huge income shortages and there can be a recalculation.
In addition, check that your deposit deadline hasn’t been moved to June 1. Many universities have moved the date because of coronavirus.

Is Georgia State your favorite choice in Georgia? It’s a really good university and they have nationally-known programs to help students graduate even if they fall on hard time, which well be very important in the coming years.
If you qualify for Zell Miller, were you admitted to their honors college? (See if you can still apply - check out the website).

What do you want to do with a biology major ? (it’s not very employable unless it’s Biostatistics or bioinformatics.).

Who will be co signing the private loans you say you will take out?